[This is an expanded version of my column which ran in the Morning News July 24th.]
Wade anglers are still shut out from fishing Beaver tailwater, but fishing activities are going on from the shore in a limited way and also by boat. Generally, conditions are starting to improve and will do so dramatically over the next few weeks.
Table Rock Lake level is now down to around 924 mean sea level. This is a milestone as the flood pool storage is now under 50 percent. It is the lowest the lake has been since all the spring flooding started.
Beaver tailwater will continue to see the water recede. Table Rock is forecast to have its flood pool empty to around 917 msl by August 11.
Below Beaver dam, one can just now start to see the boat ramps. The interconnecting walk way between the two J-Vanes at Parker Bend is now out of water. Damage to the walk way is visible, and there is surely damage to the J-Vanes themselves although they are not visible yet.
Stone steps damaged on walkway at Parker Bend J-Vanes
Tuesday there were several anglers out fishing bait from the walkway. Three of them said they had only caught one fish under the slot to keep that morning. The rest were all in the slot limit. They were pretty excited about it too even though it meant a lean stringer.
Walkway at Parker Bend has been seriously undercut by spring flood waters.
The J-Vanes themselves are still underwater as of July 22nd.
More indications of the potential damage to the J-Vanes
When generation from Beaver dam is shut off in the morning, the river stage on the tailwater is now below the normal high generation mark. Anglers will be able to find some wadable water near the dam once Table Rock gets down to around 919 msl. Its lake level is dropping about four to five inches per day.
Cleanup operations are ongoing and will continue for some time. The Corps is now working on clearing deadfall, brush and debris from Campground C, the first campground below the dam. It remained closed Tuesday, and the bath house there is demolished. The next campground on downriver, Campground D, is open and has a newly finished bath house for campers to use.
Tree trimming crews have been hard at work at Campground C below Beaver Dam.
Damaged pavillion tops have been removed in the campground.
Brush still blocked the path to the fishing pier at Campground C, but it looks like crews are working that way, and it should be cleared soon. At low water, one can just now see the top of the pier which is still slightly submerged. It probably sustained some damage and may be unsafe to use.
The top of the fishing pier at Campground C is just now becoming visible. Crews still need to remove brush down to the pier.
The warning sign at the boat ramp below the dam is now just about out of water with no generation going. The painted letters are faded from being underwater so long.
Jan Heavener with the USGS and her husband Charles were working on reinstalling the stream gauge at Beaver dam Tuesday morning. The couple, based out of Little Rock, have spent considerable amount of time this summer replacing gauges and performing maintenance on the ones that survived the floods. Charles recently retired from the USGS, but still helps Jan with her duties from time to time.
Jan Heavener removes the sensor from the descent pipe to check it for calibration.
The gauge at Beaver was totally destroyed in the flood in April. When I caught up with the Heaveners, the box, stand, satellite dish and pipe into the river were replaced. They were recalibrating the dissolved oxygen sensor and getting it ready to go.
Charles Heavener helps his wife Jan with the recalibration of the device.
Charles Heavener said, “The USGS stream gauge program is really a worthwhile program which provides stream readings across the country. It benefits a lot of folks.” Both folks also commented on the enormity of the flooding this past spring.
The self contained battery operated gauge takes a reading every hour and transmits the data via satellite to a USGS office every four hours. The gauge records flow in cubic feet per second, river stage and dissolved oxygen levels. The data is available online, and other agencies such as the US Army Corps of Engineers and the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission fisheries division use the information to monitor water quality and stream conditions. Anglers and floaters also use the information.
Beaver reservoir is full, and its flood pool will still have to be evacuated later this fall, but it looks like anglers may get a window of a few weeks of wade fishing conditions in the morning before the Corps lowers Beaver Lake. It usually takes about 2-3 weeks to lower the flood pool if the powerhouse is running 24/7 and at full capacity. Wade anglers will be anxiously waiting to see low water again in the days ahead.
© 2008, Scott Branyan
