Fort Gibson Dam Fisherman May Lose Fishing Hole

Monday, April 3rd 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

The corps of engineers says some local anglers are casting themselves in for a let down because they are breaking the rules. The controversy is brewing at the Fort Gibson Dam in Muskogee County.

Folks who fish below the Fort Gibson Dam say the anglers breaking the rules better start following them or they will all be out of luck.

For years, people could only fish about 250 feet downstream from the dam. That all changed about six months ago, when a group formed the Fort Gibson Dam Fisherman's Association. They convinced the corps of engineers to open up the area closer to the dam. Now, anglers have more room to fish and some say, there's better fishing up by the dam.

The problem is, too many people are throwing their lines close to the turbines, where they aren't supposed to. So the corps says if they don't change their ways, they will close down the area anglers fought to open up.