Thread: Fish going thru the dams

You should have been at Arkabutler Spillway 4 or 5 years ago! It was a SNAGFEST!

Originally Posted by spindle

I know there are a lot of folks that believe a tremendous amount of fish go thru the dams year round. I don't buy it. First off I believe a large percentage of fish are just too smart to get sucked thru. They are scattered throughout the whole lake and the ones that are close to the dam have plenty of time to get out of the way. To my way of thinking, if there were the amount of fish folk believe that are going thru, the lower lake at Sardis and the down stream rivers would be overflowing with fish. This is just my opinion and I know not everyone even all the biologist will agree with me.

I agree. My boat doesn’t get sucked through when I get close to the gates. The fish are more than capable of swimming away in that amount of current.

With that being said, I’ve noticed over the years that when they work on the gates and they shut down the spillways there aren’t very many if any crappie in the pools below the Dams. The fish that do go through must feel the water is going to fall out to the point they would be trapped. Crappie seem to be very aware of changing water levels to the point they fear being trapped in a confined space.


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Anchored as far up in Sardis spillway as I can paddle I see a good many good size crappie floating down the stream. The game warden said they come through the tunnel and hit the breakers at the bottom and are stunned. They might get their bubble back and swim off or become food for others. Can't pick them up.

Here's a good article that explains what happens during the winter when we get those brutal cold snaps, the part about the fish going out the spillway is closer to the end of the article. Seems they go into some sort of thermal shock and just get pushed thru with the current when laying deep in the channels. Tagging crappie at Sardis Lake and Enid Lake

Someone mentioned the other day that we lose more fish out the spillway each year than what is actually harvested by fishermen, I doubt that very seriously. I wouldn't think we lose 25% thru the spillway compared to the number that is actually caught in the reservoir, just my opinion though I have no proof of it, and the 25% is a high guesstimate.

I don't have a clue how many go through the dam. I can see where extreme cold and lethargic fish would go through. But on
those years the lower lake should be a hot spot and more often than not this doesn't seem to happen. The carp are in there,
does that play a role? Someone with research could probably come up with a more accurate answer than me riding by looking
through the windshield saying by God they need to do this or that.

FWIW, lots of crappie go through the dam at Jordan (NC). You can see plenty of floaters and the birds are in droves there for the buffet.

Where did all those fish in the lower lake at Sardis come from this last spring????

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Most of my fishing below the dam at Pendleton is for fish coming upriver not down.maybe those floaters have come up to the dam and are disoriented from fast current.