I got up this morning and really did not want to make the drive to Pickwick. But after looking at the discharge and seeing it was 80,000 CFS I thought I really should go. That much water being released this time of year means there will be thousands of fish below the dam. Upon arrival I noticed they had 4 spill gates open........way too much water to put in. As I was looking toward the dam trying to figure out what I was I going to do......go home...fish the lake...but it was way too windy to be in the lake....gusts up to 22 MPH......or on the way home stop off and fish VFW Lake. I noticed the crane was moving on the dam and as I watched, it proceeded to the first open spill gate and closed it. Then it headed to the second one....I headed to the ramp and launched. By the time I had the boat headed to the dam all spill gates had been closed. I positioned myself to the outside of the wing wall. No going inside today as all generators were running and 80,000 CFS is a lot of water. Put the trolling motor in spot lock and in the next 5.5 hours proceeded to catch close to 200 white bass. There were thousands and thousands of them in all that water. All the fish were 14-16 inches in length. I was using a Midnight Blue Thunder Hawk Dancer on a 1/4 ounce jig head......a Major Craft Truzer Ajing UL 6'5" rod with a Daiwa Ignis reel spooled with SOS 4# test line. Many times on my cast the Dancer would be pushed into the wall and get hung up about 10 feet down. At Pickwick they have what the locals call "crawly bottom minnow". They will cling to the walls. All I had to do was give the rod tip a little shake and a white bass would grab it off the wall....LOL. What a day! I was in a lot of turbulent water today...not dangerous...just a lot of rocking back and forth and after being on the water for 5+ hours I now have land sickness....still feel like I am in the boat.....LOL. Just an awesome day of drag pulling fun that will be remembered for a long time. This looks like a banner year for whites below Pickwick....could be a fantastic summer. It was a beautiful day today. I have included some sonar shots to show the number of fish below the dam. Life is good!
My week is done.
