Winter Pool Lake Level's
 

Where can i go to find the winter pool lake levels for Old Hickory and JPP?
I thought they would have started dropping them down by now or have they and i just havent paid much attention?

The Wikipedia for JPP says November to March but no specific dates. Can't find specific dates for either lake but I'm sure if you call TWRA or TVA you can find out.

Thanks, i will get in touch with them and see what i come up with.
I appreciate the help!

From a Q&A Army Corps

Q: When does the lake drawdown occur and when is the water level raised again?
A: The J. Percy Priest drawdown typically begins in late September or early October at typical summer pool elevation between 489.5 and 490.5 feet above mean sea level (msl). The drawdown will continue until late November or early December to a winter pool elevation of approximately 483 feet above msl. The lake elevation will remain at winter pool until early March, when the lake elevation is gradually returned to summer pool. Lake elevations can fluctuate during this period because of seasonal rainfalls and other inflows.



As for Old Hickory I only have found info on the River Below (Cheatham Lake) If they do lower Old Hickory it is a very small window as it hardly ever
changes elevation.

Info on Cheatham :
The normal pool elevation of Cheatham Lake is 385 feet above mean sea level (msl). Cheatham is a run-of-the-river navigation project, and there is no scheduled winter drawdown. However, the lake elevation may rise during major rainfall events.
Below the dam, the normal summer pool elevation of Lake Barkley is 359 msl, and winter pool elevation 354 msl. The Lake Barkley pool extends all the way upstream to the lower side of Cheatham Dam.
To hear a recording of lake levels, hydropower generation schedule, water temperature, and general fishing information call (615) 792-2190 or visit the web site.

OH Winter pool <'TK><
 

Halli .... As for Old Hickory I only have found info on the River Below (Cheatham Lake) If they do lower Old Hickory it is a very small window as it hardly ever changes elevation.


The Cumberland River chain does not draw down for any specific season ... <'TK><:)

Percy has not started their drawdown yet.

Heres a website with a graph of JPP water levels in previous years that I had found a few years back. Its useful and I refer to it often to see what the average water level is throughout the year. You can see that they typically start drawing down at or a few days before October 28th. Than they typically start bringing the lake back to summer pool around the first week of March, being at full pool by May.

http://percypriest.uslakes.info/Level.asp

Once again just a lot of great info on this forum. Love it


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Looks like it should be anyday now for lowering Priest then. When the spillways are left open for a while to lower it, I'll be there looking for rockfish!

NOT Sure if this helps?
 

Over the last 4 years on Percy Priest, the draw down started between Oct. 15-23, so I would expect it to begin soon, most likely next week sometime.

Old Hickory does not normally have a draw down, it stays around 445.0

I've only had a couple outings when the gates were open at PPL and still not sure how to fish it. Do you bottom fish with a Carolina rig or similar? Or do you cast up and let it float down to you with a spoon or similar? Any advice appreciated -

You mean below the dam? I went there one night with a few members of this forum and found a little eddy at the wingwall of the dam. Kept tossing a crappie magnet in there and caught about a dozen fish, different species, including a 14" spotted bass and a 15" largemouth. Other than that, I'd suggest drifting spoons and swimbaits in the current. You never know what you'll catch below a dam during generation.

Yes below dam I've only fished a couple of times - Ill let'm drift when they start generating. Thanx