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Hey everyone I have been reading tons of posts and see people call the area circled in this picture lots of different thing like dead water channel, slack water, old channel etc. When they are talking about this, it is in fact the area I circled here correct? I am just curious more than anything. Seems a lot of people call it a lot of different things. Attachment 191249
The dead channel is where the dead fish are, the old channel is where the old fish are and the slack Chennai is where the slackers that are too lazy to bite are found.
Just kidding, all the same and the area you have circled is correct.
Sow tamer - this is off topic but I couldn't resist. I am afraid your signature line of "Give someone a fish and you feed them for a day; teach someone to fish and you feed them for life" is a little out of date. Now if you give a man a fish and then attempt to teach them to fish the reaction is "What? No more free fish? I'm entitled to my free fish! I demand my free fish!"
Where is this picture is the 'Weir'?
I believe the weir is in front of the dam about 300 feet on the Truman side and is a concrete wall under the water.
You are correct . It is the original river channel before the dam was built.
Here are two pics that show the weir before it was flooded.Attachment 191273Attachment 191274
WOW, thanks, never knew that before and have never seen them pics before. Thank you for that info and the pics.
I have to give credit to jigging15. He sent me the pics.
I love those old construction photos of the dam. I wish I could find a bunch of photos online of the old river and things right as they were flooding Truman. My dad and Grandad said it was quite a deal. I was born in 75 so I have never seen the lake area any other way.
Great pics. I never seen before, thanks sure helps!
Is the bridge still there?
Jeff thanks for adding those pics. I seen this post today and was going to add them pics this evening. Pretty neat seeing the old pictures.
seeing pic like that give fishing those areas whole new meanings, very cool
The bridge is gone
Ok, thanks! Now explain this, if the dead water channel is in line with the lookout bluff, which I assume is where the old channel ran, why is the bridge in front of the dam. Is the dead water channel not really the old channel? Just things going through my head. I was always told the weir dam was built to hold river back while building the dam. I like this thread. Love the pics!Quote:
Originally Posted by jigfisherx
Interesting. I didn't catch that. By looking at the pictures, the lower picture is during construction, and you see no bridge. The upper picture shows the bridge and water below the damn. Looks like the bridge was built to allow transportation until the lake was full possibly, and then they opened the road across the damn like it is now??Quote:
Originally Posted by Jerkey Log
If you have some time and want to do some reading on Truman this link is interesting.
http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/vi...eographythesis
I am going to read that for sure. I am also going to buy this book. Damming the Osage From what I can read the authors sure seem to think that Truman Dam and Lake are a negative thing as far as the Osage River goes but there are a ton of pictures and history in it from what I can tell online.Quote:
Originally Posted by peculiarmike
this has been a great thread so far. I appreciate all the little tid-bits of local history as well as the info, very fascinating! I wish I had been a local to warsaw back then, so I could see the process. I would think that a fisherman who knew the landscape well before the lake was built would have a huge advantage. it would be cool to catch a crappie out of the same tree you shot your first squirrel out of!
I saw that book while trying to find a map of the river pre dam. It looked like it would be a great book of the history of the Osage river.
I would think by pic that the bridge and roadway were the old 7 hwy, maybe not.
I just thought the dead channel was the old river channel, maybe not, maybe they built it to divert the water while dam was under construction. Maybe what is know as the weir dam is just the old road rip rap?
I did find a map that you had to go to Kansas City library to view, was not available online.
Not that it really matters, was hoping some of the old timers had some answers to these thoughts. I have faint memories of sitting on the bluff overlooking the Osage River at H Row Bartel scout camp, also got canoeing merit badge below that bluff.
Wish it would warm up!!!!
The bridge over the river was the old swinging bridge in town. Was 1'lane and I would not want to take a big truck across. The bridge at the weir was just temporary while the construction of the dam was going on. The old river channel followed the bluff to what is now called the dead water etc.
Thanks guys! Awesome info!
Thats a classic good job
you got that spot on us ol timers know
That's where my wife kept saying she was hanging up in the rocks. Strangely enough, those rocks kept swimming away. Two catfish rocks and one largemouth rock.
It is not a "weir" as such. A weir is a barrier across the horizontal width of a river that alters the flow characteristics of the water and usually results in a change in the height of the river level. Weirs are commonly used to control the flow rates of rivers during periods of high discharge. Some have gates in them similar to a dam. But it is not a dam.
On Truman "the weir" is simply the remaining submerged temporary roadbed constructed to allow traffic around Truman Dam while it was under construction. It had a concrete bridge in it which was removed before the lake filled, leaving a gap in the roadbed. To some extent the flow pattern of water up and over the roadbed alters the water flow pattern in front of the dam, depending on the amount being released through the dam, as it flows to the dam gates. The dam side of the roadbed is a quiet area and holds fish, much as the down river side of a wing dam in a major river does.
It would be more accurately referred to as "the roadbed".
If you fish La Cygne Lake over in KS it has the same type roadbed feature under it except the concrete bridge is still there. And holds fish.