# LL Dam Flow



## Gofish2day (May 9, 2006)

WOW dam flow was 45,300 cfs last night. That is moving and the river is full of water. Correct me if wrong, but the dam doesn't exist when its that high. I would imagine the dam becomes just a wall between the lake and river water level. The fish just then swim thru the wall opening. No drop like usual. Am I correct ?
Last question, are all our stripers getting loose?


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## kellisag (Feb 18, 2010)

There is still plenty of drop at 45K. If I'm not mistaken the dam is capable of 300K. Here is a picture from yesterday @ 44ish.


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## Sunbeam (Feb 24, 2009)

The gates bottom sill is about 34Ft below the normal lake level. With the lake at present level a little more at this time. The gates open from the bottom. 
At this flow rate the gates are open no more that 4 feet. So there is about 30 ft. of water above the bottom of the gates. There certainly not 30 ft. above the gate bottoms on the down stream side.

Yes, lots of stripers will leave the lake. Maybe not as many as would go if it was early fall when the immature fish would normally go down stream. 
The large fish might be confused. Time to go up stream to spawn or down to the salt water. 
I hope lots of shad go down stream. Everyone says there has been a shortage in the stilling basin for some time now.
One thing for sure, the big sow female stripers will be in the stilling basin when TP&W shows up in early April to harvest their spawners.


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## Sunbeam (Feb 24, 2009)

Theoretically, If they opened all gates full up with a full lake it would initially flow 408, 000.
That would put Hyway 90 at Liberty neck deep on an adult giraffe.


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## Mattsfishin (Aug 23, 2009)

The year Rita came thru and they had to drop the level really quick was a gully washer. I don't remember the cfs but they shut down hwy 59 and stopped the train traffic at 59. It did some damage to the footings for the bridge for the train. I have stood at the west side boat ramp, at the top where the vehicles park and catch stripers and whites off the bank.


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## Kickapoo Duke (May 15, 2010)

Here's your dam pictures from today; what, No boats???


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## kellisag (Feb 18, 2010)

Here is HWY 90 @ Liberty


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## shadslinger (Aug 21, 2005)

I drove up to the little Elkhart creek where I used to fish below the Houston County lake Dam, but it's all changed and there is no easy access. There might be a route down a muddy pig trail, but I didn't go. 
I had heard this was the case, but had nothing better to do but go see for myself.
It used to be a great last resort when the water was high and muddy everywhere else. You could catch spawning white bass stacked below the lake dam and down stream for a good stretch.
It had to get high enough to blow out the beaver dams along the way so the fish could get through.
The water looked good coming out of the dam, a steely grey, but it's very overgrown and no place to park, or to fish along the dam wings like the old days.
:cloud:
I stopped by the river near Lovelady and it's roaring up there too.
Kickapoo was a mass of floating logs when I came across 190.


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## juror81 (Jul 21, 2011)

Beacon bay marina and sunken sailboat


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## Gofish2day (May 9, 2006)

LL is really high. The dam will be running for a while to get all that water out. I guess I need to saltwater fish for a while.


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## kellisag (Feb 18, 2010)

juror81 said:


> Beacon bay marina and sunken sailboat


 What did the water look like? That boat has been underwater a while now.


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## Sunbeam (Feb 24, 2009)




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## juror81 (Jul 21, 2011)

kellisag said:


> What did the water look like? That boat has been underwater a while now.


Water is still rising and muddy from the runoff.


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## fishinganimal (Mar 30, 2006)

If I go anywhere it will be the north or south jetty


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## Meadowlark (Jul 19, 2008)

Gofish2day said:


> WOW dam flow was 45,300 cfs last night. That is moving and the river is full of water. Correct me if wrong, but the dam doesn't exist when its that high. I would imagine the dam becomes just a wall between the lake and river water level. The fish just then swim thru the wall opening. No drop like usual. Am I correct ?
> ...


That would be incorrect. Sunbeam was correct in describing the max theoretical release rates. 

The highest flows ever recorded on the river watershed was 260,000 cfs back in 1994 in the Dallas area. The release rates at the dam hit 110,400 cfs for a time during that episode. 

Interesting that historical references show the worst flooding in history was in 1908 when a 10 inch rain in the watershed killed 11 people. I have seen countless rains in excess of 10 inches in the years since the dam was built, which shows the value of the dam in flood control. 




Gofish2day said:


> ...Last question, are all our stripers getting loose?


No, not at all...in fact this flow will have little impact on escape of the lake stripers. The timing was very favorable. The highest flows were preceded by a period of cold temps and rapid rise of the water level which resulted in a large movement of fish north away from the south end. 

*"That dirty old Trinity River sure has done me wrong It came in my window and*
*doors and now all my things are gone Trinity River Blues keep me bothered all the*
*time l lost my clothes. ...believe I'm gonna lose my mind They done built a levee, I*
*have no more worry about If that river should happen to rise I'm gonna have to*
*move my things out Trinity River rising, it came in my windows and doors.,'*
*- Blues song by Aaron "T-Bone" Walker (1929)*


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## redexpress (Apr 5, 2010)

*"That dirty old Trinity River sure has done me wrong It came in my window and
**doors and now all my things are gone Trinity River Blues keep me bothered all the*
*time l lost my clothes. ...believe I'm gonna lose my mind They done built a levee, I*
*have no more worry about If that river should happen to rise I'm gonna have to*
*move my things out Trinity River rising, it came in my windows and doors.,'*
*- Blues song by Aaron "T-Bone" Walker (1929)*

Unfortunately been there. 
We have the Liberty levee for backyard now. Water just got to the base of the levee yesterday.


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## Mattsfishin (Aug 23, 2009)

I forgot about the flood in 1994. The president took a tour from a helicopter and it made national news.


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## RiverRat1962 (Mar 23, 2009)

Sunbeam said:


> The gates bottom sill is about 34Ft below the normal lake level. With the lake at present level a little more at this time. The gates open from the bottom.
> At this flow rate the gates are open no more that 4 feet. So there is about 30 ft. of water above the bottom of the gates. There certainly not 30 ft. above the gate bottoms on the down stream side.
> 
> *Yes, lots of stripers will leave the lake. Maybe not as many as would go if it was early fall when the immature fish would normally go down stream.
> The large fish might be confused. Time to go up stream to spawn or down to the salt water. *


I sure hope they don't get lost on their way to Romayor! Lol 


> I hope lots of shad go down stream. Everyone says there has been a shortage in the stilling basin for some time now.
> One thing for sure, the big sow female stripers will be in the stilling basin when TP&W shows up in early April to harvest their spawners.


We sure need some shad down this way.


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