Low Lake Is Good News For Bridge Work, Not So Good For Fishing
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DAVE’S WORLD
By David Howell
Barring any problems, construction on the new Gums Crossing bridge will be completed this year, possibly even as soon as late summer or early fall. The bridge on County Road 221 that crosses the Skuna River on the backwaters of Grenada Lake has been closed since early 2019.
Readers who have followed the story will recall plenty of complications in the most costly project ever awarded by the Yalobusha County Board of Supervisors with multiple delays since a $16.24 million bid was awarded to Malouf Construction in January, 2021.
Work started in early summer that year, but soon hit a snag after contractors discovered that four of the massive bridge spans from the old bridge were buried under almost 30 feet of silt in the lake bottom. The bridge spans fell into the water in 2020, a year after the bridge was damaged, and two of them were located directly where the pilings for the new bridge will be placed.
The cost for removing the concrete exceeded $3 million and was outside of the scope of the initial contract awarded for the job, pushing the total cost of the project north of $22 million.
High water has been another problem, in 2021 the lake crested at 226.86 feet on June 25. In 2022, it crested at 219.03 on April 22 and last year it crested at 216.11 on April 29. Currently Grenada Lake is a tad under 202 feet MLS, with 216 feet being the cutoff for construction. If the water level gets above 216 feet, it gets over the temporary work bridge and construction will stop until it recedes.
This year’s low water level is good news and I can’t think of anyone who will be more excited for the bridge to be completed than District 5 Supervisor Gaylon Gray. The bridge is in his district and Gray has fielded more questions (and complaints) than anybody in the county about the construction timeline. Gray is also one of hundreds of people who are forced to detour 30 miles or more, one way, to get to Coffeeville or other areas of Yalobusha County.
The only downside for a low water spring at Grenada Lake is for the crappie anglers, a low water spawn means fewer fry survive. Grenada Lake is one of the top destinations in the country for crappie anglers, regularly producing three and even four-plus-pound crappie.
Charlie Martin caught a 3.02 pound crappie last month, a big female that was tagged and released back into Grenada Lake.
There are dozens of crappie tournaments each year bringing anglers from across the country to compete. The fish guiding service is also a big business. My step-son went on a guided trip last month and his guide asked if they could release the fish over two pounds to let them grow. He caught one that weighed 3.02 pounds, and they tagged the fish and put her back in the water to lay her eggs and grow.
That would have been hard for me to do, the bigger the crappier the bigger the fillet and I love fried crappie. My step-son learned there are eating fish and then there are the giants, and many of the anglers who guide on the lake encourage their customers to release the big ones so they can keep growing.
I hate the low water spawn (unless we get a lot of rain soon) will not be good for the crappie, but am thankful the bridge should be completed this year. I can’t help but chuckle a little when I recall some of the stories Gaylon has shared about mostly one-sided conversations since the bridge closed. Some of the out-of-town crappie fishermen have given him the most grief. I can promise you Gaylon has done everything in his power to expedite the work in a project where the county’s federal and state partners call most of the shots.
