I don't know the answer or a guess but have you tried below the dam to see what's going on there.
"gene"
I was right in the middle of the Great Flood of 2016 in south Louisiana.
Pre-flood (2006-August 12, 2016 -Flood)
Could catch them all year long fairly easy, all sizes from all depths. Hardly ever caught a black.
Post-flood
I have barely caught any whites, even in the spawn. None in last 6 months. Now catching a few blacks, but small.
Our lake is 8 acres, average depth 10-12'. 2 acres by overflow is about 16-20'.
Pond flooded over by about 8' and stayed that way for about 24 to 36 hours before slowly falling. Saw lots of the big gizzard shad and some bass dead below the overflow. Our threadfin numbers were reduced but are coming back.
Could the whites have left and went down stream to the bayous below our dam.
Thanks for any opinions..I am stumped.
I don't know the answer or a guess but have you tried below the dam to see what's going on there.
"gene"
"G" Gone but not forgotten!!Shoalwater Cat LIKED above post
that's an interesting subject that I have encountered in some spots myself . One spot I was sure was void of fish as it went so low it almost dried up and then it flooded to beat the band a year later for months .
the little lake had monster whites in it and my avatar fish came out of it . when it came back up I hit it a few times and didn't get a single peck the following year after several visits .
That fall I said oh well what the heck maybe one more visit for grins .
It was about one of the best big slab slinging small water visits ever and I got my line broke 2 times by monster whites and managed one almost the same size as my avatar fish .
So in synopsis I sill don't know what happened to that spot ,but I know them crappie didn't get that BIG in one year and I am pretty sure most died the previous year .I am in the crowd that thinks maybe they came from somewhere up stream during the flood but after a high amount of research to answer this question I couldn't find anything up stream for 8 to 10 miles that would hold such a number of large fish ?
the good news is they grow fast and small ones this year might be big ones in 2 years if they got good food sources .
sum kawl me tha outlaw ketchn whalesShoalwater Cat LIKED above post
did the flood put the dreaded Asian carp in your lake. if it did that might be part of the problem. those things will destroy a fishery.
I think it may have put some in..I have noticed some very big fish explode on the surface,,,can't quite get a good look, but could be them..no jumping though..Thanks,
BTW ..how do they destroy it??
They are voracious filter feeders & plankton eating machines. This leaves the fry of the other fishes without much of a food source to jump start their growth. So, in essence, they interrupt the food chain cycle. They can't breed in waters that don't have a heavy current flow, because their eggs have to stay suspended in the current for a certain period of time before they'll hatch. They are mature at about 3yrs of age. That's the going theory, anyway. They eat all the time, grow fast (& big), and breed often (& females can produce up to 1 million eggs/year each) when conditions allow.
The Silver Asian Carp is the one that jumps when startled. The Bighead & Black carp do not jump.
DV8ed LIKED above post