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With the water level up about 10ft at Nolin my two favorite winter pool bank fishing spots are no longer accessible.
Questions are.
When do they officially end winter pool and let the lake start to fill?
Will they drain out the extra 10ft from the recent rain and snowfall before the end of winter pool? (weather permitting of course)
Or will they just leave that extra 10ft of water level?
My guess is that its a lot more complicated than I'm seeing. Weather/down stream levels etc..as far as the Army deciding what decisions to make.
Thanks for anyone that can maybe give me some hints on how it works.
"Typically" the corps will start holding water after March 15. They have a target date they want the lake to reach summer pool and I "think" it is May 1. If that is not the correct date it is close. Just remember the corps can only hold water that is provided by mother nature. They have no way of magically raising the water level. If we have a very dry spring that would mean the lake will not reach summer pool on their target date. If we have a wet spring it will reach summer pool too soon.
After March 15 they will start holding water each day until they reach summer pool on their target date. Let's say we get a huge rain on March 20 and again on March 30 and the lake rose to summer pool by the 1st of April. They would pull the lake back down to what the target level for the current day is when they reach it. Then they would let the lake rise again until it reached summer pool on the target date. They typically do not leave it above their target level if the number is significant.
They normally draw down the water if it is above winter pool before March 15. According to their web site on 2/11 the main gate was open .30 with a discharge rate of 1512 cfs but there was still an inflow of 1197 cfs so the lake only fell .14 ft. On 2/11 the water level was 503.21 and winter pool is 490. Once the inflow slows down they will gain more on lowering the lake. With the ground being frozen a saturated with moisture there is more run off than normal. I would think they would increase the out flow some and that would also help lower the lake faster but 1st the inflow number needs to be smaller.
In the past I have heard numerous people make comments about the corps raising the lake level...ONLY mother nature can raise the lake. The corps can control what they release but have no control over what comes in the lake. The reason the lake was built is for flood control and flood control has priority over fishing and recreation.
I bet they pull it back down.
They do Barren that way.