Posted By: RealBigReel
Below PK, minor disaster - 10/22/15 01:11 PM
Yesterday I was planning a trip to Proctor but the winds look favorable for trip to below the dam at PK. I was up up early. Changed the rigging and took off. Arrived in good order. BTW the bathroom below the dam was really well kept. About the best I have seen. Kudos to the BRA for that.
I had tried to get information on what was going on at the dam but my BRA link was broken. Should have spent a little more effort there as you will see.
Parked at the 16 bridge and paddled, pedalled dragged up. Arrived below the dam. Tried to catch some shad with no luck. Did cast net up some perch. There are plenty of them. And since this is October I thought they might work. The wind was too light at first but it picked up a little to marginal. First balloon drift I caught a little Striper. So I figured the perch would work.
They shut the water off coming out of the dam. I mean it was down to a trickle. I was wondering if I should scoot out of there while I still could. But I figured they couldn't leave it off for long. 3 guys came down and paddled the raft that they use to work on the dam across to the other side. They got out, and left the raft, got in a truck and drove back to the other side. So I am wondering what in the heck is going on. A little later they drove a lift truck down and extracted the raft.
I had a hard time figure out the wind but some time later I got another good drift up to where the water was trickling down. Caught a nice size Channel Cat.
While I was drifting balloons I pulled out another rod and tried a Kastmaster. Caught a 8" LMB.
They turned the water back on after a couple of hours. But at that point it would have been a rocky drag to go down stream. So I continued to fish waiting for the water to come back up. Got another drift going and hooked a 15" LMB.
I heard somebody on a megaphone say. "The fellow in the kayak, wave if you hear me". My eyes locked on a BRA SUV up the hill and I waved. They informed me that they intended to open a gate in a few minutes. I immediately prepared to get down stream. Dumped water out of my 5 gallon fresh water bait tank. But when I started to paddle the paddle broke. This is a paddle that I built a couple of years ago and has never given any indication that there was anything wrong with it. So I used it like a canoe paddle to get to that down to the falls area. Didn't want to have negotiate that area under duress. When I got below there I released the 4 perch I had left and got rid of some more water out of the bait tank. The tank will fill itself but it won't empty itself. Put my pedals in and started downstream. The flow was still a little light So I had to raise my rudder and feather the fins and drag a bunch. I was trying to hurry. I didn't want to get caught in rising water.
Couple hundred yards from the bridge the BRA were waiting for me. They suggested I pull out there and they would drive me to my truck and then I could drive back and they'd help me load up. Sounded like a great idea with my paddle broken and I was tired from trying to hurry.
On the way out we had to go through the fish hatchery. The BRA guys explained what we wanted to do the one of the fish hatchery guys who was sitting on a tractor mower. This hatchery guy sat there for several seconds and then threatened to lock the gate! BRA guys explained again what we wanted to do and the hatchery guy acquiesced.
So we drove down to my truck and I followed them back up. Water was already starting to rise as we loaded up and I drove out. Kudos to BRA guys Watts and Bullock (hope I got those names right). Big help. Hatchery guy? Not so much.
Noticed quite a few dead Stripers.
I had tried to get information on what was going on at the dam but my BRA link was broken. Should have spent a little more effort there as you will see.
Parked at the 16 bridge and paddled, pedalled dragged up. Arrived below the dam. Tried to catch some shad with no luck. Did cast net up some perch. There are plenty of them. And since this is October I thought they might work. The wind was too light at first but it picked up a little to marginal. First balloon drift I caught a little Striper. So I figured the perch would work.
They shut the water off coming out of the dam. I mean it was down to a trickle. I was wondering if I should scoot out of there while I still could. But I figured they couldn't leave it off for long. 3 guys came down and paddled the raft that they use to work on the dam across to the other side. They got out, and left the raft, got in a truck and drove back to the other side. So I am wondering what in the heck is going on. A little later they drove a lift truck down and extracted the raft.
I had a hard time figure out the wind but some time later I got another good drift up to where the water was trickling down. Caught a nice size Channel Cat.
While I was drifting balloons I pulled out another rod and tried a Kastmaster. Caught a 8" LMB.
They turned the water back on after a couple of hours. But at that point it would have been a rocky drag to go down stream. So I continued to fish waiting for the water to come back up. Got another drift going and hooked a 15" LMB.
I heard somebody on a megaphone say. "The fellow in the kayak, wave if you hear me". My eyes locked on a BRA SUV up the hill and I waved. They informed me that they intended to open a gate in a few minutes. I immediately prepared to get down stream. Dumped water out of my 5 gallon fresh water bait tank. But when I started to paddle the paddle broke. This is a paddle that I built a couple of years ago and has never given any indication that there was anything wrong with it. So I used it like a canoe paddle to get to that down to the falls area. Didn't want to have negotiate that area under duress. When I got below there I released the 4 perch I had left and got rid of some more water out of the bait tank. The tank will fill itself but it won't empty itself. Put my pedals in and started downstream. The flow was still a little light So I had to raise my rudder and feather the fins and drag a bunch. I was trying to hurry. I didn't want to get caught in rising water.
Couple hundred yards from the bridge the BRA were waiting for me. They suggested I pull out there and they would drive me to my truck and then I could drive back and they'd help me load up. Sounded like a great idea with my paddle broken and I was tired from trying to hurry.
On the way out we had to go through the fish hatchery. The BRA guys explained what we wanted to do the one of the fish hatchery guys who was sitting on a tractor mower. This hatchery guy sat there for several seconds and then threatened to lock the gate! BRA guys explained again what we wanted to do and the hatchery guy acquiesced.
So we drove down to my truck and I followed them back up. Water was already starting to rise as we loaded up and I drove out. Kudos to BRA guys Watts and Bullock (hope I got those names right). Big help. Hatchery guy? Not so much.
Noticed quite a few dead Stripers.
