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Full Pool!!!

rsimms

rsimms

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Sep 8, 2002
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Location
Chattanooga, TN
Chickamauga Lake is routinely lowered six feet during the winter for potential flood storage. Under normal conditions TVA usually starts refilling the lake on April 1, bringing it back to full pool by mid-May. With the crazy amount of rainfall we've had, Chickamauga will be almost at full summer level on April 2. Crappie and bass are likely to begin spawning and my fear is TVA will drop the levels again, potentially very quickly, to get back to regularly scheduled levels. That could be a very bad thing. :mad: With dramatic up and down water levels, I've already had one my worst crappie fishing years I can ever remember. We can't seem to catch a break this year. 😥
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Chick_Lake_Levels.jpg
 
Nothing new about that, to me the water coming up, fish possibly spawning or starting and then the "plug" being pulled has been more than the norm ever since I can remember, than the lakes actually being raised or lowered on any kind of a schedule in my lifetime of fishing. Some years the schedule is "normal" but to me that rarely happens.

Actually, lakes that are dropped to winter pool and raised to a summer pool are not done so for any reason at all that I can tell. Fishery management and lake levels have nothing in common, never have and most likely never will. The health of the waterway and all affected by it is the last thing the people who control the levels of the lakes think about.
 
We deal with it greatly here on Wheeler lake in decatur, al. It is the flood control lake of the 4 tva lakes in north bama. Super dramatic level swings allows just about zero spawns. One of the reasons the lake is so cyclical in regards to fishing.
 
NumberOne said:
Interesting. Whats in the agreement?
Click to expand...
that unless there is a danger of flooding they are going to try to hold more water in the spring to have higher water.

the problem with KY lake is that it is getting old and most of the shoreline habitat and cover that was there 35-40 years ago is gone. now, the water levels have to be higher to reach that spawning cover. this has a big effect on bass and white crappie. black crappie can have good spawns when white crappie cant due to their slightly different habitat requirements.
 
Checked Lake Cumberland level Monday. It had jumped 9ft. Was planning to go today, guess not Heard that Norris was up 13 ft. This will hurt the Walleye, white bass spawn pretty bad this year. And fished both lakes last week on the upper ends where temps were in the high 50s and low 60s. Some of the SM were already paired up. I believe this might hurt their spawning too.
 
These lakes' primary function is flood control. The COE doesn't care about fish or fishing. They care about flood control. I get it. Having people lose everything to a flood is more important than spawning fish. It sucks for us fishermen, but that's how it goes.
 
Same thing has been going on with Norris ever since I have lived near it which is about 47 years, its rare that the levels hit the brush and when it does they drop it quickly, the dam was built in 36 so it has some age on it and at some point it will be torn down/reworked, at that time levels will be dropped for several years more than likely. Brush will quickly take root and might help boost the fishing when levels return to modern day levels, electricity/flood control is the reason TVA was established and for the most part has worked great.
 
Yep it stinks for sure. One Saturday a few weeks ago it was at 675 or so and was so low people had to back the trailers off the ends of the ramp to launch the boats. Then the next Saturday it was 680 and up in the bushes. The following Wednesday it was back to 676 and low.
 
I highly suspect we will lose a significant portion of both the bass and crappie spawns this year. Most of the tributary reservoirs are close to maximum summer pool. As soon as they can, water will be heading downstream to get some room for flood control.

The May 2010 flood in Nashville with the billion dollar damage was largely a result of not having enough room for that rain event. I guarantee there are a bunch of water management folks that are worried right now with where things are.

As a fisheries person, I don't like what is coming. But, balanced against lives and significant property loss, TVA and the Corp have no choice. Flood control is the number 1 priority, and the reason these dams and resulting lakes were built in the first place.
 
Has happened on Cherokee Lake for the last 6-8 years.....and we have a 30-35 foot winter drawdown. You can really see the decline in the crappie and largemouth population the last 2-3 years. Not affected the smallmouth as they spawn a lot deeper than the LM do, and the walleye fishing hasn't changed but they don't reproduce in this lake anyway and rely on annual stocking.
 
Well if you think it's bad here up in Sd and ND on the Missouri River they always got the short end of the stick. They would lower it to prevent flooding then let it get really high if the lower states have too much water. Then during dry times they will lower it to keep lower rivers navigating route open.
 
looking at the predictions looks like ky lake may be fairly stable for the next week in the 358-360 range. should be right in the april curve and at normal full pool on may 1. hopefully with the cooler temps it may even postpone the spawn a week or so, although some males are in spawning colors. the bad, there will most likely be less of the mustard weeds we normally see.
 

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