Lake Levels in the Eighties

The lake level was all over the place in the eighties. In 1980 it stayed pretty close to normal all year. In 1981 it was nine feet low to begin the year and nine feet low to end the year, which were both the "highs" for the year. In between it hit a low of about 637 (17 feet below normal pool) in April. In 1982 it finally got up to normal (654) in February and bounced around that level for most of the year until December when it started going up. It continued up for about 25 feet during that month, peaking out at 680 around the first of the year.

It's always a pain to move the docks any time the lake is going up or down, but in the winter it is extra difficult. Not only did the lake come up 25 feet in December, but then it went down 25 feet in January. That kept us very busy.

The rest of 1983 and most of 1984 the lake stayed between 650 and 660 until the winter of 1984 when once again it went up big time -- around 35 feet over the months of November and December. The last 20 feet of that came in the last two weeks of the year. Norman Eubank was working for me at the time, and I remember coming down one morning thinking we had left the walkway in good enough shape to make it through the night, yet when we got there we discovered only the top of the handrail was visible above the water.

So, after going up 35 feet at the end of 1984, it then went down 25 feet by March. Then back up 25 feet by July. Then back down nearly 40 feet by November. Then up 20 feet by December. I think it was shortly after that that many of the older private docks were either torn down or moved away.

I guess the Corps decided they had punished me (and every other dock owner) enough after that because in 1986 and 1987 the lake bounced between 657 and 645. In 1988 we saw a little up and down in the first quarter of the year, then beginning in May it dropped from 663 to 645 by November. 1989 was almost a carbon copy of the previous year.

Despite the lake levels being all over the place, fishing was pretty good in the eighties. Our old albums in the store are full of pictures, but here are a few samples:

Jim Price

Bill Allen

Left to right: Don Atchison, Steve Powell and Tony Allbright.

Written by Cap'n T Morgan