Photo

Click on photo to enlarge

Phillip Gentry

Work is in progress to extend several Lake Hartwell ramps including this ramp at 18 Mile Creek. A local businessman is collecting donations to fund the Lake Hartwell Ramp Project.

I had the chance to try out one of the makeshift ramp extensions provided by the USACE on Lake Hartwell over the weekend. The Corps has added crushed rock and gravel to five of its longer ramps in an attempt to keep access to the lake open. Fortunately, the launch and takeout at Greenpond Landing in Anderson County were uneventful. Unfortunately, so was the fishing. My fishing partner and I had no problem launching my 22-foot War Eagle, but I’ll admit having a 4-wheel drive truck was a definite benefit when it came time to take out. It was hard to recognize the lake, I’m used to looking up 10 feet at the shoreline, not 20, to find my way around the lake.

A couple of weeks ago we ran a story on the Corps’ offer to partner with local lake user groups to extend some of the shorter ramps on Hartwell. The projects won’t make the ramps usable now but will make more ramps available in times of lesser drought. I think sometimes we forget that the Corps designed Hartwell primarily for flood control, and the expectations are that the lake should always be a full pond. Lesser levels are sure to occur in the future but hopefully this current level will be a once in a lifetime situation.

Kudos goes out to Tim Marchbanks, proprietor of The Bait Shop on Hwy. 24 in Townville. After hearing of the Corps’ offer to provide the labor to extend the ramps if user groups would be willing to donate the cost of the concrete, Marchbanks and several others including local anglers Virgil Brantley and Larry Browning have taken the initiative to be a collection point for a partnership with the Corps. The movement became an instant hit with many of Marchbanks’ customers who have made monetary contributions to the fund. Then, the Hartwell, Ga.-based Appalachian Striper Club made a $2,500 donation to the fund. Soon afterward, the Lake Hartwell Association came forward with a $2,000 contribution that has the Lake Hartwell Ramp Project well on its way of providing the materials necessary to extend the group’s list of 14 ramps around the lake. The project now has its own website, where contributors and lake users can go to monitor the progress of the ramp upgrades, view the list of contributors to the project and find out more about the project including how to contribute.

“There’s nothing we can do about the water levels,” Marchbanks said. “But if it’s going to be this low, might as well take the opportunity to make things better for the future.”

The first partnership that was already in place was the ramp at Eighteen Mile Creek located off Hwy. 187 in Anderson County. This project was donated by a local homeowner’s association and the grading, forms, and initial pouring were started this week. Also in the works on the Corps schedule is the extension of the shorter ramp at Twin Lakes Access area in Pickens County and the matching up of the two ramps at Twelve Mile Access near Clemson.

Lake Hartwell reached record-low levels back in late October, which forced the closure of all of the Corps-maintained boat ramps. Since that time, five of the closed ramps have been temporarily supplanted with crushed stone and gravel to facilitate loading and unloading of watercraft. While passable, these extended ramps are best used with caution.

For more information on the Lake Hartwell Ramp Project visit the website established by the group at www.klelectronix.com or contact The Bait Shop at (864) 261-6008.

Got outdoor news or photos to share? Contact Phillip Gentry at pgentry6@bellsouth.net