GAINESVILLE - It's yet another casualty of the drought: no more nighttime boating activity permits for Lake Lanier. And, even a veteran Lanier fisherman is surprised at some of the things he's seeing in the lake as the water level continues to drop.
The U.S Army Corps of Engineers is suspending approval of night boating events for safety reasons.
In addition, existing permits for day time fishing tournaments may have to be cancelled or rescheduled because of the number of boat ramps that have been closed.
Longtime Lanier fisherman Phil Wofford's agrees that nighttime permits should be suspended but questions taking any action on daytime permits.
Wofford says however, the impact should be minimal since this is the time of year when nighttime fishing typically drops off because the nights get longer and colder.
Wofford says he still fishes the lake regularly and you'd be surprised at some of the things that are turning up at or just below the surface of the water.
"We're seeing a lot of chimneys, a lot of pasture fences," Wofford says, things he recalls seeing in the 1980s when Lanier reached its all-time low of 1,052. "These are things that people who were not around at that time or maybe are newcomers to the area haven't seen and may not even be aware are in the lake."
Wofford says also the tops of plenty of trees which the Corps "topped" when the lake was built 50 years ago.
This year Wofford says he's even seen "a grease rack that you could actually drive a car out on and change oil."
Wednesday
January 22nd, 2025
8:09PM
