Fished Alamo on Saturday the 13th. Free day because of the Martin Luther King Holiday. Free was a good bonus to good fishing.
When we got minnows at the store we got the hand out for the Corps Environmental impact statement. Here is the link. Please take a few minutes to read it.
http://www.spl.usace.army.mil/Portals/17/users/117/09/1909/Alamo_dam_PN.pdf?ver=2018-01-09-181714-643From what I read in there, they plan to take the lake down to the level it was at at the end of 2016 using the water release to clean the silt out of the tunnel under the dam. If I remember correctly they let out more water that fall to get the lake down and then it rained. Deja Vu all over again.
The rational is that is the level the lake has to get to for the divers to be able to work without a decompression chamber. The releases in February are to protect the endangered plants and animals below the dam.
Since the lake has been this low before they don't see any issues with the fishing (see paragraph 3.2) The crappie spawn doesn't hold a candle to a few Willow Fly Catchers. Fishing at Alamo is completely off the Corps radar on this.
What I don't see in the document is if they will stop the draw down at 1085 or if they will lower it more to do the repairs they expect will be required.
Do we have any old timers that fished in 1990 and would know if the lake was drained for the repairs then?
Unfortunately I don't think we have a snowball's chance in hell to keep this from happening.
My letter to the Corps is to ask that they don't lower the level below the 1085 and that if repairs are necessary that they be performed without draining the lake.
Sorry for the negative analysis but when you read the Environmental statement is clear what their priorities are.