Drawdown
- How It Affects Fishing
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by: Capt. Tony Weatherman
Starting on November 1, 2002, something magical is going to happen. There will be a drawdown on Lake Tohopekaliga in Kissimmee Florida.
While the effects of a lake restoration project of this magnitude is
often disputed, one thing is certain, Fishing is going to be incredible, breathtaking, wonderful, exciting and above all else, extraordinary. While there are always two sides to the lake restoration project, and neither side will ever agree, during the time that the water levels are low, the fish will be concentrated into a smaller version of what was once a great body of water, and everyone will agree that fishing is fantastic.In the Mid eighties, a similar project was done on this exact same lake and fishing was great. While actually getting to the water was a bit of a job in itself, once in the water, fish were everywhere. Most trips on the water during the mid eighties drawdown would find a daily catch of 50 to 100 bass per day, and several of these were monsters over 10 pounds.
Sitting around listening to some of the people who fished the eighties drawdown sounds like fishing lore of yesteryear. you will hear stories of 13 pound bass saddling up big devil horses and riding them into the sunset. You will here about fish with mouths
big enough to hide watermelon in. Now, this all sounds like folklore, and fishing stories of a time gone by from and imaginary place, but remember this was in the eighties, not the sixties. While some of the stories are given to slight exaggeration, one cannot help but believe that fishing will take your breath away.The project is expected to bring the water down about 5' to 6' from
normal pool. It will be down from November 1st 2002 to around mid July 2003 depending on the rain and drought conditions. The plans call far a complete shoreline cleaning, and muck removal with heavy equipment.The purpose of this project is to improve aquatic habitat in the lake by removing bottom sediments and establishing new aquatic vegetation which will allow bass access to shallow spawning areas otherwise out of reach. In 1987 after the drawdown when water levels were brought back up to normal levels, fishing peaked at 608 pounds of fish per littoral acre in 1989, an increase of 74% when compared to 1986 data.
More of this article - Part 2 - How To Fish The Drawdown - 1 2
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