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Rodman Reservoir Drawdown
The Rodman Reservoir is a relic of the cancelled Cross Florida Barge Canal project. This reservoir is created by the Rodman Dam on the Ocklawaha River along the north side of the Ocala National Forest.
The tall stumps in these photos were tress that were drowned by the creation of the reservoir and are exposed like this during the periodic drawdowns of the lake level. This is done during the winter, typically once every three years to reduce the aquatic plants that clog the lake and river and also to dry out some of the muck. These drawdowns help improve the water quality of the man-made lake.
Both human and avian fishers take advantage of the drawdowns which concentrate the fish in a smaller volume of water. Bald eagles are abundant, often perching on the many exposed stumps. Herons, egrets and limpkins can also be found taking advantage of the drawdown.
The drawdown also exposes a number of springs that are now usually under much deeper lake water. One of these is Cannon Springs.
