Lake Lanier Georgia - Lake Lanier Drought Marinas Parks

Benefiting the Boys and Girls Clubs of Hall County, the 9th Annual Duck Derby was a huge success last Saturday, May 19th. People donated from $5 for a single duck up to $100 for a pack of 25. All the 13,500 rubber ducks sold out by 11:30 at Clarks Bridge Park.

The lucky winner of the Derby took home a 22-foot pontoon boat, donated by Lanier Harbor Boat Sales & Service, with many more prizes on offer from a $100 shopping spree to a Sony Playstation.

Over the last month, we've been running a poll on LakeLanier.info, asking the question: "Does the southern part of Hall County need a Lake Lanier City?"

This was in response to the news earlier this year that people are thinking about the idea in the Flowery Branch area of Hall County.

The results of the survey:

Yes: 49.9% Maybe: 42.3% No: 7.6%

See the complete results here.

The Corps of Engineers said that low winter rain has left Lake Lanier in a bad position for the summer.

Currently, the lake level is three feet below the normal for this time of year, but during April the lake received only one-third of its normal input for that time of year.

As summer approaches, water demands will increase and the lake level will decrease. The effects may include:

• Low water levels in safe swimming area
• Boat ramps are expected to remain open for the season but will need to exercise caution when boating near the shoreline.
  

Last month, we mentioned that as part of Lake Lanier's 50th Anniversary celebrations, the Lake Lanier Association was holding a Shore Sweep to clean up parts of Lake Lanier.

The event was a big success and they now have videos of the day online. Click here to see the clips.

Some members of the Hall County Sheriff's Office go to places where very few other people ever go ... the depths of Lake Lanier. Down in the murky water, visibility is almost zero and below 60 feet the lake bottom is covered in trees. Its a much harder job than diving in a natural lake.

The officers need to dive down into the depths whenever they're looking for a drowning victim. They had to dive for ten victims in 2006 and seven in 2005.

That job just became easier, however.

Yesterday, the Corps of Engineers began a 4 month moratorium on issuing new Lake Lanier boat dock permits.

Last year, the Corps placed another moratorium on dock permits because the lake level was too low. This years' is designed to give them time to work out how many permits remain before the maximum of 10,615 is reached.

The moratorium won't affect the regular renewal or ownership transfer of permits, but it will allow the Corps to sort throught the current backlog of applications, work out which are valid. There are approximately 500 available permits remaining. By the time September arrives, the Corps will be able to provide a precise number.

There are less than 100 places remaining for the May 5th Lake Lanier Islands Triathlon Festival.

The event is known as "My First Triathlon" because it isa triathlon exclusively for first timers. For those who have already taken part there is something known as "My Next Triathlon". Both events 1/4 mile swimming, 12 miles cycling and 3 miles running.

Find out how to register by clicking here.

Lake Lanier Fishing Report from Tight Line Charters.

Month- Mid April
Lake Elevation- 1068.37 (2.63 feet low)
Surface Temp- 61 degrees
Water Clarity- The creeks are slightly stained and the main lake is aqua clear.

Stripers- The Striper fishing is easy one day and you have to work for them the next. The Striper bite, when it is on, has been lasting throughout the day. Most of the fish that have been caught, from my boat, over the last two weeks have been on the Red fin, live bait or the 4 arm Mack Farr umbrella rig.

The Lake Lanier Canoe and Kayak Club may soon have a tunnel that rowers can use to cross under the busy road dividing the two parts of the club.

The downside is that digging into Clarks Bridge Road will close it for up to four months. There will still be access to homes, boat ramps and venue boathouses, but only from the north side of the bridge. The project is part of a larger $5.3 million plan to build a new Clarks Bridge. Construction may start in the second half of 2007.

Areas around Lake Lanier have some of the fastest growing populations in the United States according to the Census Bureau. Gwinett, Forsyth and Hall counties have all grown by leaps and bounds during the last few years.

The population of Forsyth reached nearly 151,000 in 2006, fastest growing in the state and fifth fastest in the U.S. over the past six years. Gwinnett County grew by 168,600 to 757,100 in six years and Hall County reached 170,000, up from 139,315.

You may have noticed the water level indicator on the right-hand side of our site. Its now also possible to sign up for emails telling you when the level of Lake Lanier drops too low.

Cruising Lake Hartwell over Thanksgiving 2006 proved to be a time of creative inspiration for Doug and Jennifer McGaughey as they surveyed the number of docks and boats stranded, high and dry, on the red clay shoreline as a result of low winter lake levels.

Today sees another publich meeting about Georgia Department of Transport's $140 million plans to expand Browns Bridge Road between Hall and Forsyth counties.

The development would involve the remodelling of a bridge over the lake and would affect at least 520 properties along 12.5 miles, creating four lanes, with sidewalks, bike trails and a grass median available for future expansion.

Todays meeting is at McEver Elementary School in Gainesville at 4:00. You can also comment on the DOT Website.

Chestatee Golf Club in Dawsonville is a community with homes prices starting at $400,000 and a golf course designed by famous golf course architect Denis Griffiths.

Nonetheless it narrowly escaped foreclosure because of its failure to repay a $2.58 million note owed to Regions Bank. The bank had been intending to sell the course March 6 on the steps of the Dawson County Courthouse.

Chestatee escaped that fate by closing a $3.125 million loan from Textron Financial, a commercial finance company that is a division of Rhode Island-based industrial giant Textron Inc.

Textron has a golf finance division, located in Alpharetta, that has provided financing for other courses in Georgia.

The number of Lake Lanier spotted bass weighing in at more than 2 lbs. is currently at an all-time high according to an article in the Chattanoogan. Spotted bass in North Georgia normally with 1-1/2 if they are 3 to 4 years old.

The site mentions that Lake Lanier's deep, clear waters and steep rocky shoreline make the lake a prime habitat for spotted bass spawning and survival.

The website says that Lake Lanier spotted bass currently outnumber Lake Lanier largemouth bass by nine to one and that the recommended areas for catching spotted bass on Lanier are the lower and mid lake sections, including the major tributary creeks.