Falls of the Ohio

[ErikSmith]

4 feet and 12 - 16 feet is not the water level rather the amount of water they are releasing. You can call 557-7056 and get the river recording at McAlpine which is updated every few hours to get the current levels and amounts being released at both dams (upper and lower) plus a forecast for the next few days. Riverrat is right on with there needs to be water flowing at the upper dam for good bank fishing but too much and it's crazy. I personally like even less flow say running 10 feet or less for bank fishing. You just have to drive over and experience the river at different times and flows and you will get in the groove...

kc

**** i'm confused again

[Longdrive]

Nothing compares to looking at the river and knowing what the forecast is, it does not compare to looking at a graph. It took an entire season for me to know how to rig up before I got there, but once you have an idea you can stay pretty safe. One more thing, when the river has been up for a while you can't just go wading into a spot you think you know, it might be totally different, a wading staff and a fishing partner are good ideas when the water is up and water is dirty.

[riverrat12]

**** i'm confused again

Ok say they have 12ft at the lower gauge...that's the water level, and then they have 5ft runnin at the dam more than likely it would be running 4ft at the lower dam and 1ft at the upper.Therefore equaling 5 ft total at dam. And that would be great sauger water.As kc mentioned the less flow the better with the upper dam for sauger, but during the winter less flow is hard to come by. good luck. Chuck

[RoadToad]

Welcome aboard, KY, and thanks for the link, I've bookmarked it. Excellent info, riverrat, much appreciated!

[ErikSmith]

Ok say they have 12ft at the lower gauge...that's the water level, and then they have 5ft runnin at the dam more than likely it would be running 4ft at the lower dam and 1ft at the upper.Therefore equaling 5 ft total at dam. And that would be great sauger water.As kc mentioned the less flow the better with the upper dam for sauger, but during the winter less flow is hard to come by. good luck. Chuck

Ok so called dam number and the recording said 14 feet at the upper gage, and 34 feet at the lower gage. I imagine the flow and current is awfull. Is the upper gage the upper dam and the lower gage the lower dam? That seems like a stupid question as I write it, but I have never fully understood this. The weather .gov chart has the flow rate right now at something like 260 kcfs.

[riverrat12]

Ok so called dam number and the recording said 14 feet at the upper gage, and 34 feet at the lower gage. I imagine the flow and current is awfull. Is the upper gage the upper dam and the lower gage the lower dam? That seems like a stupid question as I write it, but I have never fully understood this. The weather .gov chart has the flow rate right now at something like 260 kcfs.

You are correct the flow is awfull.The upper gauge will be above the dams the lower below the dams...As mentioned before if you have upper gauge predictions the dams will be all out....a mess a water. Chuck