March 2007 David Young Memorial White Bass Outing Report

2007 David Young Memorial White Bass Outing
Colorado Bend State Park – March 22-25, 2007

Steve Flanagan and Bruce YoungLast month the Alamo Fly Fishers made our traditional group outing to Colorado Bend State Park to fish for white bass. Our leader, Bruce Young, did an excellent job with this outing. The fishing was good, the weather was very comfortable, and the food that came out of his camp kitchen was second to none! I think the fried fish and chips were the best ever. That may be due to Chuck’s assistance. I think Chuck has had some prior experience as a fry chef, or something. There was a good mix of first timers and veterans in our group this year. And it was nice to have all the women participating as well. Thank you for everyone’s help to make this another memorable outing.

Matt LowWe had been scouting the area for several weeks leading up to the outing and knew the water level and water flow were very low. The lake level at Buchanan was over eighteen feet below the historical average for this time of year. Mainly due to the low lake level, the fish are having a difficult time crossing some very skinny water to get up stream. There are some fish that are making it, but the numbers of fish were down considerably compared to previous years. Nevertheless, we worked hard and managed to catch plenty of fish for our Saturday night fish fry. The majority of fish caught were large and healthy. Most ranged from twelve to fifteen inches in length. The few females that we caught showed signs that they were not near ready to lay their eggs. We also found more consistent fishing action at night. That was probably due to the pressure of many anglers tromping through the water during the day. Considering the conditions, we had a very successful outing. Part of that success occurred because the burn ban had recently been lifted allowing for campfires and some dutch oven cooking. Regardless of how the fish are biting, we always manage to eat pretty well. Shortly after our outing, the area has been blessed with some heavy rains. Water flows in the river have increased dramatically, and the lake level has risen over four feet in a short amount of time. The increased flow should subside in a few days, and wade fishing conditions should return soon to the river. If you can arrange your schedule to make one more trip to Colorado Bend in the next couple of weeks, it might be very productive!