How major would a non-nuclear power plant effect a 3000 acre lake?

Define affect?

heat the water enough to have bass closer to a pre-spawn feeding attitude?

That's about the size of Fayette County Lake.

Water source, depth, and shape of the lake would be three significant factors

Deep spring fed horseshoe shaped lake with a landmass (peninsula) in the middle would be one way to minimize potential for catastrophic fish kills

Power plant lakes usually have a different spawning cycle. Often starting in late December

What's the water temp?

depends on how they operate the plant? what lake is this you are talking about?

Fayette is 2200+ Acres. They start early on Fayette, Late December and Jan.

Coleto Creek is approx the same size, and the spawn usually starts in Feburary.

Palo Pinto, noticed the other morning the plant was running so it made me wonder.

Even if it was nuclear it wouldn�t effect it. People get this misconception that the water discharged into these lakes from power plants is toxic waste water. The water is for cooling purposes and creating steam. It gets put back into the lake cleaner than what it was before.

Not worried about fish glowing. Much more concerned if it would fish any better being warmer or would it be too small of an impact to even worry about.

The warm water encourages plankton growth and high nutrient content, especially in the summer when everyone is running the AC

The plankton consume oxygen under low light conditions ( Night time and cloudy conditions) and produce oxygen when sunny. Thus the risk for fish kills under cloudy summer conditions

Cold spring fed water, depth, and a landmass between the discharge and the other half of the lake would help temper extreme plankton growth and high oxygen consumption (low oxygen concentration in the water) during hot, cloudy conditions

Ahh,
I would not get to excited about that plant.
That plant is our peaker plant and does not run enough to make a big difference like some of these other plants in the state. It�s running now because prices were good and it�s really cold I work for the same company Brazos Electric at the Jack County facility.

There are two fairly close to me. One nuclear, 5,000 acres. Currently the ramp is froze over and its about a quarter mile from the discharge. The water at the hot water discharge is probably in the hi 70's right now. But it's been colder than a well diggers arse in the Klondike here.

The other one is a non-nuclear at about 2500 acres. Before they redid the cooling process a couple of years ago water would come out about 90*. The way the river flowed in, it would keep a larger part of the lake fairly warm. BUT they did upgrade the cooling system and the water is only 55-60 degrees coming out and doesn't warm much at all throughout the rest of the lake. Still keeps most of the lake from freezing, unless we get a winter like this one.

Normally the spawn is from January to first part of April depending on which end of the lake(s).

SE Kansas grass grower