I was just wondering if anybody knows if Condie has a minimum pool set on it. The water went down another 8 feet in the past week and a half, and the deepest water I could find was only about 8 feet deep. I'm really beginning to worry they're going to kill that reservoir off and we'll be stuck with the powersquad havens and dink factories which aren't worth the money to fish.
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Well, if they run it all the way down, they'd better remove the 20" restriction and let us all have some thick fillets to fry - instead of waiting for winter to do them in.
Better yet, if it comes down to the point of fatalities, translocate those big, healthy bass over to Johnson and Lamont to keep company with all the 10-11" wimps.
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Seriously, they could grow fat on all the little basslings.
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Call and talk to Dave Teuscher at the F&G SE Idaho Regional office in Pocatello. He is over the Southeast Region. He can't do much about controlling the water levels, but he does care and would be able to tell you if they can contain a minimum pool. Also he might be able to tell you who in the canal co to express concerns to that will do the best good.
I am keeping my fingers crossed that we come out with enough water for several of our fisheries.
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Thanks for the advice, I will do that. The winter forecast doesn't look too good either, so even if those reservoirs make it through this year, they may dry up next year.
It would be
to lose Condie, we already lost Winder and Foster. I'm not sure how good Weston is looking either. I would hate to be left with only the places mobbed by the power squad. If that happens I might as well save my money and fish in Utah.
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[quote gstott] If that happens I might as well save my money and fish in Utah.[/quote]Blasphemy!
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That sucks!! I dont want condie to go dry again. It has just came back from the repair a couple of few years back. I know twin lakes is closed down to recreationalists not enough water. Pretty sure that the bear river is the only thing flowing right now with plenty of water. Next to the snake of course. Alexander and onieda are going to be swarming with people on weekends due to they are full of water. And every where else is empty. I am going to just stick to.the streams and catch trout dont want to have to fight for a spot to fish..
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Yeah, it's pretty crappy. So they aren't letting anybody do any kind of recreation at Twin? There goes another option. What's annoying is that these reservoirs are filled with water from The Bear drainage aren't they? I wish they could just send some down the canal and put a little in. It seems quite ridiculous to have managed this lake as a trophy fishery to just let it die off like that. Then they'll just put more stupid planters in it like they did with Foster and Winder. Just what we need more of [mad]
I keep telling people how much better Idaho manages their fisheries, but if they're at the mercy of the canal company, then it really doesn't matter.
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Is it closed to fishing or just campers and skiers?
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Im not sure if its closed to fishing. A few days ago some people I know went to go play at twin and said it was closed so they went to Alexander . I dont know from first hand. I wish they would send some water down also. I know in a bad season the farmers can take all the water they want to keep there crops alive. Wish they would manage there water usage more. I understand its how they make a living but watching some they use more water then they really need.
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I definitely see a lot of waste. I wish too that they would enforce the no watering your lawn in the middle of the day rule. I can't believe how many times I've seen people with their sprinklers going for hours during the heat of the day when it's 95 and windy. A huge portion of that water just evaporates. I wish too that they would make the farmers stick to watering during the night too. It also irritates me when you see the farm equipment just watering the road.
I called the southeast region office today. I wasn't able to talk to Dave, but the guy I talked to said that Dave told him he didn't anticipate having to do any salvages this year. I hope it stays that way.
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[quote jeremypeace]I know in a bad season the farmers can take all the water they want to keep there crops alive. [/quote]No, they own water shares. It's not a free-for-all.
[quote jeremypeace]I understand its how they make a living but watching some they use more water then they really need.[/quote]How do you determine they're using more than they need? Are you qualified to make that assessment?
[quote gstott]I definitely see a lot of waste. I wish too that they would enforce the no watering your lawn in the middle of the day rule.[/quote]I'm in lawn care, and so I feel your pain... BUT, this is too controlling. What about folks who have no automatic timers? What about folks who're terrified because a nighttime pipe break flooded their basement and cost them thousands (or, if covered by insurance, simply lost memoirs and irreplaceable items)? What about those areas where too many people water at night and there isn't sufficient water pressure as a result?
[quote gstott]I can't believe how many times I've seen people with their sprinklers going for hours during the heat of the day when it's 95 and windy. A huge portion of that water just evaporates.[/quote]I live in Hyde Park now, and we were just MANDATED to only water DURING the daytime, 6am - 6pm. Failure to comply will result in them shutting the headgates...
[quote gstott]I wish too that they would make the farmers stick to watering during the night too. [/quote]To establish most crops, 24 hour watering is necessary to cover the amount of acreage they have.
[quote gstott]It also irritates me when you see the farm equipment just watering the road. [/quote]
Be careful what you wish for. Those changes would require millions of dollars in irrigation improvements. And you better believe that if that was ever required, WE would be paying for it through additional federal subsidy programs...
[quote gstott]I called the southeast region office today. I wasn't able to talk to Dave, but the guy I talked to said that Dave told him he didn't anticipate having to do any salvages this year. I hope it stays that way.[/quote]Do you plan to pursue this any further?
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Your right they own shares. I do part time work for the marsh valley canal company and have read up on there water regulations. And what it says is during a hardship for water the ditch/canal companys are able to take any amount of water needed to ensure healthy crops. Even if that means totally closing of the water flow of a River to divert it into their canals. And I live around thousands of acres of farm land some of which they water for weeks strait. Crops need sufficiant aamount of water to sprout and grow but after they reach a certain growth they only require 25 percent of sprouting requirements. I grew up around farmers and ive learned a few things living around them my whole life and working for them. Working for the canal company has helped also..
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Well, I worked a very busy day at work today and only had a few minutes to talk to the DWR during a short lunch break. I haven't decided whether or not to try calling again another time. I don't know how much good it will really do.
I really don't blame the farmers so much in this. They have to do what they have to do. My main concern is that the canal company is pushing their weight around trying to prove that they need that stupid dam on The Narrows. They drained Foster several years back so that they could prove how much they needed the dam. They didn't inform F&G that they were planning to drain it dry until it was too late to do much good. A day or two after draining it, they sent more water back into it. It was completely a political move, and it was BS. They wasted Winder in much the same way. If they would take the money that they would spend on the proposed dam and put it into updating their current system, I would be much happier.
I have no idea what the other towns require, but I do know that Clarkston mandates no watering between 10am and 6pm. However I see a lot of people, often the ones in the fancy new houses, with their sprinklers running midday. Also my neighbors across the street water pretty much all day everyday, and I know they have a system rigged up to where they turn one faucet on and it waters the whole lawn. They are home every evening, they could do it then, but they choose to do it in the afternoons. Pretty much everybody out here has a basement that floods every spring anyway, so they tend not to keep things of value down there. Besides, I highly doubt that the half dozen people I see watering midday consistently have had broken pipes in the past. I also have crap water pressure when I run my sprinklers, but that's just something I deal with. It seems like a small price to pay to do my part in conserving water in this desert.
As for watering the roads, I don't really see how tweaking the setting on the end sprayer so it doesn't shoot directly into the highway would cost millions of dollars. In any case, I would certainly be willing to pay more taxes if it meant more efficient use of the water here.
I really think that better education is key too. Simple things like turning the water off while you brush your teeth can save a great deal of water cumulatively. Also, doesn't it make a healthier lawn if you water less frequently, but for longer durations? Teaching people things like that would help as well.
By the way, did you head up there tonight as planned?
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[quote gstott]By the way, did you head up there tonight as planned?[/quote]
Assuming I get no surprises with today's work load, I think tonight and possibly even tomorrow will be the trip(s)!
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Let me know what you find. I work an evening shift Friday, so I'm hoping to get up and hit it before work.
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Me thinks Pharti NEEDS to get out and chill on some fishing action! Hope the puddle's still launchable!
Maybe if I take off my motor, and bring the ice-sled to haul stuff out TO the boat to load up . . .
Any problems at the launches on Johnson/Lamont? Wonder if Glendale is low enough to chase up the PSs off? Wouldn't mind trying Oneida, but figure it's about all they've got left!
So where do they announce if they change the "limits"?
You'll definitely have to carry the boat down. As of last Friday, the end of the ramp was about 15-20 feet from the water. I had to hunt around for the fish for a little bit, but once I did I had some pretty good success to put it mildly.
I haven't checked out any of the other lakes. I'm hoping Glendale will be free of the troublemakers with the low water and school back in session.
One of my coworkers has a plot with her camper on the far side of Lamont and she said the water is really low and that she saw a lot of dead fish. Hopefully they're just the planters, she didn't say what kind. I don't know about Johnson, I haven't been there for a couple of years.
I've been thinking about Oneida too, I love those smallies. I have some weekdays off mid September, so I think I'll hit it then to avoid the squadron.
I'm not sure where they announce the salvages, but I would guess on the F&G website, maybe under the southeast report section. If it looks like it's dropped a bunch more when I hit it Friday, I will be calling them again with a little more persistence.
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[quote CoyoteSpinner]Me thinks Pharti NEEDS to get out and chill on some fishing action![/quote]I think that maybe, just maybe, having my mother-in-law living with us might be getting to me a bit. [pirate]
[quote CoyoteSpinner]Maybe if I take off my motor, and bring the ice-sled to haul stuff out TO the boat to load up . . . [/quote]I ended up at Lamont last night, due to how late it was before my father finished work. I'd packed a set of four 2"x6"x12' boards into the boat to launch at Condie, but they didn't get used. Hopefully today we get to try that...
[quote CoyoteSpinner]Any problems at the launches on Johnson/Lamont? [/quote]Nope. At Lamont, the dock is now all the way out, but I was pleasantly surprised to see that there's still no less than ten feet of launch in the water. Perhaps more - I just didn't have good visibility.
Johnson was swamped in vegetation, but I was still able to launch just fine...
[quote gstott]I'm hoping Glendale will be free of the troublemakers with the low water and school back in session. [/quote]I never tried there, due to the overabundance of users. I'd like to get in there, though, and have given each of the lakes a try.
[quote gstott]One of my coworkers has a plot with her camper on the far side of Lamont and she said the water is really low and that she saw a lot of dead fish. [/quote]Do they own a fishing boat? I think I know where they were. That being said, all I've seen are a SMALL quantity of undersized bluegill and maybe one or two 7" bass. The quantity I saw could easily be explained by one little family out there worm fishing - and gut hooking their catches... Then again, there are hawks, a bald eagle, falcons, herons, and cranes on that lake day in and day out - so there might be more carnage that's just disappearing into the gullets of the aviary's inhabitants...
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Luckily someone had left some boards at the water's edge at Condie when I was last there. It made it much nicer launching my tube. Who knows though, we might need another set of boards now.
My friends do have a bass boat that they take to their camp. They have a nice little setup there. Sounds like that place isn't doing so great. When I was last at Condie, there were about 20 pelicans, several great blue herons and a couple of osprey working it. I'm sure the birds are having a hey day.
Glendale can be pretty good. There are some pretty nice bass in there, and some really healthy gills and crappie too. I usually hit it in the fall and do well there.
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