water woes

[JCF350]

This is the east end of Orange Lake here in FLA. The Bass were just getting
back up to size from the last drought (5 years). The west end still has some water in it, so far. We need enough rain to raise the water table to refill the lake.

The first pic was taken 8 months ago and the water level was down 3 feet.
Second pic is the same view taken last week.

BTW that's a 3lb Largemouth in the hands of my friend.

 

[SpinnerBait_Nut]

Re: water woes

Yea, that's bad for sure. I hope you get some water soon.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: water woes

use to fish there, now can't get the boat in the water. it is a real problem with a lot of lakes. we had a house in Keystone Heights, FL. when i was much younger, was on a nice lake (Gator Bone) with an island. now it is a praire, with a small pond.

 

[gonefishie]

Re: water woes

Wow scary looking picture! Looks almost exactly like the many Western deserts where it used to be a lake. We don't have anything that extreme here but lots of shallow areas are dried up or inaccessible. The bright side to this is that when the water get back up and cover all that vegetation growth, the action in the area would be HOT. I can't wait for that week long down pour.

 

[JCF350]

Re: water woes

use to fish there, now can't get the boat in the water. it is a real problem with a lot of lakes. we had a house in Keystone Heights, FL. when i was much younger, was on a nice lake (Gator Bone) with an island. now it is a praire, with a small pond.

I don't think Keystone Heights will ever come back completely with all the people up there with wells. There is 249 square miles of Orange Creek Basin that flows past our place (when it rains enough). We just haven't had enough rain.

BTW in 2001 or 02 the lake was completely dry and we had a fire that burned
about 3,000 acres at this end of the lake. With all the smoke plus the morning fog you couldn't even see your headlights from 10' away (made it interesting getting to and down the drive way then out to HWY301).

 

[Haut Medoc]

Re: water woes

Global warming......

 

[JCF350]

Re: water woes

Global warming......

Oh No!!! we're all gonna die!!

Hey! if it keeps up I'll have ocean front property!!

Stop the rain, heat the air!!

 

[ANIMAL]

Re: water woes

Try spending all summer under a burn ban when thats the only way you have to get rid of your trash. Had to sneek into town to use someone elses dumpster....ANIMAL

 

[JCF350]

Re: water woes

Try spending all summer under a burn ban when thats the only way you have to get rid of your trash. Had to sneek into town to use someone elses dumpster....ANIMAL

Burn at night. We do have the advantage of the right kind of neighbors though (only 1 can even see part of my place) , plus my driveway is just over a 1/4 mile long through woods from the road.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: water woes

so that's how the lake burned.

 

[Hoss]

Re: water woes

honest law abiding citizens...it's a beutiful thing

 

[JCF350]

Re: water woes

so that's how the lake burned.

Actually I was over at my brothers (adjacent property) watching a ball game that afternoon and we both dozed off until his son in law showed up at the front door. The fire had started about 1/4 mile east of us and had progressed to within 100 feet of his place by that time.

No damage to any buildings. The Forest Service almost lost a D6 by trying to put a fire break where we told them not to, it took a D9 and D6 to pull it out of the peat it had sunk into.

BTW We use a 2 x 55gal drum barn heater for the trash and nothing comes out that but smoke.

 

[JCF350]

Re: water woes

YAHOO!! Finally getting some rain.
Still need more but the weather patterns are looking better.

Now all we need is for the fish to start coming back (besides the mudfish that is).
Took this one yesterday.

 

[angus63]

Re: water woes

I bet the skeeters will return long before the bass at that level. My parents lakefront home in Melbourne now is marsh (skeeter) front.

 

[JCF350]

Re: water woes

That's one problem, but they never left any way. Inside at dark-thirty, you can head back out later if there is a breeze up. Besides the skeeters are bass and frog food at the larva and adult stage respectively, so we gets lots of frogs and bass and they grow real quick.

Oh yeah!! plenty gators to eat the frogs and bass too!!