Corps of Engineers

[cricket george]

Lordy, Lordy its warm and humid. I am sitting here and its barely the middle of JUne and it is already hot. Summer crappie patterns should be kicking in pretty soon.

The A/C is kicking in a bit early this morning. I got to thinking about the Corps of Engineers and what they do. I know we cuss them when it is Spring and the crappie fishin is in full swing and the lakes are yo yoing. Let us not forget what their purpose is primarily.

1) Flood Control - hey, its spring and the monsoons have set in. The corps first job is flood control and boy do we need that. I just heard from the Kansas board that a Kansas lake came up 20' in 24 hours. Look oout Oolagah de water it be a comin. I bet the folks in Arkansas might be a wishin that the Little Missouri had not got so out of hand

2) Hydroelectric power is their second priority which we should be thankful for for at least the next few months so we can keep from melting. I can stay cool between fishing trips and work on gear without sweating my hinney off. Hmmm well that would burn a few more calories off my middle, maybe that would not all be bad.

3) Navigation is their 3rd priority and we need that to get goods up and down the navigational channel. This helps our economy which needs all the help it can get right now. I know in my business the money is not moving and alot of people are hurting.

4) Recreation is last unfortunately. If we did not have the lakes then where would we fish and have good crappie fishing and an opportunity to have fellowship. You know if we did not have the lakes then we would have untold amount of damages because the flood water shows no mercy. The Corps has saved millions of $$ of damages because of the lakes holding back the floods. So when the lakes are high and have hydropower units on them
and there is a demand for electricity then they will be used first for electricity production. The electricity is sold to the various coops around the state for everyones use. Think on the bright side for a minute, if the Corps is releasing water then the fishing below these dams will cause the fishing to pick up.

We all must realize that we must endour some bitter with the sweet and we must work together to survive. Yes, the Spring weather causes the lakes to rise and fall but don't we all have a few fish in the freezer from this year?? Besides the summer pattern is here now and we can be happy that fishing should be stable and we can enjoy a couple of fish frys. WE may be sweating but so are the crappie because they know that Odie, LRippers,Reaper and, OMG the worse plague of all, the Chattster, CRAPPIE CHATT is on the hunt and will show no mercy.:D Laissez les bonne temps roullez.

So grab some gatorade, some minners and lets get after them.:p

[CrappieThug]

I always thought the Corps does a pretty good job keeping outdoorsmen in mind. They do things such as install brush piles & maintain great campgrounds when their main priorities are flood control and hydroelectric. The same can be said about the GRDA.

I would vote that if they ever decide to build another lake, that they leave all the trees in there. I am sure there are some things to consider when doing that but it sure does make for a good fishing lake.

[Stinkfinger]

And they serve some mighty fine coffee and doughnuts early in the mornings on the north side of the dam here at Eufaula.:D

[cricket george]

What ? food? doughnuts and coffee? What's the address? Stink you been holding out on us. You got anything else to confess before we put limburger on your manifold????? Huh,Huh??:rolleyes:

[Hef]

Well said CG. The summer tree dipping pattern is my favorite, I love the thrill of the hunt. I like it very hot, the hotter the better in my book. 3-9 fow and its ON!

[crappie_jiggin]

Great post there George. I am glad someone posted this information for everyone to see how the Corps operates. Yes we all get frustated at the Corps for drawing the lakes down when the fishing is good, but as you stated flood control is #1. It would be great if recreation was first that way our freezers would be year after year and not just some years.

Again thanks for posting this George.

[Crappie Reaper]

And they serve some mighty fine coffee and doughnuts early in the mornings on the north side of the dam here at Eufaula.:D

Hey Stink, have you EVER washed that finger?

[coyote]

It's going to be interesting to see how much water the corp holds back while the Bass Masters Elite Series is fishing down river this next week.

[Southern Woman]

What ? food? doughnuts and coffee? What's the address? Stink you been holding out on us. You got anything else to confess before we put limburger on your manifold????? Huh,Huh??:rolleyes:

DO IT , DO IT.....limburger smell will get him.

[Stinkfinger]

awww, you guys are just jealous because you've never had any dam doughnuts or dam coffee.:D