Weather Past and Present

 Weather conditions have changed drastically since I was a boy growing up in Mississippi years ago. We are seeing many more tornados and hurricanes today compared to what my brother and I used to call the good old days. The good old days are for another post. With tornadoes and hurricanes come heavy rains, wind, and flooding. It seems we have four or five days of great weather then all hell breaks loose for a couple of days with tornadoes in fact, as I type this post we may be under a tornado watch tomorrow. We are in this cycle through all of Spring. 

The Sipsey Tailrace pictured here is an example of the last tornado we had here a week ago. This tornado produced some damage to homes and businesses but thankfully no deaths. After the aftermath, the areas affected must deal with the clean-up in the form of flooding and the debris left behind. The image above shows the tailrace flowing downstream at 8 ft. above normal flow. When heavy rains occur Smith Lake above the dam rises above full pool quickly and last year overflowed into the parking lot at the launch. This year we are seeing it rise again 11 ft. above full pool as I type this post. The Alabama Power Company which manages the lake has to release all the excess water so it flushes through the two generators at the base of the dam. When both generators are pumping at full force you see the results in this image. One can still trout fish using a spinning reel, but no wading using the flyrod will get results with water this high. 

So, what does a weary fly fisherman do when he can't trout fish------the images above show the answer! I fillet 14 of these pre-spawn beauties and threw back a bunch of future bull gills fishing Walker Lake yesterday. 

I have started wearing Orvis fishing gloves. I had two sunspots removed from the top of my hands in the winter months and one sun growth from the top of my head. My Dermatologist told me I needed to start protecting myself much more from the sunray when I'm on the water. 

A lot of tree pollen covered the surface of the water on the lake yesterday causing me at times to use a dark popper to get the attention of the fish. All the bluegills were scattered and not in a spawning mode. The water temps are still well below spawning activity. The 2 and 3 wt. got all the work yesterday one rigged with a popper and the other rigged with a dry fly coated with Orvis Hy-Flote. It was my first time using this product and I have to say I was impressed. It is much better than any floatant I have ever used. Simply drop the dry fly in the bottle shake and remove blow the dust off and you are ready to fish a dry fly that will float high enabling you to land at least three or four fish. It becomes waterlogged once the fish inhaled it numerous times. You can use it again once it dries then repeat the process using the Hy-Flote. 

I checked the lake level when I fished this overhang or cave last year and the lake level at the time was 497 ft. 3 feet below full pool. Today this area is covered with water resting in the trees above this rock wall. I am not a fan of fishing water this high on any lake, especially a lake as large as Smith Lake. 

Heavy Rains, Flooding, Tornadoes and No Fishing

 Guys I can't begin to tell you how much I've been looking forward to this fishing season. Well, the weather here in the South has been so erratic that all my early season fishing plans have been washed, or shall I say blown away. We have experienced some of the worst flooding and destructive tornadoes in years here in Alabama. I like to think that this type of weather is a normal occurrence for this region, but year after year is too much to stomach. I can remember growing up as a young boy in Choctaw County Mississippi, near Mississippi State never witnessing a tornado. A little wind and heavy rain but never a severe tornado. We have already experienced 45 this season and may be on track to equal the 145 that hit the state in 2011. Of course, along with the tornados comes the heavy rains, flooding, destruction and we must not forget the loss of life occurring each time one of these monsters hits the state. I hate to be pessimistic but I feel we are going to witness even more destructive storms in the coming years. We can thank Climate Change for this misery!!

I have never seen Smith Lake this muddy with the lake at 522 ft. which is 22 ft. above full pool. Numerous piers broke free of their cables and floated south towards the dam. The entire parking lot and launches at Smith Lake Dam were completely underwater. The last time I've seen the lake this high was at 518 in February of 2019 but never at 522 height. There will be no productive fishing on the lake until the water recedes at least 10 to 12 ft and the water clears some. We are looking at weeks before this happens. I am thankful I have Walker Lake to fish because it never gets muddy. 

Another causality of the recent tornado we experienced this past Thursday was this house that Jason bought about three months ago in Greystone Farms. Cathey and I had been overseeing some work on the house before the tornado hit it. This house was lucky that its roof didn't collapse with this size tree landing on the roof. The base of the tree was at least 30 inches in diameter. He can be thankful that his house wasn't damaged as bad as a lot of the other homes in the subdivision. A lot of residents in Greystone lost everything including all their furniture. This one tornado stayed on the ground for an astounding 167 miles according to James Spann the main weatherman in Birmingham. He had heavy damage to his house. The tornado started in Columbia Alabama and ended in Rome Georgia. 

Even Jasons Alabama birdhouse which was setting on the top of this post wasn't spared the destructive winds. All the common areas along the street where Jason's house is was demolished. Some of the trees were spared but most huge trees were taken down. His house overlooks a 15-acre lake that had trees blown down in it. The mile and a half walking trail around the lake will be close until trees can be removed. One would never know there was a tornado by viewing the lake's southern end of the subdivision. Notice all the houses across the lake still intact. Funny how tornados miss some areas and destroy other areas. Cathey and I will be busy in the coming weeks dealing with storm damage and work on Jason's house. I hope to have a more favorable post soon involving landing some fish waiting to inhale a few flies. Everyone take care