LDWF Schedules Drawdown for Nantachie Lake

Due to this, The Louisiana Division of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) has scheduled a drawdown for Nantachie Lake in Grant Parish. The water discount will begin on Sept. 4, 2023. The division mentioned the drawdown is required to enhance fisheries habitat and handle aquatic vegetation. The lake can be dewatered at a fee of two to 4 inches per day till it reaches 4 toes under pool stage.

In the course of the drawdown, warning is suggested when on the water as quite a few obstructions which might be usually not seen are current.

The earlier drawdown of Nantachie Lake was performed in 2012 when hydrilla was inflicting critical issues within the lake. Within the fall of 2012, roughly 56% of Nantachie Lake was coated with hydrilla with nearly all of the water matted to the floor with hydrilla.  The drawdown in 2012 was adopted with a stocking of triploid Grass Carp within the spring of 2013 which helped maintain the vegetation in examine.

Many locals think about the drawdowns to be an inconvenience the division mentioned it’s a obligatory technique to handle vegetation.

Drawdowns additionally profit sportfish populations by exposing the underside to air and quickly making baitfish extra obtainable to predators.  Exposing the underside to the air accelerates the decomposition of natural matter that builds up on the underside over time. This cycles vitamins and improves the spawning habitat in shallow areas the place sportfish usually spawn.

The lake draining is timed to benefit from prevalent late summer season, fall, and winter climate patterns. If favorable climate patterns don’t happen, the effectiveness of the drawdown is lowered. Because of this, some drawdowns are very profitable, whereas others may be much less efficient. The drawdown gates are scheduled to be closed on January 8, 2024, to permit the lake to refill.

For extra details about Nantachie Lake, see LDWF’s Nantachie Lake Administration Plans:  Lake Historical past and Administration Points and the Waterbody Analysis and Suggestions, up to date in 2020.

For additional data relating to the drawdown, contact Richard McGuffee, LDWF Biologist Supervisor, at (318) 487-5307 or at rmcguffee@wlf.la.gov.

Keith Lusher

Keith Lusher is an award successful outside journalist that resides in Covington, Louisiana. He owns and operates NorthshoreFishingReport.com and writes a weekly outside column for the Slidell Unbiased Newspaper. He additionally writes for the St.Tammany Parish Tourism Fee’s LouisianaNorthshore.com and Louisiana Northshore Discover Journal. He’s the previous host of The Northshore Fishing Report Radio Present and is on the board of the Louisiana Outside Writers Affiliation. Keith contributes to quite a few publications each on-line and in print and prides himself on selling South Louisiana’s distinctive fishery.