Differences Between Highland And Lowland Reservoirs

[Ozark_Basser]

You always read articles distinguishing between highland and lowland reservoirs.  What are some of the key differences in how bass and baitfish behave between the two?  How are their seasonal patterns different and why?

[Team9nine]

As a basic rule of thumb, highland tends to be deeper/steeper and clearer water, while lowland is shallower/flatter with more stained water. This link should help answer a lot of your questions and save us from a whole bunch of typing   http://www.kevinvandam.com/news/article/kvds-6-season-bass-guide/

 

-T9

[deep]

****

The In-Fisherman classification of impoundments are;

Canyon

Plateau

Highland

Hill-land

Flatland

Lowland

 

All the changes in the terrain that classify these impoundments are clear cut by

there land forms. A trip by car across our nation could mean traversing a great

variety of terrain. Swamps and marshes. coastal lowlands, plans, high and low

hills, plateaus, canyons and mountains. Water has been impounded in all of these

landforms. For example, flatland are more common in the broad Mississippi plans

than in the Appalachian high lands. The hill-land class, meanwhile is the most

difficulty to pinpoint because it is a transition between the highland and flatland

classes and can appear almost anywhere. For instance, lake Shelbyville in Illinois

is in the hill=land but Rend and Caryle, its sister reservoirs are both flatland types.

 

Why is this important to know for bass fishing? The type of water you fish

determines where the bass locate and what their primary prey source should be.

If you are a traveling fisherman that bass fishes in more than one locality, you

can determine where the general bass location should be before you start fishing.

 

General classification characteristics;

 

Canyon; Water quality is ultra clear, bass grow to about 10 pounds, prey is shad,

crayfish, dam is concrete, water level fluctuation about 10 to 150 feet, purpose

of the dam is power generation and some flood control/irrigation.

 

Plateau; Water quality is clear to off color, bass grow to about 5 lbs, prey is

shad, sunfish and salamanders, dam is earth and small concrete spillways, water

fluctuation about 5 to 25 feet, dam is mainly for irrigation.

 

Highland; Water is mostly clear, bass grow to 12 lbs, prey is shad, crayfish,

sunfish, eels, salamanders, dam is all earth or all concrete, water fluctuation 12 to

20 feet, dam has many purposes, power or irrigation.

 

Hill-land; Water is slightly off color, bass grow to 10 lbs., prey is shad, crayfish,

sunfish, fresh water shrimp, dam is earth with some small concrete spill ways,

water fluctuation is 2 to 10 feet, dam is mostly flood control and irrigation.

 

Flatland; Water is off color, bass grow to 15 lbs, prey is shad, sunfish, frogs, eels,

dam is earth, some have concrete spillways, water fluctuates 2 to 8 feet, dam

used for flood control and irrigation.

 

Lowland; Water is coffee colored to clear, Florida strain bass grow to 18 lbs., prey

is a wide variety depending on region, dam is concrete, water fluctuation 2 to 8

feet, dam used for power and maintain the watershed.

***

 

From a very very interesting discussion on this on another forum (post by Tom).

[WRB]

Deep's explanation is very good; In-Fisherman coined the terms. To have highland reservoirs you need mountainous terrain, lowland you need flat coastal terrain. The classification that most heartland bass lakes fall into is hill land and highland. Arkansas, Missouri, Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama, North and South Carolina and Georgia, the lakes are mostly Highland, Texas Oklahoma, Louisiana, Mississippi the lakes are mostly Hill land, Georgia coastal, S. Carolina coastal and Florida the lakes are Lowland.

In California where I am most lakes are highland, Clear lake is a natural lake, Havasu is a Canyon lake, no lowland lakes.

Tom

[Montanaro]

Lowlands typically have more grass and timber and less or no pelagic baitfish. Bass will be relatively shallow all year due to presence of grass to insulate water. Frogs bugs sunfish and minnows are primary forage.

Highlands are rockier and deeper. Main prey is pelagic baitfish and crawdads. Bass orient to depth changes like humps points and ledges that force schooling shad into a tighter area. Lack of insulating grass and presence of shad will push the bass deeper in summer and winter.

[deep]

Deep's explanation is very good; In-Fisherman coined the terms. 

 

Umm, the explanation is not my work. You posted that elsewhere Tom, back in 2007.

[Inflatable Raft Bum]

Where do strip pits fit in (with median depths of over 50' LOL )

[WRB]

Keep in mind the lake classifications apply to man made impoundments, not natural lakes or ponds.

What this means is dams were constructed on rivers to perform various task ; flood control, water storage and power generation. The valleys where these rivers flowed before being damed had communities, towns, farms, ranches that became flooded as the reservoirs filled. The smaller streams, creeks and the main river beds along with road beds, foundations, bridges, culverts, etc are still underwater. The term creek arm is a flooded valley with a creek channel, the main lake basin will have a river channel, knolls become humps, ridges become points, etc.

Threadfin and gizzard shad, largemouth bass, bluegill, crappie were planted into these lakes and small natural lakes and ponds flooded also provided to the fish species.

When you hear and read about bass fishing terms, most are related to Hill land, Highland and Lowland reservoirs.

Tom

PS, 2007, wow been on these sites too long!

[deep]

Tom, how does age of a reservoir affect the locations fish relate to (if at all)? I'm thinking that in older reservoirs, some structures, say the main and feeder creek channels might be silted in. A small hump might become an insignificant part of a flat. Do the fish relocate to more pronounced features?

[Catt]

Tom, how does age of a reservoir affect the locations fish relate to (if at all)? I'm thinking that in older reservoirs, some structures, say the main and feeder creek channels might be silted in. A small hump might become an insignificant part of a flat. Do the fish relocate to more pronounced features?

In order for main river & feeder creeks to silt over there must first be ample runoff with little or no way for the water to escape.

On other lakes the main river & feeder creeks actual get deeper.

On others there is little to no change in depth

There are lakes that overlap catogories

While Tom is fast to credit In-Fisherman for "coining" names it was the USGA that appointed name based on geological location.

[WRB]

Catt, I give credit where credit is due, I first read of the lake classifications in the early In-Fisherman study report issue in 1975 and will look up the exact report number. If these classifications existed prior to that, In-Fisherman made no reference to it. Agree it!s a logical assumption, however never read a USGA topographic or hydrographic map with a lake classification description prior to 1975.

We get siltation in our lakes from severe rain run off that can fill in lake bottom areas, changing structure features to the extend dredges pump out silt against our dams.

Tom

PS, Sam Rayburn and TB were classed as Hill land in the In-Fisherman report.

[Ozark_Basser]

I have mostly fished the White River chain of lakes (Bull Shoals, Table Rock, and Beaver Lake).  I wasn't really sure if they were considered highland or lowland reservoirs until now.  Highland definitely fits the bill.  

[Catt]

United States Geological Survey founded in 1879

Mission: Classification of Public Land

Highly doubt the USGS asked In-Fisherman for classification resetvoirs!

Y'all should spend some time over there & enlighten yourself on classifications of bodies of water & structure.

Tom I am quite aware of the classification of Rayburm & Toledo Bend!

[WRB]

United States Geological Survey founded in 1879

Mission: Classification of Public Land

Highly doubt the USGS asked In-Fisherman for classification resetvoirs!

Y'all should spend some time over there & enlighten yourself on classifications of bodies of water & structure.

Tom I am quite aware of the classification of Rayburm & Toledo Bend!

Not classification of impoundments.

We both know how read topo maps, can't be good structure angler without those skills.

[Catt]

I have a map of Toledo Bend from USGS that shows 3' contour lines, it's dated 1959!

Uhhh!!! Toledo Bend is located in Texas/Louisiana hill country so I wonder what classification it would have?

[WRB]

I have a map of Toledo Bend from USGS that shows 3' contour lines, it's dated 1959!

Uhhh!!! Toledo Bend is located in Texas/Louisiana hill country so I wonder what classification it would have?

Classification is named after the terrain........3' great map, does it have all the old road, farm houses etc? Must be several maps with the length of TB, Love those old maps and any aero photos before the lake was flooded. I have photos and old topo maps of the small lakes I fish, most are 5', today's Navonics maps are 1' and fairly accurate considering the depth of these lakes. Our lakes should be called mountain if you believe the USGA map description reference to the highest mountain in the map region.

Tom

[Catt]

I actually have just 2, they are huge survey maps that roll up to fit into a tube. The first dated 1959 was drawn 4 years after initial feasibility report.

The second is dated August 1967 after land acquisition

It show piles of timber that were formed by bulldozers building boat lanes. There's houses, buildings, foundations, cars, trucks, tractors, & yea a couple school buses.

USGS, y'all ought to dig around on that site!

Visit Town Halls or County Seats, there millions of maps out there!

Oh yea, every thing ain't on the web.

[WRB]

I actually have just 2, they are huge survey maps that roll up to fit into a tube. The first dated 1959 was drawn 4 years after initial feasibility report.

The second is dated August 1967 after land acquisition

It show piles of timber that were formed by bulldozers building boat lanes. There's houses, buildings, foundations, cars, trucks, tractors, & yea a couple school buses.

USGS, y'all ought to dig around on that site!

Visit Town Halls or County Seats, there millions of maps out there!

Oh yea, every thing ain't on the web.

Thank you, when I was really into bass fishing 30-50 years ago finding topo maps was a passion of mine. Knowing what is under the water gives anglers the edge needed to consistently locate bass on isolated structure area, they are treasure maps! We didn't have way points, so making 1" vertical and horizontal grid and numbering the horizontal grid and using alpha letter for vertical grid, you could make reference to what squares had good spots to try or where you caught bass; G19 square, hump with brush on south end, 18', wind 15, air 60, water 58, brown jig, 3 mar 72 in your log book. We had to triangulate to find and return to those spots, so we added notes for visual land marks. Today, GPS makes it simple, but the old survey work with map study etches those spots into memory better than electronic units can. As you noted, the maps are still in survey drawers to discover.

Tom

[Ozark_Basser]

I can't seem to locate topo maps online of small city lakes like Lake Willastein or Lake Valencia in Maumelle, Arkansas. Do you guys know of any sites, or will I have to look around town?

 

Catt, what was the website you're saying we should dig around on?

[F14A-B]

Check out your Local Land Surveyor, or the county surveyor's office... There's a treasure trove of info avail. Like Catt said... I know, I surveyed Clark co, for years...these maps can also divulge hidden areas of public land for hunting opportunity's as well as other legal matters.

[Catt]

Google USGS

[J Francho]

Google USGS

 

http://bit.ly/1xWAKLs

[Team9nine]

Classification is named after the terrain........Our lakes should be called mountain if you believe the USGA map description reference to the highest mountain in the map region.

Tom

 

I'm siding with Tom on this one, until someone can show otherwise. Nevin Fenneman's paper Physiographic Subdivision of the United States, published in 1917 is where this all started (Edit: USGS adopted his map in 1915-16, and he published his work in 1917, along with two books on the subject in 1931 and 1938. He was a geologist, geographer, and teacher in the Dept. of Geology, University of Cincinnati when this was done, and worked closely at times with the USGS, but not directly for them). But no one entity appears to have directly applied those names in an effort to specifically classify reservoirs (Google "reservoir classification system" and you only get 25 results). If they had, and if they were widely published or recognized as such, we would also have classifications like mountain, tundra, prairie, coastal, and  plains reservoirs, among others - probably 2 dozen different kinds or more, as there are 8 regions and 85 separate land classifications in the physiographic map of the U.S. But almost nobody outside of specific industry circles (for example, EPA was generating their own highly elaborate classification system back in 2009) refers to those types of reservoirs, instead using the widely accepted classification system developed by In-Fisherman (Al, Ron and one or two others) back in the 70s, or a very close model thereof. Buck Perry used very similar nomenclature to describe reservoir types, possibly even before In-Fish guys did, though I haven't been able to pinpoint exactly when he put his system down on paper. Wouldn't surprise me if the I-F guys built off Perry's roots. Regardless, here are just a couple examples in print recognizing the I-F reservoir classification system as the basis for what we (anglers) use now.

 

http://www.sdafs.org/reservoir/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/RFHPStrategicPlan1.pdf

report pg. 24, Appendix I: Reservoir Classification, report pg. 44

 

http://reservoirpartnership.org/Subcommittees/Science_data/Asheville_2010_meeting/Sci_Data_Mtg_Notes.pdf

see top of last page

[Ozark_Basser]

Yeeeeaaaah. I grasp the concept of using Google. However, when you visit the USGS website it says URL cannot be found. Bummer

[Catt]

I can explain it to y'all but I can't understand it for y'all!