Shut the dam gate!

Yeah, it was an adventure that I do not want to repeat! Yes I could have gotten very angry but I was more startled than angry, and figured it was an emergency for the floods at that time, for them, otherwise,,... yeah, why would they risk our lives like that!? We were just glad to be safe and out of harms way and headed home.
*Be careful when you anchor below Bagnell dam! Always have a knife handy, and big enoug,h and sharp enough, to cut the anchor ropes just in case! There is allot of "stuff" on the bottom of the Osage River, below the dam, to get hung up on! They raise that water really fast sometimes and a 10 foot rise is not uncommon. They do blow a siren just as they are about to release water out of the turbines, but the flood gates,,... well I suppose there is none,,... or at least there was none that night. There really should be though. It was the last time, a few years back now, when all the flood gates were opened that this happened.
Thanks for letting me share my story. Good luck fishing and be careful out there, and I will be too! Sincerely!

That would be scary. I would think they would have a better warning system than that.

they usually do blare the siren over and over when they open the flood gates, but they don't always. I refuse to fish near dams for this reason. just too intimidating for me... I was fishing down below the dam at Ky lake last spring (WAY below the dam and from the bank) when a boat lost power and floated toward the dam due to back currents, then they let the gates open and the worst happened. I believe there were 3 of them and I heard later that they had their PFD's on. I didn't see it happen, thank god.
along the Tennessee and Cumbreland rivers, you can fish right up next to the dams if ya want. CRAZY! right now I believe officials are working to change that, but because of homeland security more than fisherman's safety.
when I catfish, I anchor a lot in the hardest currents of the missouri and 'sippi rivers, and for anchor rope, I only use 1/4" double braid. most guys say it is too thin and it will break under a load. I say GOOD!!! yeah, the thin rope is hard on my hands when I haul up the anchor, but when I need to cut free, it gives in 1 swipe every time.

We use small rope too for the same reason. I always thought it strange that you had to stay so far from dams in MO. But on fishing shows in other states they fish right next to the dams. Watched Denny Brauer last year(?) on his show he has with his son fish right next to a dam trying to catch bass. It showed nice catfish at the top of the water next to the concrete eating the moss ans stuff on the concrete. At least it looked like they were eating it. I would have loved to have fished there. I bet they would have hit a crankbait really good.

http://mail.yimg.com/ok/u/assets/img...cons/emo38.gifMan you had me on the edge of my seat...... Glad it all turned out OK.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by BJ67

http://mail.yimg.com/ok/u/assets/img...cons/emo38.gifMan you had me on the edge of my seat...... Glad it all turned out OK.

---

X2...that was a great story with a happy ending.

Yes they were that night, a bunch of jerks, There was only one in the little rail box, and I suppose one to boss him. I know at least the operator in the rail box saw us,,... because he yelled at us, and I know the guys in that "big boat" saw us too. They were anchored and were not fishing as far as I could see, and they did yell at the guy who almost hit them head on. I suppose I should have reported them but we were just happy to be alive!
I won't let this incident stop me from fishing there, on the line, but if that little box starts to head across the top of that damn, I am outa' there, Pronto!
That Osage can be tricky at times because of the rapid raising and falling fow. Please be careful! Good fishing! Thanks for letting me share this true story!