Lynda Dunsmuir sent in these great pics of Bull Shoals Lake from a bird's eye view. CLICK HERE to view the rest of her photos on snapfish.

Bull Shoals Dam...

Pontiac Cove...

Weekend Wrap-Up

As I said on Sunday, the third annual Blessing of the Fleet was a great event on Saturday, thanks to all who participated in the blessing itself and the picnic in the park afterward. Deacon Joe Kurtenbach, of Ava, offered the blessing to 40 boats. Several of them made U-turns and headed right back out on the lake after receiving the blessing. For many it was the first time they'd been on the lake this year, and I know a lot of folks were eager to see the lake at this high level. Not to mention it was a splendid day, with temps in the 70s and the sun shining brightly.

Doug and Deb Yeager and gang (pictured above right) won the award for the Most Original Theme, which was "Noah's Ark." (Very appropriate given all the rain and excess water we have!) Pam Hicks and family (above left) dressed as pirates (arghhh!) and won awards for the Best Costumes and Best in Show.

A HUGE thank you goes to Bob Gunkel, Skip and Angie Dechau, Bill and Lois Bauer, Roger and Debbie Lee, and our new park attendant, Tom Pardo, for all of their hard work in setting up, cooking, serving and cleaning up after the picnic. I heard rave reviews from several people about the food. The menu consisted of fried fish, grilled brats and hot dogs, corn on the cob, new potatoes, corn muffins and dessert. It was delish.

Revolver, a blues and rock and roll band, entertained the crowd. Throughout the night the group invited guest singers (and tambourine players...) to join them on stage. There was plenty of dancing going on as well.

At the end of the night, with the food and t-shirt sales, raffle ticket sales, and the joining of six members to the "One Minute Club" (a donation of $300 for one minute of fireworks), more than $3,000 was raised for the fireworks, putting us up to about $4,500 total -- just $1,500 shy of the $6,000 goal for a 20-minute display. Way to go EVERYONE!!

CLICK HERE to see more pictures from the Blessing of the Fleet. (If you aren't already a member of snapfish, simply enter your e-mail address and a password to create an account.)

Great turnout for the Blessing!

Hey everyone! Sorry for the lapse since my last post... It's been a busy week. The third annual Blessing of the Fleet was a great success yesterday. Thank you so much to all of you who came out for the event, and especially to the worker bees who helped set up, cook and clean up. I'll let you know later in the week how much we raised for the Pontiac Fireworks. We couldn't have done it without everyone! I'll post pictures and write more about the Blessing a little later...

He's Baaaaaaaaack!

Well, I suppose he probably never went anywhere, but I was hopeful that our little friend (a.k.a. the beaver) had found a new home with the high water. But really, this just gives him a whole new patch of trees to saw down with his razor sharp incisors. This is a rather large tree on the upper road... you know the one. He has already chewed off one branch, and now he's working on another. Look at the size of that branch! It's huge! He must be stopped.

New Look!

So... what do you think of the new blog? I hope you find the new design is easy on the eyes. Notice the list of links to the right... Those will always be there, so you can check the local weather, news and lake level anytime you like. Enjoy!

Fishing Tournament Results

(Above left): Mark & Ofelia Sanders took first place; (Above right): Verla Cubbage and her son, Jerry, announce the winners and hand out door prizes.

Despite frigid temperatures and gale force winds, 16 boats turned out for the Verne D. Cubbage Memorial Buddy Bass Tournament in Pontiac on Saturday. Mark and Ofelia Sanders, Ava, took first place ($500) with six fish totaling 15 pounds, 6 ounces. They also won the big bass pot ($160) for a 3-pound, 13-ounce largemouth. Bobby Comstock, Protem, and Josh Johns, Theodosia, took second place ($330) with six fish totaling 11 pounds, 3 ounces. Allen Tharp, Gainesville, and Larry Nickels, Mountain Home, Ark., took third place ($200) with two fish totaling 3 pounds, 13 ounces. Rod Crain and Stormy Williams, both of Ava, took fourth place ($150) with two fish totaling 3 pounds. Bob and Josh Barnum, Ava, took fifth place ($100) with two fish totaling 2 pounds, 12 ounces.

Four kids younger than 16 fished in the tournament. Jordan Husak, Cedar Hill, Mo., caught the biggest fish of the four boys. The fish weighed 2 pounds, 10 ounces. He was awarded a $100 savings bond at First Home Savings Bank in Gainesville. Calib Hatchcock, Union, Mo., Trey Schroeder, Crestwood, Mo., and Jared Harper, Beebe, Ark., were given $50 savings bonds for their participation.

Twenty door prizes were handed out, including tackle boxes, rods and reels, Branson getaway packages, gift certificates to Shockey’s, the Harlin House, Pontiac Cove Marina, and much more. Altogether $500 was raised for the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation in memory of Verne Cubbage, who passed away a little more than two years ago.

695.03

So I may have spoken too soon yesterday. Now the Corps has changed their forecast. The lake actually crested today at 695.03. Another new record! Now they're predicting the lake level to be back to normal by Friday... HA! Just kidding. Actually they're predicting 694.9 by Friday. A whopping 13/100 of a foot lower than it is today. Hey, we'll take what we can get. Meanwhile, I snapped this shot, so you could see just how close the end of our walkway is getting to Just Jackie's deck. Don't you think she should deliver down to the water now? :)

One for the Books

The lake has crested today at 694.9. Hallelujah! That is a new record.

Here is the latest forecast:

Tuesday: 694.8
Wednesday: 694.6
Thursday: 694.4

All is well at PCM. I've heard rumors flying that we are going to have to shut off our electricity and the Blessing of the Fleet is canceled... NOT TRUE! If the lake were to reach 697 (that's 2 feet above flood stage), then we would have to shut off the electricity temporarily, of course, until it were to get back to flood stage. That is a "worst case scenario" situation. Thankfully the Corps seems to have a handle on the lake levels now, so we don't foresee that happening.

Now... on to the Blessing!

Join us Saturday, April 26, for a boat blessing ceremony at 2 p.m., picnic in the park at 5 p.m., and live music by the band, Revolver (http://gigsalad.com/revolver), from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. Decorating your boat is optional, and prizes will be awarded to the winners (best costumes, most original theme, etc.) Please let us know if you plan to attend and how many are in your group, so we know how much food to prepare. You don't need to bring a thing! A volunteer committee is preparing and selling food to raise money for the Pontiac Fireworks.

We are selling Blessing of the Fleet tees again this year, and they are the best yet!

We hope to see you there!

Water Under the Bridge

Thanks to Jimmy Conner for sharing this photo of the Theodosia bridge.

Who opened the gates?

Behind Larry Kankey and Craig Mincke you can see the flood gates at Bull Shoals dam are open! They were opened at about 12:30 Saturday afternoon.


The latest prediction for the lake to crest is 694.9 on Monday. (Two days ago the forecast was for 695.7, so backing it off 8/10 of a foot is a good sign, I think.)

(Photo by Brenda Kankey.)

More pics

This was taken from the main dock, looking to the right, toward the hill that leads up and out of the park. Look just to the left of the gate, through the trees, and you can see the bathrooms there at the edge of the water.

This pic was taken from the main dock, looking toward where the launch ramp should be... those light poles that are about to go under are on the top road. Don't worry, the electricity has been disconnected from them.

A Dry Forecast... FINALLY

Grrrrreat news. The 10-day forecast for Pontiac is (practically) rain free, with just a few spotty showers possible later next week. And after this little cool down (highs in the 50s this weekend) we should start warming up again next week, hitting 70+ by the end of next week. Spring... are you here to stay?

Today's forecast: mostly sunny, 60 degrees and WINDY.

A New Record Soon!

I missed a year in yesterday's post about past high water levels. This is the correct info:

June 1957: 694.4 (current record... but not for long!)
June 1973: 691
June 1990: 691.5
June 2002: 688.8

Notice all of these high water levels were recorded in June! This is only April, and we're about to break the record. The lake came up a couple feet overnight. Matt had to back his truck down to the water to get on the walkway from his tailgate to keep from getting wet. The lake level is about 693, according to the Springfield news this morning. We understand Bull Shoals is now running eight generators and releasing some water through the flood gates. Look out below.

Just so you know... You have to see this in person to really get the full effect. The pictures below do not do it justice. I literally cannot get to high enough ground to get a full shot of the cove! Now we really need an aerial shot!

Pictures

(Above): As you can see, this picture was taken from the hill above the gas storage tanks. What would be all the parking for the 800 dock obviously is under water now, and the 800 dock is attached to the 200 dock via a walkway.
(Left): Before long we'll be able to step right off the walkway and on to Just Jackie's deck! That's actually pretty handy. :)

The latest forecast...

4-10: 688.76 (I guess I was right the first time...)
4-11: 691.6
4-12: 692.8
4-13: 693.5

4-15: 694.9 CREST (we'll see)

Correction

Bull Shoals is actually 689.6 now.

Lake Level Update

We already had one tornado warning this morning, but all is well at PCM. The guys are checking cables and making some adjustments to the walkway now, as the lake continues to rise. It rained all last night and this morning -- 3 inches is what I was told. Wow. The skies are blue and birds are chirping now, but there is another threat of severe weather later this afternoon.

For those of you curious about how high the lake has been in past years, Tim did a little research and found that Bull Shoals has only reached maximum capacity (695) one time, and that was June 1957. (Which means very few people have ever seen it that high.) The second highest level was 691.5 in June 1990. (Some of you may remember that.) And most recently it went to 688.8 in June 2002.

Today we're at 688.7. As of Monday the forecast for B.S. was 690 on April 15; however, with all the rain we just got and are supposed to get later on today, that will most likely go up.

So what does that mean for PCM customers? Well, fortunately for us and you all, we are in pretty good shape, compared to some of the other marinas. For starters, the campground here is situated high enough that it's all above water, whereas the campgrounds at Theodosia and Oakland are all under water, from what I've heard. The shoreline around our cove is steep enough now that as the lake continues to rise, the dock will just rise up with it. We have enough walkways that you can and will be able to get on and off the dock, even if B.S. reaches maximum pool. (I heard some marinas on Bull Shoals and Table Rock are already having to ferry customers to and from their boats.)

If you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to call. We'll keep you posted as new information is available.

Fishing Report

Chuck Benson (St. Louis) caught this 30-pound striper Saturday morning not far from PCM. He and his buddy, Steve Ponzar, were in town for the weekend pre-fishing for a tournament on Sunday. They went out Saturday morning, and it couldn't have been an hour later I saw them coming in. They motored up to the main dock and said, "Get your camera!" I think they were pretty excited when they pulled that thing out of the water.

Speaking of fishing, a few people have called to ask for a fishing report. From what I've heard it's been a little tough since the lake is continuing to rise; however, there are people catching fish. I talked to a guy a couple days ago who said he caught a limit of crappie recently--and like a typical fisherman, he wouldn't tell me where or on what! Jeannie Looper said yesterday she caught a couple largemouth on Saturday afternoon. The water temp is about 54 degrees F.

Are you ready to walk the plank?

All roads lead to... WATER

Sorry I haven't written sooner, or taken any more pics. I will snap a few shots tomorrow and post them. The lake is up to 680 today. That's 26 feet above normal pool. This is the latest forecast from the Corps of Engineers:

Wednesday: 682.1
Thursday: 683.3
Friday: 684.1

Bull Shoals is expected to crest on April 12 at 688.7. However, at this point we really aren't very hopeful about that, as there is still more rain in the forecast.

FYI: Both the 500 and 800 docks are connected to the main dock now. So if your boat is on either of those docks, you'll have to come on the main walkway to get to them. The top road is completely under water, so the only parking to speak of is below Jackie's.

I know it sounds bad... but really... it's not that bad. I've had a few folks call to ask if we're open and if the lake is navigable. Trust me, we are open and we will be no matter how high the water gets. It's been higher than this before. We can handle it if you can handle it. The lake is just a little bigger than what we're all used to. And so far, it doesn't seem to be an issue, as folks are going out daily from Pontiac.

Call if you have questions.