Dix tailwater - water color?

[bluegrasser]

Has anyone been fishing on the dix below Herrington in the last month or so? The past few times I've gone, including this past weekend, the water has been very murky/cloudy/muddy. I even noticed that the little waterfall pouring out next to the dam seems to be muddy.

What's going on here? It hasn't rained in ages. In years past, this is the time of year I would expect the tailwater to be low and absolutely crystal clear.

Is the water coming out of the bottom of Herrington just exceedingly muddy for some reason? Is Herrington still "clearing out" from the May flood? I drove over Herrington a few weeks ago and it looked like a pretty normal color. Same for KY River.

Anyone else notice this or am I off my rocker? Thanks.

[sweett4u]

i kno what u mean it wouldnt shock me on ur theory some time the lack of rain takes oxygen out of water n there will b a change in color below taylorsville it does the same thing sometimes theres not enough cooler water comin out of lakes lately ive seen the same things happening

[DJD]

We fished it twice within the last 6-8 weeks and it was fine. The water coming out to the right was clear. Caught a nice Hybrid and a few trout then.

[know1]

I fished it twice as well - the last one just over a month ago - and I didn't think the water was as clear as I expected it to be. Granted, I'd only been up there one time before that, but it was crystal clear that time.

[bookworm]

I was there several weeks ago and also noticed that the color wasn't as clear as it's been in the past, up near the dam. Didn't have a stream thermometer with me, but the water felt somewhat warmer than it used to--more like low 60s instead of mid-50s, sort of like the Cumberland below Wolf Creek. Did I hear KU was also doing some repair work on Dix Dam recently and lowered the lake? If so, maybe the same thing is going there as on the Cumberland: to get cold water at the bottom of the lake you need deep water at the dam.

[bluegrasser]

I was there several weeks ago and also noticed that the color wasn't as clear as it's been in the past, up near the dam. Didn't have a stream thermometer with me, but the water felt somewhat warmer than it used to--more like low 60s instead of mid-50s, sort of like the Cumberland below Wolf Creek. Did I hear KU was also doing some repair work on Dix Dam recently and lowered the lake? If so, maybe the same thing is going there as on the Cumberland: to get cold water at the bottom of the lake you need deep water at the dam.

Hi bookworm, I do recall something like that too. Also, if you look at the Herrington Lake level, they've been keeping it in the low 720-foot range (http://water.weather.gov/ahps2/hydro...,1,1,1,1,1,1,1) *There's an error on there showing that it dropped to 517 ft today, but I think they've been holding it steady at 725 for a while.

That's been going on for quite a while, even though summer pool is at 740 feet and they usually don't start dropping it until fall.

Maybe that explains the scenario. Just hope those fishies survived the turbid, warm water and are ready for some fall fishing action!

[Bonefish]

The flow picked up some about two weeks ago, but not enough to washout the debris in the transitition water which is now about halfway down to the Ky River. Large mouth bass have not been up in the Dix all summer long to mount to much. Either they are letting some of the water out slowly or there is a larger leak some place. I am not sure what is going on, but the bite is off in that section of the river.