CR has changed!

[etcfishin]

Those who get the seasonal Ky Afield magazine need to check out the article on C-river. It confirms the problems discussed on here with all of the rain.

[PRO V LE]

More rain on the way and it has rained the past several days.
The lake is at 684 the river at 554 with 2 or more generators around the clock at 10520cfs as of today.

[troutcrazy]

Those who get the seasonal Ky Afield magazine need to check out the article on C-river. It confirms the problems discussed on here with all of the rain.

Is it in the current issue?

[etcfishin]

Is it in the current issue?

Yes. Just got it in the mail a few days ago. Summer 2009 issue.

[peter]

--From Kentucky Afield Magazine Summer 2009--


Eye on the Cumberland
How heavy spring rains may affect fishing

By Dave Baker

Two years ago, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers lowered Lake Cumberland some 40 feet below its normal summer pool to take pressure off Wolf Creek Dam while the structure underwent major repairs.
Fortunately, light spring rains during those first years did not upset the Cumberland’s delicate balance of cool water and oxygen needed by stripers and walleyes, the lake’s cold-loving fish species.
Heavy rains this spring, however, have biologists concerned about how the influx of warm water and its tendency to rob oxygen from the depths will affect the lake later this year. With each slug of warm water brought by the spring rains, critical cold water leaves the Cumberland as the Corps attempts to maintain a constant lake level of 680 feet elevation.
“The problem is worst when you have a wet spring, which is what we’ve had,” said Southeastern Fisheries District Biologist John Williams. “We’ve dodged a bullet the past two years because of the droughts. It looks like the conditions are right this year for some problems. However, a lot of things have to come together just right to make conditions as bad as they could get.”
Fisheries Research Biologist Dave Dreves is concerned, too, with the impact on trout in the lake’s tailwater. Temperature readings taken at the end of May reveal the lake was 6 degrees warmer at a depth of 60 feet than in May 2008, and 8 degrees higher than in May 2007. The temperature at 120 feet hovered around 52 degrees in May, 4 degrees higher than the previous spring, and 6 degrees higher than in May 2007.
“Those are the magic depths, because that’s where they pull the water from to supply the tailwater,” Dreves said. “The turbine intakes are at 60 feet, while the sluice gate intakes are 120 feet down.”
Trout do best in 55-degree water. Their growth slows and they don’t feed as heavily once water temperatures top 65 degrees. The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources stops stocking trout when the water exceeds 72 degrees.
Tailwater water temperatures at the end of May hit 59.5 degrees – approximately 6 degrees higher than last year, Dreves said. “We want to keep the river below 65 degrees, and we’re already nearing 60 degrees in May,” he said. “I think we’re going to have a long summer ahead.”
Anglers could be in for several long summers, as the projected completion date of the $584 million dam repair project is December 2012. Project Manager David Hendrix of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said the lake’s level will not be raised this year.
“We’re in the early phases of the last stage of the project – this is the most important phase,” he said during an April tour of the construction site. “We hope to know by April 2010 whether we will be able to make the decision to raise the lake by 5-10 feet.”
Both Dreves and Williams said having an extra 5-10 feet water in the lake could help protect fish by allowing the Corps to moderate flows coming through the dam. Currently, the federal agency drops the lake as quickly as possible when it rises above 680. Because dropping the lake too far below the 680 mark risks problems with water intakes, flows drop considerably during dry summers.
Corps officials have drawn water from sluice gates at the bottom of the dam for the past two summers, helping keep the upper section of the tailwater cold enough for trout. During the hottest part of summer, however, the river downstream of Burkesville warms beyond the trout comfort zone. There simply isn’t enough cold water flowing through the dam.
“We want just enough rain during the summer to keep the water running each day, but not enough rain to deplete too much cold water from the lake,” Dreves said. “We need a happy medium.”
Williams, too, is concerned about the nutrients carried in the warmer spring water creating higher oxygen demand in the lake. By late summer or fall, this can create a zone of water without enough oxygen in it for fish to survive. Under the worst conditions, this zone could reside squarely in the temperature zone preferred by stripers and walleye.
Walleyes prefer temperatures between 68 to 73 degrees. Stripers prefer temperatures between 64 and 77 degrees.
Under certain conditions, pockets of deoxygenated water could arise in which stripers and walleyes could not survive if they did not move to another area of the lake. Other fish species in the lake, such as largemouth bass and crappie, can tolerate warmer water temperatures and face less risk than stripers and walleyes.
Meanwhile, work to stop water from seeping through the dam continues six days a week, 24 hours a day. Contractors essentially are pouring a concrete dam into the earthern portion and underlying bedrock of Wolf Creek Dam. “We are using enough concrete to build a sidewalk from the dam to Washington, D.C.,” noted Wes Schmutlzer, safety manager for Trviicos Soletanche JV, the French and Italian companies that have joined for this phase of the project.
The most critical part of the project involves shoring up the area where the existing concrete dam ties to the earthern portion of the dam. Corps officials said the success of sealing this area will play a major role in the decision whether to raise the lake level prior to completion of the project.

[Chubminnow]

Thanks for posting the information Peter...some of it I remember reading before and some of it I hadn't read...either way it's good information to have, thanks again for sharing it with us.

[mhall]

Boys I'm very concerned about the River and the Lake!

[PRO V LE]

Boys I'm very concerned about the River and the Lake!

Anyone remember the walleye kill a few years ago? They pulled water from the depth they were holding at .

[FlyLie]

Anyone remember the walleye kill a few years ago? They pulled water from the depth they were holding at .

Do you recall the year and water conditions?

[troutcrazy]

Thanks for the post about the dam and the river. I too am concerned because this will effect our fishing for years to come, but I"m also optimistic about the future. The tailwaters have been popping for the past few years...fished heavily. I'm not against heavy fishing...it's good for the economy around Cumberland, it's good for conservation of our precious river because more people are aware of it's gift, and essentially that's what it's there for...to be fished. But at the same time, it would be nice to see a year when it slows down, giving trout a year to size, a year to not see lures and fly's and year to see the river clear out some of the garabage that has slowly trickled in over the years. There's a delicate balance there to be found. Our hope is in the end this will provide for a stronger river and species.

Good posts from everyone...remember...don't leave fish to find fish.

[kygorski]

I'm sick and tired of remembering the good old days. I moved down here because the fishing on lake michigan took a turn for the worse. Those 25+ king salmon disappeared,the perch fishing was almost killed by gill netters,and many of the shore access places on the lower end of the big lake were blocked off to public acsess, by private interests. No wonder the sale of fishing licenses is going down.The river was a perfect place to go and fish and not worry about all the water lice that inhabit the lake during the summer. I could go to barren or green, but the gas prices will limit my travel. Guess I'll just hang up the rods till october. My cousin moved to a spot on the illinois river, its almost dangerous to fish because of the fish, asian carp jumping all over the place, and they have almost destroyed the sauger and white bass fishing. A lot of the lakes up north have rstricted parking areas so much, that if your not the second one there, you may have your rig towed, by property owners.Ah well, it was great while it lasted.My first boat was bought in 1954, you needed to wait till the buffalos moved so you could launch.