Dam fishing
 

It looks to me like fishing above and below the dams are going to be a thing of the past. right or wrong it is going to happen. I read dougs post this morning and it looks like a steel cable will be placed across the restricted area. No enforcement will be necessary. you will tear you boat up trying to cross the cable. Perhaps we can get the TWRA and Army Corp to dump rock piles downstream of the cables in the fast water. That would create an artificial reef to break the current and hold some fish. I haven't fished below a dam in a long time. Looks like a good fishery is being taken away for our own good. But my gut says this is going to happen. I wonder how long before TVA does the same thing?

they can tell you to wear a life jacket near the dam. they make kids wear one on all rivers. and you are in YOUR boat on OUR river. but they tell you what to do. oh wait the tell you to wear a seat belt in YOUR car. get my drift.

heck some states tell you what you can and can't do with the Natural resource called rain. even though it falls on the roof of YOUR house. but you can't store and use it.

You mentioned Doug's post. Where can I read this?

Doug's Facebook
 

Troutfiend, Let me know if this worked for you.

https://www.facebook.com/dougmarkhamoutdoors?fref=ts

I resisted getting on Facebook for a long time, but I have found that it is a very valuable organizing tool when you need to keep up to date on something like this situation with the Corps restricting tailwater access.

bd

You are comparing apples to oranges.

Wearing a seatbelt, or not, doesn't restrict access to roadways.

Wearing a life jacket, or not, doesn't restrict access to waterways.

Failure to use safety equipment merely makes you in violation.

My position remains. Unless and until this matter goes before a judge, it won't be a final issue.

The problem with your thought is you are viewing the land being owned by us as citizens (I agree that it should be) but the corp would tell you they own the propery surrounding the water and could completely restrict access tomorrow if they wanted to. Riparian rights mean little to them in this situation being that even those people who have docks don't "own" the land they sit on or connect to.
The fact that one man has the power to do this is what is most frustrating in the whole ordeal.
Big Government equals Big Problems

Pookie, no offense, but I know more about riparian law right now than you could tell me if I gave you 24 hours with Google.

bd

I feel obligated to stand up in Senator Alexander's defense on this issue.

Senator Alexander doesn't have much direct authority over the Corps of Engineers, but he did look into the issue and pushed the Corps to take public input before implementing their new policy. At a minimum, he delayed what probably would have been implemented with NO public communication at all if Lt. Col. DeLapp had his way.

To be clear, I wish Senator Alexander had done more. Maybe he still will. At least he's shown some active involvement and interest in the issue.

Compare that to the rest of Tennessee's Congressional delegation. Senator Corker passed the buck and did not do ANYTHING. Rep. Diane Black sent a nice e-mail response to people but refused to say a word to the Corps. I couldn't even get a reply from the rest of our elected reps.

THOSE are the people we need to remember on election day. At least Senator Alexander made some effort on behalf of his constituents. Nobody else did.

Oh, and by the way, saying Senator Alexander could immediately "cut off funding" from the Corps for this policy is a bit uninformed. The Senate doesn't individually approve every single line item in the United States Army's budget. We're talking about general operational funds to the Corps of Engineers that's already been appropriated, and no single Senator is going to have enough pull to do anything about that.

bd

The tailwater area is going to be considered federal property in the same way any other U.S. Army property is considered federal property. Yes, in a sense it's owned by the taxpayers, since we are a government of the people. But there's nothing in riparian law or admiralty law that will stop the Corps' power to restrict access in the manner they're discussing.

If the Corps barriers impeded navigability, there might be an issue. But some the dams at issue (Center Hill for example) don't allow upstream navigability anyway, and at the rest (like Old Hickory) the barriers are planned to restrict access to the discharge areas while leaving navigation through the locks unaffected.

bd

Alexander chairs the committee that funds USACE. While he wouldn't be involved in line item requests, that budget has to get past the committee before it hits the floor.

I'm not here to offer lessons on making laws and passing governmental budgets, I'm here to talk about fishing. But, since the two have become intertwined, I will assume my original posture. Diane Black nor Bob Corker have any involvement in the budgetary process for USACE. Understanding that politicians usual and ordinary modus operandi is to pass the buck, which they did, it fell squarely on Lamar's shoulders. In the very same way that you yield to the man who writes your check, Lamar has the power, if he will use it. He was spineless as a governor, and it seems nothing has changed.

Wow. I never thought I'd see a reference to the Riparian doctrine on this site.

I think Riparian was my Dr when I was little.....

I can discuss the "Rip Rap" but that's about it.


Regards

LOL

Sent from my DROID BIONIC using Tapatalk 2

BassMaster
 

BTW, this made it into an article called "The Race Is On" in the January issue of Bassmaster magazine.

Yes this link worked, Thank you. Apparently I need to join Facebook he posted an interesting statement today.

"Bottom line, still only 14 deaths below our dams since 1970 versus 868 in the lakes (which may also include the 14 deaths below the dam) That's 10 dams and probably millions of hours of mostly safe fishing".

10 year olds on jet skies, people skiing/wake boarding in very narrow rivers, drunk kayakers everywhere, 90mph bass boat collisions at night, lakes so crowded you can't fit a boat in sideways, and this is what they come up with for safety? Really???

This reeks of some kind of vendetta against sportsmen...

Response from Jim Cooper ?? <'TK><
 

Dear Mr. Walker:



Thank you for contacting me about the Army Corps of Engineers' plan to restrict access to certain waters for fishing.



I have met with local and national officials from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to discuss this issue and express the sentiments and frustrations from Middle Tennesseans.



As you know, the Corps-owned locks and dams on the Cumberland and adjoining tributaries are the only Corps projects in the nation that are not in compliance with these fishing restrictions. Last week, the Corps issued a final decision to enforce its long-standing national policy and will restrict access to these waters next year. However, the Corps said that fishing from the shores of these areas will still be allowed.



I support the rights of sportsmen, and believe in encouraging activities that can foster a love of the outdoors; however, we must also abide by the law and regulations. I hope that you will attend the Corps' public meetings on this issue in January 2013 to voice your concerns.



Thanks again for taking the time to share your views with me.


Sincerely,

Jim Cooper
Member of Congress

Response from Bob Corker ?? <'TK><
 

Dear Captain Walker,



Thank you for taking the time to contact my office to share your concerns about the Army Corps of Engineers limiting access to fishing near dams on the Cumberland River. Your opinion is important to me, and I appreciate the time you took to share your thoughts.



I understand the importance of fishing to many Tennesseans and I am a strong proponent of providing broad access to fishing areas when possible. As you know, the Army Corps of Engineers has not yet released its final proposal for possible access restrictions. My staff and I will continue to monitor the situation and when the final rule is released I will certainly keep your thoughts in mind as we move forward.



Thank you again for your letter. I hope you will continue to share your thoughts with me.






Sincerely,

Bob Corker
United States Senator

Blah blah blah blah blah blah blah.......see I can copy and paste just like a congressman.

Roy

Blah blah blah blah blah blah blah.......see I can copy and paste just like a congressman.

Roy

Thanks TK for your input to these two guys and Mike you are right on. I have been fishing these waters of middle TN and KY for 40+ years and they could spend all there time on the idiots.

I was looking for this or something regarding it on the BASS site and came across this:

http://www.bassmaster.com/news/bass-...ation-strategy

"The Corps stated that declining recreation program budgets required changes in its recreation program and program delivery. Concerned that the Corps didn’t use a public process to make these changes, B.A.S.S. provided the following letter outlining observations and concerns based on a thorough review of the plan by B.A.S.S."

Something in there sounds familiar... can't quite put my finger on it. :D

Here is the article:

http://www.landinglunkers.com/wp-con...BM_Article.pdf

You can either right-click and chose "save as" or click it and it should open in your browser.

. . . . blah, blah, blah:

__________________________________________________ ____________

From the Corps' Mission statement on their website:

http://www.usace.army.mil/About/MissionandVision.aspx

Mission
Provide vital public engineering services in peace and war to strengthen our Nation's security, energize the economy, and reduce risks from disasters.
__________________________________________________ _______________

Question: how does one become an elected official in our government and not understand the difference between MANAGING (ie: "services") the Public's assets and OWNING them? These guys employ STAFFS of lawyers. Why not get them to write letters that have some level of accuracy rather than put their grossly misinformed and ignorant "thoughts" on paper?

Earth to Rep Cooper: The Army Corps does NOT own these assets; although, we all realize how much they might covet the power that would come with this.

Christmas
 

All I want for Christmas is access to TN's dams.

Santa.... coal for the Corps.

amen to that!!