Lake Drawdowns

It seems that a majority of the lakes that I try to fish for toothy critters have been or are being drawn down 5-7' this year. Have you guys dealt with this in the past? If so, how did it seem to affect the fishing during (if you could fish) and after refill? This is driving me crazy because the few lakes that aren't being drawn down are now getting loaded up with Bass tournaments every weekend. I'm not even gonna get into a rant about how I feel about that situation. LOL

I'm just curious to see if anyone has dealt with this kind of thing. I've already had a frustrating Summer on the fishing front (not being able to get out) and was REALLY lookin forward to makin up for it with some Fall fishing.


Jay

On sunday the lake I was on was down about 4-5 ft. the dock was almost out of the water except for the last few feet. would have been intresting taking out if the wind hadn't died down.

I'm from the Indiana area, and I can tell you that the lakes down here go through the same thing periodically. Keystone (every year), and Glendale every 3-5 years being 2 of them. I also have to deal with the bass tournies, as they have them weekly on both. As far as the fishing, if there are weeds in your lakes, I kinda like it. I troll mostly, and as everyone knows, there are fish that spend most of their time in the weeds, and there are "open water" fish. Well, once the lakes are lowered and most of the weeds are now out of the water, those fish have to be out in the open water where we can now catch them trolling. Main lake structures ( big points, creek channels, flats next to dropoffs) that may have had 1 or 2 fish using them, now may have 10 or more active fish during feeding times. It can get exciting. Hope this helps you some.

I know that they mentioned drawing Glendale down due to a rehab construction project of the marina. I've also heard Woodcock was drawn down for some reason, but I'm not sure why so early?? Any ideas?

From the DCNR site for Gallitzin:

8/27/2011 9:03:00 AM Due to the 7 foot lake drawdown and the descending water levels of Glendale Lake, boaters are reminded to use caution when launching at boat launch areas.

8/27/2011 9:02:00 AM Beaver Valley Marina is temporarily closed due to construction on the marina. This area will re-open when the project is complete.

James,

Thats great info, thanks. I kind of wondered if trolling might be the way to go under those situations. Unfortunately for me, I don't troll. I'm guess it would be worthwhile to try casting for some of those suspended fish too. Just might make things difficult on the Flyfishing side of things for me.

Yep, Glendale and Keystone have been drawn down. Canoe Creek is due for a draw down in September. I havent heard anything about Woodcock. In my area, that leaves Curwensville and Bald Eagle at normal level. I haven't had any luck (the few times I've been there) at Bald Eagle. I had planned on trying to really key in on the Tigers this Fall at Curwensville but now with all the Bass tournaments there, I probably wont get on the water as much as I'd like. Oh well, I'll get something figured out. Just lookin forward to the holiday weekend being over to start taking care of some of the recreational boaters too.


Jay

Jay,
No problem, glad to help. I don't know alot about casting, but I would imagine the good points would still have active fish on them. And Keystone, with the clear water, usually has weeds growing out to between 17 and 18 feet. I've had alot of luck trolling this deep outside weed edge in the summer, before it gets low. So, I would guess, if the lake is down alot, you could just start near shore and slowly head out till you don't mark any more weeds, you would have weed growth out to about 8 or 10 feet. Just back out and parallel cast this edge and you should do well. i talk to the bass guys all the time, and almost daily they tell me about catching the tiger muskies while bass fishing. I know from watching them, they parallel cast this weed edge alot. Good luck.
Jim