Fished Gibbons this past Sunday and at the gate noticed a few print outs.
"No swimming" "No fishing behind spillway" "no primitive camping"
And now the website is not working.

Anyone have insider news on what's going on?
Lake soon to be shut down?

??

Hopefully this has nothing to do with the fatality out there a few weeks ago.

Maybe the notice for swimming and fishing below the spillway was due to the recent water increases in the lake and subsequent heavy releases at the dam. This could lead to drastic changes in levels, currents, etc. Also, I think there was a recent death at the lake of a man who drowned while swimming after a kayak; so I can see if the managing authorities may want to take cautions/precautions. As for the primitive camping, I have no idea. Just some thoughts.

I read a year or two ago that the plant had been having financial troubles. That's when they dropped access from 7 days a week, too, I believe. The plant is old and not competitive with newer ones. Home efficiency improvements have reduced demand. (Even Fayette County has reduced it's run-rate to the point that the warm water effect in winter isn't always as pronounced as it once was.)

The recently renovated Gibbons plant reportedly is among the most advanced for technology and environment friendliness for coal powered plants in the country having completed several major upgrades costing in the $ millions.

Like the nations other upgraded EPA compliant coal powered plants, lower cost competitive power, especially from unusually low cost natural gas supplied to gas powered plants is the reason Gibbons and Fayette and similar plants now sit idle during the low power demand periods.

Our ground currently is very saturated and Gibbonsis at/above normal full level......with rain chances in the forecast most days, the spillway is not a good place to have swimmers and bank anglers if further rains develop.

Are they going to have the plant burning during the winter, putting out hot water like it used to?

Thanks for the plant update Lou.

hoggwild you have any luck Sunday? I found the bite much more difficult than it was Friday.

I hadn't noticed the no swimming sign. I still saw people fishing below the spillway when I left Sunday, the guy from the gate was talking to some of them.

Went out again today. Blues were biting 2-5 ft of water on shad
Gates are open behind spillway. There's ALOT of new restrictions coming up for gibbons starting mid month

What new restrictions? Can you elaborate or give a site with info? Thanks.

Ok.

I'm reading into the changes that this joint private/public owned partnership ( not being a city, county or state run public park) is addressing its concerns/expenses for different types of visitors.

Entry fee change for me is reasonable, especially considering there is no boat launch fee at Gibbons.

Bank anglers seem to have exceeded their welcome outside of the areas trash handling and restrooms are provided. Seeing the shorelines where bank anglers frequented, it is not hard to understand why the privileges for many have been taken away due to behaviors from a few.

The boatramp dock has been an on/off friendly experience for years. Most times it was nice for me and pier anglers to chat a sec, share whats/what's not working and then wish each other luck. Some though too often made it confrontational unhappy to be briefly sharing the tight spaces. It was not easy, but always managed to avoid 3, 4 or sometimes more pier fishing lines on a wind blown dock with 2 or 3 unattended boats already taking up limited docking spaces. Sadly, we will likely need a no fishing (from bank or boat) of within 50 yards of the boat ramp to prevent confrontations over water space.

(Must be nervous being a manager of the lake activities and seeing a 6 month old baby in a walker out on the busy open edged ramp with casts of treble-hooks whizzing overlooking 8 feet deep waters having multiple boats with props running.)

I like to launch late in the evening and fish all night and leave the next late morning or early afternoon. No one around, quiet, and you can catch a load of fish! Target crappie and cats at night and bass in the morning. You are on the water before everyone else the next morning and have your choice of early morning spots.

thanks for the info hoggwild

bank fisherman are going to be pissed.
Glad they are kicking them off the dock.
Sad that it looks like fishing the spillway and point will no longer be allowed for them, but it will be nice not seeing trash everywhere.
I would imagine their will be a sizable reduction in the number of people coming to bank fish now.