Delusions of Grandeur...

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

sumoj275

Sharpshooter
Special Hen
Joined
Sep 5, 2005
Messages
4,451
Reaction score
199
Location
OKC
been past there a few times. I have hunted prarie dogs all around that area. Water, what water? I remember this one time we were shooting some dogs with guys from northern IL and Wisconsin--they mentioned that we must be having a dry spell because the river sure was low, I said " that is the most water that river has seen in a 100 yrs" and they could not believe it. Yankees :^)
 

Shadowrider

Sharpshooter
Supporting Member
Special Hen Supporter
Joined
Jan 28, 2008
Messages
21,505
Reaction score
9,294
Location
Tornado Alley
Well I was going to go sight seeing today and was greeted with this. :pissed:
Evidently the guardrail is damaged somewhere down there and they had to close the road across the dam.

[Broken External Image]

Got a few pics but didn't get to the south side where I wanted to go. Next time I'm up here I'm going to the other side and get some cool pics. What happened to your pics 264? Like 264Magnum said, it is kinda weird driving around out there. The pavement in the pics below was going to be a parking area for the boat trailers. There are traffic signs, pavement markings and everything. And it's all grown up with weeds. Not another soul to be seen either.

[Broken External Image]
There is the North side boat ramp in about the center of this pic.
[Broken External Image]
North side boat ramp up close.
[Broken External Image]
[Broken External Image]
In the very far distance is the dam. Supposed to be water in there. Just weeds.
[Broken External Image]
 

RidgeHunter

Sharpshooter
Special Hen
Joined
Aug 7, 2008
Messages
9,674
Reaction score
723
Location
OK
Isn't the the site of the infamous "Guardrail in the middle of BFE" stimulus project?

I'm rarely out west, but would still like to check this place out.....if they don't stimulate us out of it for good.
 

Perplexed

Sharpshooter
Supporting Member
Special Hen Supporter
Joined
Apr 7, 2009
Messages
15,759
Reaction score
10,582
Location
Tulsa
I actually had to take a boat down to Optima Lake to do some fish sampling, about 10 years ago. It was a real job trying to find a location where we could launch a 1,500-lb boat. We ended up using a boat ramp to gain access to a relatively level area right up by the dam, and we backed the trailer into the water... about 100 yards from the end of the boat ramp. Not only that, but the water was so shallow, we ended up probably 25 yards into the water, truck and trailer and all, before the water was deep enough to push the boat off the trailer. We couldn't go any further without submerging the exhaust pipe on the truck; thank goodness the trailer had rollers. According to the depth finder, the water was 2-3 feet deep in most spots we sampled, with about 8-14 feet when we passed over the main channel. We hit bottom a few times, but nothing serious. Surprisingly, there were a fair number of channel catfish, largemouth bass, assorted sunfish, forage fish, and common carp. When we were done, we had to winch the boat onto the trailer, wade to the truck, and drive out up the bank, onto the boat ramp, and to the main road.

It was an interesting experience.
 

RidgeHunter

Sharpshooter
Special Hen
Joined
Aug 7, 2008
Messages
9,674
Reaction score
723
Location
OK
Who did you work for, Perplexed? I see you talk about fish sampling every now and then. You don't have to tell me if I'm being nosy (I am), I'm just curious if you were a private enviro scientist or worked for the gov't or something.
 

Shadowrider

Sharpshooter
Supporting Member
Special Hen Supporter
Joined
Jan 28, 2008
Messages
21,505
Reaction score
9,294
Location
Tornado Alley
I actually had to take a boat down to Optima Lake to do some fish sampling, about 10 years ago. It was a real job trying to find a location where we could launch a 1,500-lb boat. We ended up using a boat ramp to gain access to a relatively level area right up by the dam, and we backed the trailer into the water... about 100 yards from the end of the boat ramp. Not only that, but the water was so shallow, we ended up probably 25 yards into the water, truck and trailer and all, before the water was deep enough to push the boat off the trailer. We couldn't go any further without submerging the exhaust pipe on the truck; thank goodness the trailer had rollers. According to the depth finder, the water was 2-3 feet deep in most spots we sampled, with about 8-14 feet when we passed over the main channel. We hit bottom a few times, but nothing serious. Surprisingly, there were a fair number of channel catfish, largemouth bass, assorted sunfish, forage fish, and common carp. When we were done, we had to winch the boat onto the trailer, wade to the truck, and drive out up the bank, onto the boat ramp, and to the main road.

It was an interesting experience.

That's interesting. I wouldn't have thought it would have had a darn thing in it. But if they eat grasshoppers they are well fed, I can tell you that.
 

264Magnum

Sharpshooter
Special Hen
Joined
Jul 31, 2005
Messages
11,809
Reaction score
14
Location
The Gray Area
The photo host I used crapped out, here they are again.


Boat ramp
awww.leethacker.com_images_6hrvtbhtagjeduvgm6db.gif
[Broken External Image]
awww.leethacker.com_images_bxuvny85z06njdqgvqkb.gif
[Broken External Image]

Ground where the lake would've been. Those are deer tracks in the road.
awww.leethacker.com_images_z7kzk3vqbl0gxk9ncpc.gif
[Broken External Image]

Parking lot
awww.leethacker.com_images_ft63e073ppjlwlyf8syx.gif
[Broken External Image]

Where the lake should be
awww.leethacker.com_images_ttshjlnk3fhkbvyrwtu.gif
[Broken External Image]

Bathroom
awww.leethacker.com_images_vnvlr8ofkokf7vy016w.gif
[Broken External Image]

Picnic area
awww.leethacker.com_images_sd0kzbx5yarcxg14om8.gif
[Broken External Image]
awww.leethacker.com_images_bg2qawt6rnzdlaxejsfk.gif
[Broken External Image]

Entrance to the main campground
awww.leethacker.com_images_r0p046th2qi52luqv0kf.gif
[Broken External Image]

The "lake"
awww.leethacker.com_images_81xjz1ikb58r6ymvn99.gif
[Broken External Image]
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom