# Below the Dam Trigger



## Barbarian (Feb 12, 2009)

I hear all of you talk about fishing below the dam this time of year. What is the trigger that gets the fish stacking up? Is it water temp, water moving, water not moving, water level remaining constant, rain, seasonal?

Just always been curious what is the trigger?


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## FISHROADIE (Apr 2, 2010)

Water coming out of the dam would get them started. There is only one gate open now and the water is very skinny.


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## Sunbeam (Feb 24, 2009)

We need all of the rain promised for Houston next week to fall above Livingston. 
Twelve gates open for about a week, then back down to four and you can fish there until mid April.
TP&W will be there on April 8th to shock up all of the stripers. That usually slows things down until the next big gate opening event.
It takes about seven days for the initial discharge to reach Wallisville. When that happens all of the WB and stripers in the lower river will be on the move north to the stilling basin.
So if you want excellent dam fishing pray for a heavy rain north of the lake. But don't tell any one since it will muddy up the lake and a lot of fishermen will be rather pee-off at you. LOL <G>


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## Barbarian (Feb 12, 2009)

So is this outflow/discharge of water in the winter followed by a slow down the same trigger in other dam situations that have wb and stripers? Is it a spawning or feeding frenzy trigger? Just trying to learn the why behind the what and does it transcend to other estuaries possibly?


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## Whitebassfisher (May 4, 2007)

Barbarian, are you asking about the dam, or the lock & dam?


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## Barbarian (Feb 12, 2009)

Whitebassfisher said:


> Barbarian, are you asking about the dam, or the lock & dam?


Both in a way. More of a generic question because it seems this time of year that the fishing picks up below the dam (down river) at not only LL and LD, but other similiar water systems also with wb and stripers.


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## Snookered (Jun 16, 2009)

Barbarian said:


> Is it a spawning? Just trying to learn the why behind the what and does it transcend to other estuaries possibly?


sorry to butcher your quote, but yes, its spawning induced by seasonal influences....the winter/early spring rains and changing temperatures trigger WB (and other species) to head up river of their respective lakes and spawn.....WB have what many other species have, which is a protracted spawn (sorry for the "science").....which means that they don't all spawn on one day at one time, however they spawn over the course of several weeks to several months....this is to ensure the success of at least one to several spawning events, i.e. if they spawn early and there's a late season cold front that kills most of the larvae, then the population would be in trouble.....but because they spawn several times, chances are a majority of the larvae will survive, and ride the river down to the corresponding lakes they came from to start the cycle all over....

sorry for the storybook, but you asked....

and some popular saltwater species do something similar (redfish) although its a "reverse" idea; they go outside the passes to spawn, and the larvae ride the currents back in to the seagrass meadows and shallower waters closer to the freshwater outflows....

so the winter/early spring rains trigger spawning both inland and in the salt....that's one of the reason freshwater flows are so important to maintain; without them there is weak spawning/survival of the larvae for white bass and redfish alike.....

anyway, back to the fishing, let's hear those reports!
snookered


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## shadslinger (Aug 21, 2005)

If you have ever seen a white bass while it is actually spawning it is something to see.
The females and males go as far as they can in a creek. When a shoal stops them and everything is right the females shimmy up in the shoal to discharge her eggs, and there will be one to four males right beside her discharging milt.
The only place I have ever seen them in the spawning process is on White Rock Creek at a shoal there.
If you listen you will hear the distinctive sounds of the female powering up the shoal like a salmon. Except they can't jump as high, everyone knows white bass can't jump!


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## Mattsfishin (Aug 23, 2009)

It's a lot of fun watchin whites try to go up the creeks to spawn. I have seen them on the upper end of Conroe, White Rock Creek and Bedias Creek spawning, and Caney Creek. If we do get a release at the dam it will be on down there but for now they are in the river and starting to work the creeks.

Matt


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## ronniewelsh (Feb 3, 2011)

*Hilarious!*



shadslinger said:


> If you have ever seen a white bass while it is actually spawning it is something to see.
> The females and males go as far as they can in a creek. When a shoal stops them and everything is right the females shimmy up in the shoal to discharge her eggs, and there will be one to four males right beside her discharging milt.
> The only place I have ever seen them in the spawning process is on White Rock Creek at a shoal there.
> If you listen you will hear the distinctive sounds of the female powering up the shoal like a salmon. Except they can't jump as high, everyone knows white bass can't jump!


Now that was funny!


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## whackmaster (Apr 2, 2010)

I have seen them up White Rock also. You could scoop them up with a dip net.

You are right Loy, white bass can't jump...LOl


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## texas two guns (Jan 23, 2006)

everyone knows white bass can't jump!

Funniest thing I've heard this year.

Lock and Dam is the same, it is pretty much a wall until the river comes up enough to let them get over it. From what I hear, they are there now, females too


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## tphoward (Jan 16, 2008)

I think we've got the "trigger" going on today. From these reports, i expect the run up the river will start soon with all this rain.


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## FISHROADIE (Apr 2, 2010)

texas two guns said:


> everyone knows white bass can't jump!
> 
> Funniest thing I've heard this year.
> 
> Lock and Dam is the same, it is pretty much a wall until the river comes up enough to let them get over it. From what I hear, they are there now, females too


They have been there for a while they showed up early, I talked to Mark the other day the water is really off color.


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## Sunbeam (Feb 24, 2009)

Fairly easy to predict a long period of dingy water in the rivers and creeks for the next few weeks.
Dallas has recieved as much as 3.75 inches on most of the Trinity tributaries. The gauge plotters at every station from Dallas to Riverside started going straight up last night.
I would expect 10,000 cfs in the total upper river bed by this time tomorrow.
The lake is at 130.88.
TRA will probably not let it get much above 131.3 before opening a few gates. All of the creeks and river basins in east Texas are saturated so any additional rain will be rapidly fed into the main systems.
No need to build an Ark but be prepared for some good old east Texas dingy water fishing for a while.


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## shadslinger (Aug 21, 2005)

Time to cat fish!


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## Mattsfishin (Aug 23, 2009)

Got my big anchors ready for some good fishin below the dam. Some good fish in or I should say some good catchin on the way.


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## shadslinger (Aug 21, 2005)

http://waterdata.usgs.gov/tx/nwis/uv/?site_no=08066250&PARAmeter_cd=00065,00060

Looks like they opened the 1 gate a little more, or opened another one.


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## rubberducky (Mar 19, 2010)

I'm ready for some more of that hot action like last year!!! The dam was unreal last year and I look forward to some amazing fishing that I don't have to drive all day to get to lol
James


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk because Reeltime told me to


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## Sunbeam (Feb 24, 2009)

The trigger has been pulled. Four gates at 1:40 PM Friday. More to come.


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## Mattsfishin (Aug 23, 2009)

come on, open some more gates!!!


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## thecoach (Oct 2, 2011)

So do yall think it will be good in the morning or is it still a little while before they start going crazy.


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