I remember a poster saying last year that the the draw down is now the new normal lake level.

The OP was making a point and basically opening the discussion for suggestions of which my post was one. Why don't you try formulating a coherent thought on the topic instead of slamming what others say? Come on, try, you can do it...

"PS - I have heard many people say that power plants are doing fishermen a big favor by letting them fish there. I strongly disagree. Businesses, which is what a power plant is, is out to make money."

It's been a long time since I've been to Fayette, and I have no idea how much they charge to fish there now or how many (or even if) boats they limit it to per day. However, it's a pretty safe bet that the funds taken in from anglers do little more than cover the costs involved, if even that much.

Again, what other lakes pressure wash (or otherwise deslime) their ramps when water levels recede? It would certainly be nice, but it's just not feasible. A marina might do it somewhere, but I've never seen it. I know that we have some attorneys here. I'd be interested to her their take on the liabilities incurred by the LCRA if they became obligated to keep the ramps from being slick, and someone accidentally (or intentionally) slipped and sustained injuries. I'll bet the personal injury sharks would be fighting and climbing over each other at that person's front door.

I've slipped and slid on many, many ramps since I began fishing in the fifties. It's one of the things we have to be aware of, and be careful with.

If lawyers get involved they will shut the access down.

Good point, Jim, but I would be interested to see to what extent, if any, a ramp operator who charges for ramp use would be held liable for an incident involving injury or property damage. By virtue of charging for it's use, it "should" be implied that the controlling entity, be it LCRA or whomever, would be at least partially responsible for the safety of it's customers. I can't think of any type of business that would be immune from a lawsuit involving injury or damage caused by poor or negligent maintenance practices.

True. Attorneys can make anything appear negligent to the right jury. However, at least from a common sense point of view, one would need to consider the customary, normal practices to determine what would be negligent. Anyone with common sense should realize that when water levels drop ramps are slick. They always have been. They always will be. In spite of what some people looking to get rich quick would have you believe, one cannot make every activity 100% safe. If ramp owners could be held liable for every injury resulting from low water, we wouldn't be able to afford to launch our boats. I remember a lady who took a huge boat with twin Mercruisers way up Little Lake Creek on Conroe and knocked off an outdrive on a submerged stump. She wanted to sue the San Jacinto River Authority because they hadn't removed that hazardous stump. It never occurred to her that it was her responsibility to learn where she could run her boat safely.

I appologize. As a career firefighter and(more importantly) as a volunteer firefighter it just struck me wrong that someone would suggest a remedy would be for the guys who volunteer fire and EMS should power wash our boat ramps for us and that the state(who actually are my paid civil servants) was some how remiss in not thinking of this first. I reacted rudely. Sorry. While I type/text slow sometimes I think even slower :-). Anyway, on a lighter more positive note the afore mention that the lower level might actually be the new full pool: the LCRA has the lake only 1' low so it may be accurate that it will be kept lower. Also the water at my neighborhood lake Squaw Creek often fluctuates several feet fairly quickly before they pump in more water and it often exposes SLICK algae on the last several feet of their steep ramps. Good news is even with the ramp use constantly wetting the ramp the algae dies and dries fairly quickly and the problem quickly goes away.

I grew up in Fayetteville and worked at the parks my junior and senior year as maintenance. Part of my normal day was mowing, taking the trash out and spraying the ramps for slime/algae. This was over 7 years ago and can say the ramps and parks are not kept up now how they were back then. There is a whole new group of people that take care of the park now. I fish Fayette at least one a month and yes during the winter months they ramps are bad, I don�t know why they have stopped spraying them� They park use to have a pressure washer that you could toss the suction line into the lake and use.. I am guessing it broke or they just don�t use it anymore. .. I pulled tons of trucks out of the ramps when working there winter and summer months. My dad works at the power plant and I will ask if he knows why they lower the water.

Thanks skeet! Let us know what you find out from your Father. The lake's normal pool level is 390 ft. msl. It is now 389.13.

The lake is .87 feet low, that doesn't seem all that "LOW".


It's often been said give a man an inch, he will take a mile.

Maybe being thankful you get to fish the lake at all and try being resourceful and figure out a solution to your own issues...

Has anyone actually contacted LCRA about this problem?

I contacted LCRA about Lake Bastrop. LCRA controls them both. When I called, they told me that Sam Gideon Power Plant had say-so on how much water is in Bastrop. I then called the power plant, they told me the lake was lower because they were working on the dam. This was about 2 years ago.

Actually I was asking if anyone had contacted LCRA about the ramps. But I remember a poster here last year saying the 389 foot level was the new normal.

I was at Oak Thicket ramp last Wednesday and it looked like the ramp had been de-slimed, or should I say it looked better than it had the week before.

Hope you are right. I'll check it Monday.