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Where's the water


WakingMeHappy

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I went to the lake yesterday for a couple of hours just to ride around in the bass boat to check out how the lake is doing. I knew the water was low so I figures it was a good time to look for some stump fields. That way I would know where to fish and where not to ski. I couldn't believe how low the water was. I went out to the middle of the lake from the ramp and was in 2 feet of water. The deepest I could find was near the dam and it was 10 feet. The coves we skied in last year were dry land. This is about a 60,000 acre lake. I sure hope we get some rain soon and a lot of it. :cry:

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Unless your springs are different than ours, I would not hope for much more water. That really sucks, have they drained it for farm land?

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That is what one of our lakes looked like two weeks ago. They were doing some damn Dam repairs and dropped the water so low we couldn't launch. Its all good now though.

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Unless your springs are different than ours, I would not hope for much more water. That really sucks, have they drained it for farm land?

No, this the Army Corp of Engineers. They lower the lakes every winter but I don't remember it being this low. They told me today they hope it will raise by 8 feet ing the next few weeks. I guess there's enough river flow from the north to bring the water in. There are other lakes we can use but this one only 20 minutes from home where the others are an 1+ drive. Right now it's just wait and see.

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That is what one of our lakes looked like two weeks ago. They were doing some damn Dam repairs and dropped the water so low we couldn't launch. Its all good now though.

Hey Sullivan, what lake are you referring to?

Ours is a bit low, but maybe a foot or so, not that much. I just read where the snow pack in the mountains is around 70% of normal. So we should get some down here over the spring time.

Good luck.

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Waking,

Which lake is this? I thought you are in North MS and I didn't realize the Corp dropped any of the lakes 8'.

Yes, I'm in Mississippi. The corps lakes (north to south) are Arkabutla, Sardis, Enid and Grenada. The lake I'm referring to is Arkabutla. If it doesn’t rise by the time the water warms up we’ll be heading for Elvis Presley Lake in Tupelo. It harder to get smooth water there but it is a scenic lake.

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Hey Sullivan, what lake are you referring to?

Ours is a bit low, but maybe a foot or so, not that much. I just read where the snow pack in the mountains is around 70% of normal. So we should get some down here over the spring time.

Good luck.

Merwin, its on the Lewis River and is the last lake on the river before getting to the Columbia. Swift is the top lake, then Yale then Merwin. Beautiful chain of lakes. They have the ramp that is close to my house shutdown until the main part of the season gets underway so I drove the kids and the wife all the way around the lake 45 minutes just to be backing the boat up to launch it when I realized: NO KEYS! The weather was awesome and the lake was empty and glassed out. What a waste!

Edited by Sullivan
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At least you guys can get out on the water. Last 2 years on my lake it was closed or down to no wake on Memorial weekend because of high rains and heavy snow. This winter was milder so hoping it's a good one.

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Unless they are repairing the dam, the corps are a bunch of idiots. They pull from the upstream lakes to support the watersheds and marine life downstream! They are the ones who have kept us (Atlanta Area) in a drought the last couple of years, now it looks like they've shifted your direction.

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I think this is a nation wide issue. We have lakes here on the Wisconsin River that never fill to capacity. There are a few retired Police that own a series of homes and last year the water was never closer than 200' to their docks. But up river in vacationland, they hold the water so the tourism doesn't suffer. Seems to be that one lake gets screwed every year. I'm not sure, but have heard rumor the owners don't pay waterfront tax rates because it's not technically a lake, but a Flowage and not meant to be permanently navigable. ICBW.

The problem is so bad that there was a massive fish die off two years ago. They blamed it on farm run-off from fertilizer and such, but it's awfully hard for fish to survive with no fresh water supply and oxygen. I can see if there were also fish dying downstream, but it was localized to one lake.

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Unless they are repairing the dam, the corps are a bunch of idiots. They pull from the upstream lakes to support the watersheds and marine life downstream! They are the ones who have kept us (Atlanta Area) in a drought the last couple of years, now it looks like they've shifted your direction.

These are also the same people that enacted the "mandatory" life vest rule. If you're in a boat that is under 26 feet and it's moving you must wear a life vest regardless of age. The only exception is fishermen can take their life vest off when using their trolling motor.

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These are also the same people that enacted the "mandatory" life vest rule. If you're in a boat that is under 26 feet and it's moving you must wear a life vest regardless of age. The only exception is fishermen can take their life vest off when using their trolling motor.

Classic. I'm going to guess that while you need the jacket for at 26' or less, you don't for a 26' and over...but 26' and over are not allowed to produce a wake, correct?

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Classic. I'm going to guess that while you need the jacket for at 26' or less, you don't for a 26' and over...but 26' and over are not allowed to produce a wake, correct?

lol. I don't know why or how they choose the 26ft rule other than they figured that's a sort of cut-off where very few people (relatively speaking) have that size boat. It just makes it a good way to have the vast majority of people in a vest. There is one person I know of that because of his swim platform his boat is just over 26ft. The Corp or Engineers told him swim platforms don't measure into the boats length and that he had to where a life vest. He told them to take a hike and so far has been left alone. I'm thinking of extending my barefoot boom off the bow and seeing what I can get away with. That should make my boat at least 28ft long. lol

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It's a flood control dam. While I totally empathise with the low water, almost any dam the Corps built was primarily intended for flood control (or navigation) and any water they are storing above their "conservation pool" depth is a detriment to the primary function of the dam.

http://www.mvk.usace.army.mil/lakes/MS/Arkabutla/pdf_docs/Arkabutla%20Lake%20Flood%20Damage%20Reduction%20Facts.pdf

:)

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martinarcher

lol. I don't know why or how they choose the 26ft rule other than they figured that's a sort of cut-off where very few people (relatively speaking) have that size boat. It just makes it a good way to have the vast majority of people in a vest. There is one person I know of that because of his swim platform his boat is just over 26ft. The Corp or Engineers told him swim platforms don't measure into the boats length and that he had to where a life vest. He told them to take a hike and so far has been left alone. I'm thinking of extending my barefoot boom off the bow and seeing what I can get away with. That should make my boat at least 28ft long. lol

It would look like a jousting pole! ROFL.gif That would be awesome. We use the barefoot boom to get around the 20 foot minimum rope length while we surf. They're good for more than footin'!

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These are also the same people that enacted the "mandatory" life vest rule. If you're in a boat that is under 26 feet and it's moving you must wear a life vest regardless of age. The only exception is fishermen can take their life vest off when using their trolling motor.

Are you saying 'they' being the Corp of Engineers? or the state? Out here it any boat under 20' you need to wear a life jacket if you are under 15 (I think it's 15). Has nothing to do with the Corp. I am not aware of any rule change on waters controlled by them. Just trying to know if I might have any exposure.

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Are you saying 'they' being the Corp of Engineers? or the state? Out here it any boat under 20' you need to wear a life jacket if you are under 15 (I think it's 15). Has nothing to do with the Corp. I am not aware of any rule change on waters controlled by them. Just trying to know if I might have any exposure.

It is the Corp in MS making the life vest requirement not the state. In any Corp lake everyone regardless of age the life vest has to be worn if the boat is moving. The only way out of the rule is to have a boat over 26ft.

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  • 1 month later...

I went to the lake yesterday for a couple of hours just to ride around in the bass boat to check out how the lake is doing. I knew the water was low so I figures it was a good time to look for some stump fields. That way I would know where to fish and where not to ski. I couldn't believe how low the water was. I went out to the middle of the lake from the ramp and was in 2 feet of water. The deepest I could find was near the dam and it was 10 feet. The coves we skied in last year were dry land. This is about a 60,000 acre lake. I sure hope we get some rain soon and a lot of it. :cry:

WOW! Has this lake risen! When I opened this thread this lake was at 211 feet and bone dry in most areas. We have had some major rain storms and the level has jumped to 230 feet!!! Life is good again!!!!!!!!!!!

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