Tamarack Lake............

Thanks for the post! Was wondering what was going to happen with this place. I figured it would be gone for good. 

Nice lake just never had much fishing time on it. Hope it comes around again.

Ive fished this lake since i was young, right after it opened. If they refill it they should dreg some of the lake . Water temps in mid to upper 80's in summer not good.

Great pics and info  BTDT & Cap. 
I fished Tamarack Lake when it first opened.  It was nothing to catch "Bull Gills" on small flies.  I can remember when I would wade and come out of the water and find 10 to 20 small brown leeches on my waders.  Over the years as the number of leeches got smaller the fish got smaller as well.
 
I only hope that when they refill the lake that it will be a "Pan Fish" lake rather than a "Brood" lake for Muskey.

http://friendsoftamaracklake.com/PDFs/TamarackLake_ProjectTimeline.pdf the time line for the lake. http://friendsoftamaracklake.com/news.html the updates on where the current status stands. 

I'm afraid that by the time we can fish it again ( if ever) .... I'll be so old , I will not know what to do with a fishing pole .....I had a stroke back in Sept 2011 and my wife says I already lost a bunch of brain cells 😝 .... Oh by the way I had the stroke while on a fishing trip in Canada , 18 miles by boat back in the bush ... Thank God for my 2 buddies getting me out and to the hospital or I might not be typing this now ....

Thanks for the update old dog. I miss fishing that lake. Loved fishing it through the ice for walleyes. Like mopars, I will too old by the time it's fishable again.

Not to jump lakes but anybody fishing Woodcock Lake up that way ?
Do they still stock Tiger Musky there, or have they stopped that program also ?
Only fished it twice years back and struck out both times. 

The last time I was at Woodcock this year was towards the last of May. All we were catching was short walleyes and the occasional musky, mostly short ones also. None were tigers. One lunge in the over 40"class was kind enough to spit the Repala at the boat and not swim away with it.

Mike it's a real shame. I gotta wonder how the project would be moving along if Mr. Wolf or another PBFC official owned property boardering Tamarack?

Possibly the anglers and property owners of Tamarack could have the lake designated a "trophy bass lake" and receive support from B.A.S.S. then maybe Mr. Arway can split his time between his pet S.O.S. project and the S.O.T. project.

"IF" the plans "ever" do get approved..... the initial money set aside for the construction, will become the next issue to stall the project.

Thanks for taking time to post the story.

Any lake drained and lost is sad day, not only for locals but for all fishermen and outdoor people . It's nice to have a variety or selection of lakes to fish or visit in our areas.
Can't imagine young kids missing out on the enjoyment of growing up and fishing with friends at the nearby lake.
 
What's a lake worth in lifetime memories .....priceless !!!!!

Maybe I'm old or just nostalgic but growing up fishing our local swamp pond brings back good past memories. Walking a mile or so after school to fish with friends to catch a few blue gills and small bass was a favorite past time of ours. Sitting on the bank with a can of crawlers we picked the night before, dreaming about catching a huge Catfish or Bass. 
We never caught that dream fish back then but it was still fun just talking about it.
 
Most of those old friends are gone , some dead , some moved on, but growing up with that old swamp nearby was sure a lot of fun ! Every young fishermen should have such an experience as we did. Having a lake , creek ,or pond nearby makes that all possible . 
 
Our favorite "old fishin hole " Wheatland Swamp.
   

That is really cool thanks for taking the time to post the info.

I do wonder how much more this project will cost over the original budget because "too many cooks were in the kitchen".

Thanks again, very exciting news.

WEST MEAD TOWNSHIP — The Tamarack Lake project is back on track and construction will begin this fall.
 
State Sen. Michele Brooks reported Thursday afternoon that multiple state departments and one federal agency worked together to move the project forward.
 
"During the planning process for the Tamarack Lake project the federal government got involved," Brooks said, referring to the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS).
 
"We were able to negotiate with them to get this project back on track," Brooks said. "The NRCS is signing off and we've been assured construction will begin this fall."
 
The Pennsylvania Departments of General Services, Environmental Protection and the Fish and Boat Commission are working together to move the project along as quickly as possible, Brooks said.
 
"The West Mead Township supervisors, Township Secretary Jill Dunlap and Friends of Tamarack Lake group were a tremendous help," Brooks said. "I would like to thank them for their vigilance."
 
Melissa Fuller is a member of the Friends of Tamarack Lake group. "I'm so excited and happy," Fuller said. "We're back on track and going to get the lake back."
 
Fuller said she hadn't heard any estimation of when the lake might be expected to be restored. "We always heard construction should take two years, so that would be what I would hope for," she said.
 
Tamarack Lake, a 562-acre reservoir located approximately 3 miles southeast of Meadville, was formed by the construction of two dams in 1963 by the Soil Conservation Service to control flooding along Mill Run and Mud Run. 
 
An emergency drawdown and fish-salvage operation took place at the lake in August 2012 when consulting engineers discovered erosion areas around pipe at the lake’s northern end and voids in both the north and south dams. The lake, which is formed by two earthen embankment dams, had been lowered by about 4 feet in November 2011 when leakage was first detected.
 
Paul Urbanik, chief engineer for the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, has been managing the rehabilitation project for the past three years. In 2014, Urbanik said, “We’re hoping to have it filled by 2018.”
  
In March 2016, he said, “It looks like we could start construction by fall 2016 instead of the summer.” With a two-year construction process, the 2018 goal might still have been met.
The most recent update to the timeline was released in June 2016. It delayed the start time for construction on the project until April 2017 and extended the estimated time for completion to 2 1/2 years. According to that timeline, the lake is not slated to be refilled until the summer of 2020.
 
Another delay announced in December included Urbanik reporting there is currently no timeline for when Tamarack will be refilled.
 
Attempts to reach officials for an estimated refill date for the lake were not successful.

Tamarack Lake Update
Posted on August 8, 2017

Updates on the Tamarack Lake Dam Reconstruction Project will be available here whenever there is news to report from the PA Fish and Boat Commission.

https://westmead.org/tamarack-lake-update/

Update as of August 8, 2017 on Tamarack Lake is that the PA Fish and Boat Commission received the permits for construction from the DEP Division of Dam Safety on June 2nd, 2017. The project is now moving through the DGS pre-construction process to clear, accept proposals and award the project for construction. The Request for Proposal documents have been advertised and listed on PA eMarketplace and a pre-proposal conference was held on July 6, 2017 with an August 15, 2017 deadline for receiving proposals. Estimated time line includes start of construction to begin in October 2017 with a completion date expected to be in 2019.





The following update was provided on February 23, 2017.

Brooks and Roae Announce Project at Tamarack Lake to Proceed

HARRISBURG—Senator Michele Brooks and Representative Brad Roae are pleased to announce that the Tamarack Lake Project is back on track and will commence later this fall.

“It has been a long road, but multiple state departments, as well as a federal agency, have come together to move this project forward,” said Sen. Brooks. “The West Mead Township Supervisors, Township Secretary Jill Dunlap and Friends of Tamarack Lake were a tremendous help and I would like to thank them for their vigilance.”