Water drawdown thoughts...

[Mike Bucca]

Guys, I have been thinking about our water situation on Allatoona. Also doing some calculations as well. I figure we are dropping .2 feet everyday. By Oct 26th we will be at Winter pool ie approx 17.5 feet low. Typically we are at winter pool by say Christmas or just after. So by these calculations by the end of November we will be 22+ ft low. End of December roughly 26ft low and that all depends on if the COE is still releasing water at the same rate that they are now and that we don't get any rain.

For those of you that have lived here for a while remember when Lanier was 10ft low for a few years. The water was low during the spring when plants/weeds/shrubs were growing in the old lake bed. Then the water finally made it's way back up. This is part of what help Lanier to become a better fishery. Just picture Allatoona with gobs of shoreline structure in the forms of visible and submerged shrubs, weeds on the shoreline. Thats only if the drought continues through Spring..

Granted I'm not looking forward to fishing spring at low pool but I think this low water level might be a blessing in disguise for our fishery. I'm no biologist but just some wishful thinking. Anything to make our fishery better I am all for it. Just another way to look at it and my .02

Mike

[dannyp]

Well I will say this,,, it will make our christmass tree project a little easier. We can acutally set the brush where we want them instead of trying to sink them and hope they land in the right place

[Mike Bucca]

You got another good point there. But if we get too low our boat supply will be very limited LOL.

Mike

[cardnut]

I hate that it has to be so low but I'm actually looking forward to it... Here are the reasons why........

1). I'm going to build a brushpile the size of woodstock high school in a very special place!!

2). I'm going to build another brushpile the size of etowah high school in another special place!!

3). Shoreline structure on Toona is a NECESSITY, so I promise you all that if we don't have much rain this winter/spring and the lake doesn't start rebounding water wise, there will be ALOT of shoreline structure growing and that will be Turbo Nectar!!

4). It will stand to reason that less fishing pressure, less boat traffic, NEW WATER filling into the lake and condensing of the baitfish will turn our 12" spots into FAT TOADS....

5). IT WILL BE A BLESSING IN DISQUISE AND A HUGE OPPORTUNITY TO CREATE A BETTER FISH ENVIRONMENT..... a 22ft+ drop in lake level would put some "KEY" areas on our lake above the water line and some major work/repair could take place to improve the fish habitat.

The one thing that we all should be thinking about is how to improve our shorelines while the water is low. There is a TON of stuff we can be doing during this down time that would make our lake alot better habitat wise and beauty wise..... I'm not saying that we should all run out and make brushpiles, I was joking about that. What I'm trying to say is that by cleaning alot of trash off the bottom of the lake, building natural fish holding areas with rocks and wood, GROWTH of new shrubs/grass/etc, repairing brushpiles that may already be in this depth range so that they don't become a floating hazard once the water does start to rise and MAKING ALOT OF NOTES/PHOTOS/VIDEO'S/ETC. of the lake.. We just might have a lake that could start seeing a drastic change in the quality of fish that it produces.

I think I'm going to dedicate about 75% of my lake time to cleaning it up and I may even try to build some "natural fish attractors" as well....... Small things by alot of folks make a HUGE impact to a fishery like ours and I'm excited about our prospects of TURBO NECTAR SLAB FAT DADDY LUNKER CHUNKIES PIMP JUICE MONSTER TOAD SPOTTED BASS that this could produce in the future...............................................Just my thoughts on the matter..........LOL.........................................WORD..............NUT

[zippers]

Mike,

When I lived in SoCal we had years of drought many lakes were drawn down to less then 1/3rd thier size some lakes like Hodges were lponds. In these areas ripiran shrubs, trees, bushes etc flourished, it looked like a jungle. Now that the lakes are once again filled with water it was like learning a new lake. You would have fish suspended in 40' in a tree! The fresh habitat not only provides cover for year of young, zooplankton, fry, sunfish etc.. it also provides oxygen, it provides new areas of spawn and places for alge to grab hold and jump start the ecosystem. I have never seen the effects to be detrimental.

I have also included a link (its rather long and not exactly what I was looking for) www.google.com/search?q=lake+havasu+fish+habitat&hl=en&rls=com.netscape:en-US&start=10&sa=N
of man made habitat that was introduced to Lake Havasu years ago this habitat was soley responsible in turning a dieing fishery to life and making it one of SoCals premier Smallmouth fisheries! The habitat consisted of a PVC frame and the plastic netting (like in Nascar or used by state transit companies) as well as cages with large palm leaves or plastic leaves. The alge would attach to these areas and provide shelter for fry and shad in the cages as most large predators couldnt get to them

Berkley also offers a habitat program that you may enlist in. I would definatly look at this time as a time for creating and adding life to your fishery.

[dannyp]

SOMEBODY GO AND GET A STRAIGHT JACKET FOR NUT!!!!!! He starting getting CRAZY at the end of his post

[harleywizard]

Me dos cintavos I think Allatoona is a very clean lake i.e. trash on the shorline compared some other lakes that I frequent. I think now Allatoona is at a critical time. It is a weather situation that may not be seen again in any of our lifetimes. To not take advantage of the moment would be everyones loss, anything that one can do to directly impact the Lake in a fishing positive manner would be advisable. Structure placement is very imperative at this time. Maps made and gps records stored. The ones that utilize this information will be the ones that succeed in the years to come.

[dogwatch]

It's quite covievable that if the current drought and the indicators of the last several years continues. That the brush piles we build today maybe on the shoreline soon.
If Alabama wins an injunction and the corps is mandated to return the water flow. Allatoona and many of our lakes will suffer, if not become completly unusable. Carters is closed to all but the shorebound, West Point is at dangerous water levels, are we seeing examples of things to come? A lot of if's.... Time to add that brick to the ole toilet, drive a dirty car, shower with the wife. Always, John aka dogwatch

[dzab]

I walked in along Stamp Creek from the Hwy 20 bridge today scouting a place to take students next week. It is exactly as you would expect. The areas that would normally be flooded are overgrown with vegetation. The flatter the slope, the better the growth. Once innundated, that would make excellent cover for fry.
Hey guys, remember it was just a couple of years ago that Toona was out of the banks by 10 ft or so. A change of weather patterns and we go the other way.
Dzab

[bfriendly]

Y Yo Tambien! I was taking pictures at a dock on Lanier when it was way low, towards the end of that "few years". The vegetation was not only thick, but it was like 4-6 feet high! When it went back up, all that stuff had to have been GREAT for them fishies!

The Dead Sea WILL eventually come up, back to full pool, and probably even go above that one day!
For me, NO SWEAT if it takes a WHOLE year or two!
I am with you NUT...............100% my brutha!

[dawgfish]

Guys,

I bought a handheld GPS as a gift to myself this year ;D and I have been putting it to good use. I have already visited Lanier and Allatoona and created way points for areas that I fish. I would not have known what was holding the fish in these places if I hadn't taken the time to get out there and walk around. I definitely found some more areas I will have to visit if/when the water comes back up. Overall, I agree with you guys, I think this drought will be good for all the fisheries in the long run.

You can still fish Carters but you have to hand launch boats (Jon boats, canoes, etc.). You would just have to carry all of your gear from the truck to the boat which can be 50 or more yds away. I did this once(never again). One large john boat+15 rods(what?)+20 horse motor+6gallon gas tank(with gas)+tackle box(500lbs)+cooler(lots of water)+lifejackets.....whew!! I'm tired just thinking about it. I spend (spent ) most of my time fishing Carters because its only 15 min away, but I love to fish Lanier and Allatoona. By the way there should be no reason why you shouldn't be able to fish Carters. It is 300 ft deep in its deepest part! I heard rumors that the Corps is gonna extend the ramps while the water is down. I sure hope so! I have some brush piles to make this year! Only time will tell.

So get out there and see what you can see. If anyone needs to borrow a handheld GPS let me know, you can put as many way points on it as you like!!! ;D

[billdurham]

So... based on all of this food for thought...
What if a fellow had a great big ole bag of seed.. of some unknown piece of flora.. what kind of seed would be the best to broadcast on a nice long, flat, point or some thing like that? Yeah, things like fescue and bermuda are expensive.. but surely there is something that can be bought cheaply and used. any ideas?

BD