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Tailwater stripers

23K views 25 replies 14 participants last post by  KathyRRozier 
#1 ·
Anyone know of any good cold water tailwater striper fishing in arkansas/oklahoma? Only one I know of is in the Hot Springs area but it's not as good as it used to be. I've heard tell of some on the Illinois River above the Arkansas river but never actually been there.
 
#2 ·
Lower Illinois River where it dumps into the Arkansas usually produces great striper fishing. Although it has been a little slow this year from the record rainfall we recieved. They are starting to catch some stripers behind the dam at Lake Eufaula here in Oklahoma. Its not to far from the Illinois River.
 
#10 ·
Heres a few examples of tailwaters. You will hear the word spillway used interchangeably with tailwaters. A spillway controls the level of water in the reservoir. And the tailwaters are a result of that spillway. Some are uncontroled and are emergency spillway for excessively high water levels. Many can be dangerous when discharging water and should be approached with caution and fished by experienced boaters who know the generation schedules and water levels.

5 second spillway video


Pickwick Lake Dam spillway and Norris Dam Tennesseee


Old Hickory Dam Cumberland River Tenneseee


Old Hickory dam Ohio


A fishing pier has been constructed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to help anglers
exploiting the tailwater fisheries of the Columbus Dam on Tombigbee Waterway Tennessee


Coralville Lake Iowa spillway controls the level of water
in the reservoir and is a popular place for fishing.


Mississippi River Canton Lock and Dam tailwater


CJ. Brown Dam Outlet and Tailwaters Ohio



Lake Berryessa was formed when the Monticello Dam was built on Putah Creek California in 1957.
The Morning Glory Spillway (Glory Hole) is the funnel-shaped outlet that allows water to bypass
the dam when it reaches capacity (1,602,000 acre-feet). Aka bell mouth spillways


An Uncontrolled spillway



Black River Missouri Tail
 
#13 ·
:iagree:

LC, me too! and frothing from's me jaws makes safety fly away if'n yer not careful! ;)



This particular tailrace/boil will make a grown man do silly things, like frothing from the nostrils.


That's Todd of Smack Tackle BTW, and he gets really frothy down below the tailwaters too.
My avatar pic is from this same trip earlier in the day, great water!
LMJ
 
#21 ·
Hey Slo, hate to admit it but been there done that! Lived to tell, but crashing off the walls is stepping over the line.
I've seen boats up in the Meldahl dam gates here in Ohio, on the Ohio, and they have to sneak up along the lock wall, where they dump the lock water as it lowers. You could find yourself on a five foot tall boil in a second.
USE YOUR HEAD.
LMJ
 
#22 ·
Well i been trying to fish the Lower Illinois for a while now. Just started fishing for stripers though here recently. I hear Lake Euflala is awesome for Stripes near the damn. My buddy told me he will throw a net and get some shad then use those bad boys and HOOK UP, FISH ON!
 
#25 ·
I've seen guys behind the boils at almost every TVA tailrace I've fished. If you look at the picture of Nickajack dam (photo below), you'll see nine turbine discharges. Each turbine has a service door chute. In the picture the furthest three have their service doors closed, the closest six have the doors open. The boats tie off against the dam in the back of the service door chutes, usually by driving metals stakes into the concrete.

http://www.sitemason.com/files/loeaTm/nickajackdam.JPG

I never been around to see them get back there, or come back out, but I'm assuming they head in and out when the turbines are off. The flow in the linked picture is mild compared to most days I've been there, yet you'll still see boats in the service door chutes.

No fish will ever be worth that to me...
 
#26 ·
Lake Greeson Tailwater (Little Missouri River)

Some important tips:
The use of natural bait
The use of bait that is natural, and present it as natural as possible. Shad Fry is a natural prey of striped bass, so try to silvery gray shad lures, chrome or blue clear water. In turbid water, switch to a brighter, color attract more visible, such as Chartreuse.
Try Crankbait
Crankbaits are versatile and successful in striped bass at any time in almost all the water. Use a crankbait that cover a large area of water efficiently. Stripers hungry troll strike grassy water, shallow or deep water when they surface to feed. Learning to throw the troll in the structures under water for a realistic presentation. After a rebound, allowing realistic pause, then pull on the bait a little longer. It's certainly not, continuous motion, which makes the bait look alive.
Cover different depths
Striped bass or I remain more or less water depth and the establishment of your bait to cover different depths can lead to strikes.
Line
One pound of 10. or 12 lbs. line is appropriate for trolling more. A lighter line can help the fish to a lure deeper, but can also be used for shallow crankbait. A slightly higher test of 14 lbs. will give you better control of grasses and around underwater obstacles. A heavier line also allows you to keep shallow crankbait near the water surface.
 
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