Creating a Lake

[EddieWalker]

We had quite a bit of rain last month and Lake Marabou has been full, but I haven't been able to see it overflowing until now. Friday night, we had a pretty intense thunderstorm come through that dropped 2 1/2 inches.

This morning, Steph and I took a walk down to the lake with her taking pics. There are allot of pictures, but it's impossible to capture the entire size of it. Hopefully you can get an idea of it with these pics.

The water coming through the overflow is about half an inch deep and perfectly clear. It's flowing nice and easy without causing any erosion. There is some grass that's bent and fattened, but you realy have to look for it. I have no idea how much water passed through there, but with it still flowing out after a day and a half, and nothing coming in, it must have been allot!!

Thanks,
Eddie

 

[KentT]

We had quite a bit of rain last month and Lake Marabou has been full, but I haven't been able to see it overflowing until now.

Looking great, Eddie. It's sure going to be beautiful when the lakeshore is all green and neatly mowed! That grass is really coming in nicely.

 

[Bird]

That's looking good, Eddie. I guess the only thing left now is to see how well the water level holds up during our summer droughts (something we may not have to worry about this year ).

 

[MarkV]

Eddie, with all the rain you are getting I’ll bet you really appreciate the fact that you were able to finish lake build last year when it was dry. We have your last year weather this year and our lake is down 11/2 feet.

Are you going to do any over seeding of your grass areas or just give it time?

MarkV

 

[jinman]

It's really cool when a plan comes together. You've turned a swamp into a super nice spot. I'm really happy for you.

Eddie, it looks like what you really need now is a paddleboat like ours. I know you have the small fishing boat, but those paddleboats are sure handy and easy to operate.

 

[patrick_g]

We have one of the smaller paddle boats (no surrey top, no cooler niche and no rear facing passenger seats) and it is fun with no battery hassles. However, ours is a two person unit with separate seats so with only one person on board it lists quite a bit as the CG is shifted way off center (by my 245 lbs.)

We also have a canoe which I personally prefer by a large margin. My wife prefers the paddle boat when solo or with a lady friend or kid. A couple grown friends like to take it out while doing catch and release bass fishing. I still prefer the canoe although it is NOT intended as a one man canoe as it is a bit over 17 ft long and over 3 ft wide amidships, a real cargo hauler which has served us on a few self guided white water river adventures. It is certainly manageable for a single paddler but if a smaller lighter canoe just happened to offer itself (even a plastic kayak) at a RIGHT price, I'd add it to the flotilla.

Paddleboats will entertain kids and are a more stable platform for the less coordinated but a canoe will go farther faster with less effort, especially if there is a little wind involved. This assumes upper body strength for paddling whereas the paddleboat uses your legs.

You pays your money and you takes your chances!

Or better yet... Get both!!

Pat

 

[EddieWalker]

KentT,

Thank you. The grass is really looking great in places, but in others, it's very sparse to non existant. I was mowing along the waters edge yesterday evening and was just about done when I got too close to the water and buried my front tire. One second it's there, the next it's gone. hahaha

I have some small ruts from the rain that I want to fill in and smooth out the dam, but I'm debating wether to do it now, or wait for the grass to fill in more and get thicker.

Bird,

I'm very interested to see how much the water drops during summer months. I was losing about an inch a week during winter and spring when it was dry out, but with the heat of summer, I expect it to be allot more. The yardstick in the water has been really a good idea to help keep track of the water level and how much it changes.

MarkV,

It really is amazing how lucky I got with the weather and my timing to build Lake Marabou. Before the drought, the area held water for most of the year. I tried draining it, but that was only partially sucessful. Taking out the trees and digging down as deep as I did would just have been impossible without the drought. The areas of my land that are just like the lake area are still holding a foot of water and I haven't been able to get into them since last fall. The more timber I clear, the more access I have, and the more I realize just how much swamp land I own. hahaha

I'm still debating about adding more seed. It seems that every week, there is more grass coming in. I really did put down allot of bermuda seed last fall, so it might just be a matter of time for it take over.

Jim,

Thank you. I told Steph yesterday that building Lake Marabout is not only the biggest thing I've ever created, but also the greatest!! There's really no words to describe what it's turned into and how nice it looks. We've taken hundreds of pics to try and capture it, and have failed with every one. It's my baby and I'm very proud of it.

Funny that you mention the paddle boat. Steph has been talking about getting one for awhile now. She reallly enjoyed yours when we were there and wants one of our own. I agree, but have only just started looking around. We've looked at the ones at Atwoods and Tractor Supply and haven't decided on either one. Prices are around $600. Does anybody know of another source or place to look at paddle boats?

Thank you,
Eddie

 

[EddieWalker]

Pat,

Thanks for the idea of a canoe. Neither of us have mentioned it, so that might be an option. The paddle boats we looked at have four seats and a canopy. They also have plenty of room for drinks and tackle boxes, which would be nice for us and the kids.

Right now the kids just love to go out on it while I paddle it around. We do little family boating trips where they hang over the sides and drag thier hands in the water while Steph takes pictures. It's fun, relaxing and quality time that they will remember all thier lives.

Thanks,
Eddie

 

[RobJ]

Eddie, I think everyone would agree we would prefer to see Stef by the lake...instead of you. I mean you are a nice guy and all...but...

And without the pig...and the gun. that's scary!!



Rob

 

[KentT]

Pat,

Thanks for the idea of a canoe. Neither of us have mentioned it, so that might be an option. The paddle boats we looked at have four seats and a canopy. They also have plenty of room for drinks and tackle boxes, which would be nice for us and the kids.

Right now the kids just love to go out on it while I paddle it around. We do little family boating trips where they hang over the sides and drag thier hands in the water while Steph takes pictures. It's fun, relaxing and quality time that they will remember all thier lives.

Thanks,
Eddie

Though I have a 17' canoe, I'm thinking of one of these mini-bassboats with an electric trolling motor. Even with lifejackets, I'm a bit leery of canoes. They're fine for the grandkids to putz around and go exploring in, but not to fish from... I can just see one of them hanging a 2lb bass, getting excited, then dumping everything and everyone else in the canoe out when they stand up or shift their position...

Mini Bass Boats

That same company has several types of paddle boats, but I'm not sure how shipping would be...

Pedal Boats