Is Ky Lake finally dropping?????

[Col Forbin]

According to the TVA site, they are going to be spilling Ky lake continuously until further notice. I drove to the dam today, but no water was being released. The Lake is higher than it has been since I have been here. The first row of parking spaces at Ky dam are under water, and none of the courtesy docks I have seen are accessible.

It seems the rivers are too high to be releasing water - especially the ammount to get the lake back at average levels or even a couple feet lower. Do any of you have any information about how they will lower the lakes, or how long the process will take?

The high water doesn't seem to have affected the fish - people are still having good to great days here. How will the added current of water being released affect the fishing?

[kc]

Not really. Check out the link for Barkley lake and a 10 day graph. The current level is a bit over 362 but notice the big drop today in current. It looks like to me they are starting to hold the lakes while the big rivers are cresting so I would say the level will go even higher.

Link for Barkley graph: http://www.orn.usace.army.mil/hh/resplots/bar.gif

kc

[Dave Stewart]

You can get the current level for Ky Lake...the past 6 hours history of the levels and the next 3 days predicted levels at:

http://www.kentuckylake.com/update/lake/conditions.htm

This is basically the only info you will get....they will lower the lakes when doing so does not threaten property and life below the dams...how fast they drop the bottom out depends on that also.

[kylakenitro]

The lakes are forecasted to stay right around 362.4-363.. At least thats what they are showing for now. The Ohio river at Paducah isnt suppose to crest till wed. I wouldnt look for a big drop in the lakes until after that....

They are forecasting more rain for later in the week so i guess we will see how big a part that is going to play.

This higher water and all the courtesy docks under water is rough on you trying toload and unload by yourself, So it looks like you may need to go with me one day Col......LOL!!!!!!!!!

[MsgMills]

Not trying to change the subject, maybe I'm not at that...But how is the conditions @ Lake Cumberland doing? With all this rain and snow fall over the winter and early Spring. Is the amount of rain hindering the work that was being done on the Dam? Or heck the work might even be done by now, just haven't heard of any news about the progress of the work being done on the dam. Has anyone else heard of anything concerning the work being done or not?

Just curious......

[jgevedon]

On the KY Afield call in show the other night they discussed Cumberland a little bit. The main work of building the concrete barrier wall across the earthen part of the dam hasn't even started yet. They forecasted the lake will be at this lower state for about 6 more years. I think I heard them mention that the lake is down from 50,000 to 37000 acres.

[Col Forbin]

The lakes are forecasted to stay right around 362.4-363.. At least thats what they are showing for now. The Ohio river at Paducah isnt suppose to crest till wed. I wouldnt look for a big drop in the lakes until after that....

They are forecasting more rain for later in the week so i guess we will see how big a part that is going to play.

This higher water and all the courtesy docks under water is rough on you trying toload and unload by yourself, So it looks like you may need to go with me one day Col......LOL!!!!!!!!!

Let's go! I will get my boat back tomorrow. I am haveing a recessed trolling motor tray put in. With all the winds and rough water lately, I have about gotten wet a few times lifting my foot up to work the motor. I am also hoping it will get rid of the back pain after a days fishing. We'll see. I am pretty much stuck at work all week, but I can be at the moors by 3:00 or 3:10, even earlier if the boss is busy at 2:30!!!lol
I need to get out this weekend, after that I am hitting alot of tournaments - Beshears, then a couple of Barkley ones - and possibly the BFL at the moors.

[elnutsmalljaws]

Not trying to change the subject, maybe I'm not at that...But how is the conditions @ Lake Cumberland doing? With all this rain and snow fall over the winter and early Spring. Is the amount of rain hindering the work that was being done on the Dam? Or heck the work might even be done by now, just haven't heard of any news about the progress of the work being done on the dam. Has anyone else heard of anything concerning the work being done or not?

Just curious......

I have went over the Cumberland Dam several times the past couple of weeks for my first look at it since the work began (on my way to Dale) and it looks like a small city is being built. New ramp, half a mountain side removed, a 3 lane paved highway built across the rip rap, and grout pumping equipment everywhere. The last I heard is they were going to raise it from 680 to 690 this year and leave it at that level for the next couple of years. No telling how much surface acreage this will add but the lake will at least have 10 feet in it for all those that thought it was being "Drained". Nice new ramp but if you need a courtesy dock to unload you may call somebody for the dock itself was floating yesterday but the walkway from dry ground to the dock had been unlodged from the dry ground side and was under water a good 8-10 feet but still attached to the dock itself. Sort of looked like the lake level rose a bunch and the dry side of the walkway was stuck under water. As long as they are letting the water flush thru Cumberland and not letting it do any "Flood Control" during these rains, a bunch of lakes will be affected. I know Dale is a few feet short of Summer Pool now and with the Obey and Cumberland Rivers converging so close to the Dam, it seems like Dale is being affected the most. Last summer during the drought they were generating more electricity at Dale to offset what was not being produced at Cumberland so it pulled the lake to levels I never seen or heard about. Now with all the rain, it is kept high to let Cumberland release as to not flood the river downstream. 6 more years of this will be tough to deal with.

[Col Forbin]

This was about Ky lake - Post highjackers!!!!! Just kidding - don't hit me Elnut!!LOL

I need to make it these lakes - I haven't fished Lake Cumberland in 10 years (I fished the river often a few years ago). I've never fished Dale (maybe a couple times as a kid), but I love the Brownies. I still sing the Billy W. theme song every time I catch a smallie "I like catching smallmouth best of all."

[kylakenitro]

TVA just changed their prediction for Ky lake again looks like by Wed. its going to be almost 364.... Thats 5 feet above summer pool. When i was out Friday you could take your boat 100 yards into the woods then and it was just 362.

I remember several yrs ago (in the late 80's) the lake got up like this and i won a Paducah bass club tourney by flipping picnic tables, fence rows and hay bales. Looks like another one of those years. I just hope they dont drop the bottom out of it and ruin alot of the spawn. If they drop it i hope its before the fish move up on the beds

[mhall]

TVA just changed their prediction for Ky lake again looks like by Wed. its going to be almost 364.... Thats 5 feet above summer pool. When i was out Friday you could take your boat 100 yards into the woods then and it was just 362.

I remember several yrs ago (in the late 80's) the lake got up like this and i won a Paducah bass club tourney by flipping picnic tables, fence rows and hay bales. Looks like another one of those years. I just hope they dont drop the bottom out of it and ruin alot of the spawn. If they drop it i hope its before the fish move up on the beds

That's funny right there. In 97 when Barren got up to downtown Glasgow, we were catching the tar out of fish off of the golf course. I caught one right beside one of the green flagpoles. That year we destroyed bass for weeks while that lake was up. It was 17 feet above summer pool at one time. I had a 27 bass day down there with 15 being keepers and lots of them over three and four pound, man that was fun. High water can be goooood sometimes.

[mkmsports41]

I remember that year at Barren. We unloaded the boat in Pennisulas parking lot. Trolled a hundred feet and caught hybrid in the parking lot all night long. I remember tieing the boat up to a light poll and sitting there all night having a blast.