They only dredge downstream. Not sure where their limit line is but it's well down below Branson. They used to dredge up as far as Short Creek but no more.
Unless I'm missing something, it's common sense that kicking the bottom, dislodging 3-4-5-6 inches of gravel, hurts the bugs. Eggs, young bugs... but I don't know cause I'm not a biologist. Don't know of any studies... there has to be some out there- in other states?
Jim and I took a video camera and filmed underwater someone kicking (me) up rocks below the dam and it showed sow bugs being eaten but not many scuds (shrimp). You could clearly see scuds being dislodged but they quickly swam back into the rocks avoiding the trout. I say most, but not all. We were amazed how fast they were. But the sow bugs- they don't swim- and they were easy pickin's.
I want to do more filming when we get a good camera... wouldn't solved this issue probably but it would be cool to do again and put it on the website. Wish I knew what we did with the video file.
I do agree with the notion that generation is nothing compared to kicking. Gravel is disloged in a few places below the dam but those places are evident- clean gravel. But almost all the areas where kicking occurs, gravel is covered with algae which is evident that this gravel isn't being disturbed by the running water.
Taney isn't like a river at all. The flow is tumbling more than flowing straight, thus it doesn't move gravel as you're refering. If it does, there would be any gravel for the first 1-2 miles of the lake after 50 years of generation... and there's lots of gravel still within a few hundred yards of the dam.