Thursday, February 21, 2013

The Day I Got Stranded on Lake Wedowee | I Love Lake Wedowee

One of our local youngsters wrote this story for Randolph County Gifted Program's Keepsake book that Lake Wedowee Life is currently publishing.

The Day I Got Stranded on Lake Wedowee
by Beau Causey

One day I went to my grandaddy's house. My uncle Jake was there and we decided to go on a fishing trip. We went at 4:00 pm. We went six miles on the lake. We went all the way to the old white shoals. It was a long trip. We saw a boat that was solid steel. We went to the shoals and the next thing we knew the motor broke. It was bent. My uncle got the tools and tried to fix the motor but then a tool fell in the creek. There was a container in the steel boat. We got it and I had to bale water out of the boat. We got back home at 9:00 pm. We were gone for 5 hours. We got to keep the steel boat and it works.


If you have a story about why you Love Lake Wedowee then please Share the Love and submit it here: http://ow.ly/hVg1e

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Lake Wedowee Boy Scout Skills | I Love Lake Wedowee



 I Love Lake Wedowee
by; Chris Bridges


With only one thing left on my ‘To Do List’, I'm getting sidetracked by daydreaming about winding down those late summer nights then turning down the A/C to -12.  I've spent nights in some nice hotels and resorts.  While they have been the pinnacle of luxury, there is still something special about the smell of blankets that sit on the lake house closet's top shelf waiting for my arrival.  I have also been dreaming about day trips and cold air but life calls and both dreams get interrupted.  

Days click by faster and faster, Christmas slips up like someone stole eight months out of the year and birthdays come so quick that from time to time I honestly forget how old I am. Life goes buy at an alarming pace.

For me there are a couple of places that stop time; the flat where a forestry road fords Mill Creek in the North Georgia Mountains and Lake Wedowee.  This time of year the weather is a gamble and daylight is still short. Drive time makes the difference.  Lately I have been taking every opportunity and driving to see the lake.  On an off day from work last week, I spent 4 hours next to a fire, watching it rain on the water.  I felt like survivor man all tucked up under a tarp telling myself stories and laughing at my own jokes.  I had just enough fire wood to keep it rolling and stay warm while the rain came pouring down, and fires make me hungry.  No one brought me lunch… then again no one knew I was there, so a can of chili left in the lake house over the winter eased the pain.
I love the outdoors. I love to put my Boy Scout skills to good use, and if I am going to split, load and haul wood down here for a fire on a cold winter day...I love Lake Wedowee.

Monday, February 4, 2013

LWPOA Update January 2013

The Lake Wedowee Property Owners Association have been hard at work during the off season working on numerous projects to better life on Lake Wedowee. The organization has been instrumental in the Renew our Rivers Lake Cleanup, the Piedmont Plateau Birding Trail Fox Creek site and improving our fish habitats with the Christmas tree campaign.

Lake Cleanup
Renew our Rivers is a program sponsored by Alabama Power and with the help of volunteers around the Southeast has removed more than 10 million pounds of trash from 2000 to 2009. The trash and debris removed includes bottles and cans to tires, water heaters, refrigerators and boats. This total encompasses cleanups in Alabama, Georgia, Florida and Mississippi. The 2013 dates of the cleanup will be October 23-26. Betty and Marlon Glover are the LWPOA liaisons for lake cleanup.

Birding Trail
The Fox Creek site is the third Randolph County location on the Piedmont Plateau Birding Trail and is adjacent to the Fox Creek boat ramp 4 miles west of the Highway 48 bridge. The site was dedicated in December and is a joint effort of the LWPOA, the Randolph County Chamber of Commerce, the Alabama Tourism Department and Alabama Power.
Volunteers have been working toward opening the site for a year, rounding up local sponsors and coordinating support, cleaning up trash, marking trails, and building a parking area and information board. At this time more than 1.5 miles of walking paths have been fully developed, with another mile of rustic trail available and much more in the works. The terrain is a great mix of open land, brush, forest and lakeshore, attracting a wide variety of birds from herons to hummingbirds. Members working on the trail have spotted dozens of species. A local spotting list should be available during the coming year.

Fish Habitat
For the second consecutive year, the LWPOA will be working with Alabama Power Company and the city of Carrollton, GA to collect and install Christmas Tress for our Fish Habitat. We need your help with trucks and trailers to bring the trees from Carrollton to Lake Wedowee. The association plans to install the trees in the lake bed in mid-February and will need volunteers.

Waterfall Cleanup
Lake Wedowee's very scenic waterfall is located in a cove off the Big River in the Sandy Creek area. Over time, this area has collected debris and fallen in to disrepair. With the approval and cooperation of Alabama Power Company, the LWPOA will undertake to remove the debris and improve this beautiful area for the enjoyment to all. Again, the association will need volunteers to help. They are targeting February for this project. Please contact a Board Member to help.

LWPOA Board Members
Current officers and board members of the Lake Wedowee Property Owners include Chairperson Melinda Freeman, Vice Chairperson Kevin O'Neil, Treasurer Nan Ferebee and board members Dennis Hightower, Nick French, Betty Glover, Judy Haley, Jim McAlear, Barry Morris and Jim Vice.




For more information on the property owners association, please visit our website at www.lakewedoweepoa.com

Hooked on Lake Wedowee A lesson is tournament blocking

Hooked on Lake Wedowee
by Bonny & Wendell
Huddleston



Wendell and I were fishing in a local fishing club where we had tournaments once a month. There was no big money to win but it was meant for fun and competition, which is right up my alley. At the end of the season your total pounds caught are totaled and if you’re lucky you can receive a trophy.

During one of these tournaments we were fishing along the bank. Wendell was in the front running the trolling motor fishing to his right, and I was in the back fishing to my left. The fish limit per tournament is 5 per fisherman. At daylight I started catching the heck out of fish and by 9 am I had my limit of 5. At that point I started culling, trying to get bigger fish than what I already had. Wendell had zero fish. Suddenly I see Wendell changing his lure to what I was fishing with. And I start to feel the boat turn until we had switched positions. “What in the heck are you doing?” I asked him. “I’m teaching you the meaning of tournament block!” he informed me. Needless to say at the weigh in he actually had more pounds of fish than I did.
The moral of this story is be sure you run your own trolling motor and if you can’t beat em just block em!

Small Town Life: Why I Love Lake Wedowee

Small Town
Life
 by Chris Bridges




“If a tree falls in the woods without anyone present, does it still make a noise?”
Well, what about… When we are away from the lake, is it still there? Yes, I usually think about ridiculous things like that, and today just started as usual.

A quick decision and out the door with coffee in hand, grabbing for whatever I might need, my mind on the road long before I even left the driveway. 

Several weeks have passed since our last big bash, but the memories are still fresh. Man, that old grill can cook… Even though nobody every compliments the dude standing over it. 

Dogs playing harder than the boys because mama’s layering on the sunscreen, beach chairs transformed into dock chairs, and the same old Willie Nelson tape has survived another year.

When I usually take this trip, I think about who’s going to be there, who is coming and where I will sleep. But, this time around it’s just me and despite my vivid memory of a crowd at the house, today I’m alone.
There are no boats to follow on this trip which allow for a record setting pace of getting downtown. 

This is a humble, dedicated, loved and admired place. I’m talking about main street Wedowee. Yes, downtown Wedowee, Alabama.

A few turns later, I arrive at my destination. The leaves lingering in the trees were few. All the others hide the gravel driveway. It’s so nice seeing the water. I cleaned a spot on an old cross tie and sat a while. No boats. No crunch on the road above. Cool air had replaced thick summer breezes. Everything was there. 

Everything seemed to be at ease. Retaining walls at rest. Docks relaxed on the lake bed. Steps were absent of wet footprints. Chairs folded and stacked. Hammock completely still. The porch rails have all dried after holding summer’s towels and the old grill…still there.

Time passed quickly. Some of the things I wanted to do had to wait, but I did get the driveway clean and leaves blown off the deck. I packed up and headed for town then eventually back home, stopping at the local store for a drink. Once again, my mind started to tell me a story.

Unfortunately, we do neglect to go back to Wedowee during the off-season. Jobs, the holidays, and whatever our calendar says we should do take the place of our summer retreat. Winter in Wedowee is much different from the summer it has come to know, but it holds on to the memories of summer giggles, refueling, and revving motors. 

Back into town, making my turn, my mind still racing. We transient lake people love our summer home. Some have even made the move, while others dream of busting our alarm clocks and retiring here. Today it was slow - it's that time of year. Some of the local businesses rely on the love of summer and summer's crowds, but are making it. Open signs on in familiar places, lights off in a few. It just feels right here. I have spent hours stopping by the store for a bag of ice then filling orders from waiting family already on the dock complaining about wakes. I don't know many locals yet but that doesn't stop the friendly hellos and handshakes or the polite cashier from smiling like everything in my buggy is for her.

 For a small little town, Wedowee is huge on family...part-time we are the family. We are the ones that will speed into the place and bust a stop sign on the back road near our house. We are the ones that pack the isles of every store during summer break. We are the ones that call it our summer home, our get away...our lake. 

Here it comes 431 bridge - the last place to see water when driving north. Crossing over, my head turns left looking down the river like I could see for miles. 

Our lake town is still there and doing just fine. Yes, the crowds are gone for now and the water is a little low, but that is just perfect. So, if you missed this winter, it’s really your loss. The hustle and bustle of mid-summer has gone, replaced with seasonal pride. The residents here want you to love the place and it shows in the detail. They must band together as a team. Wedowee is a highlight reel. You just need to see it again. Wake up. Think about it. Don’t check your To Do List. Make the drive. Spend some time in town visiting the shops, sticking your head in the door and saying your own hellos then buy your own cup of local coffee, clean off a spot in your second backyard and sit...while the tide is out.

 Before the fuss of spring or the panic of summer starts we should enjoy the memories and peacefulness of our lake. Maybe it’s just me with my usual unusual way of thinking, but if I’ve got you considering a day trip or weekend stay in winter Wedowee, my job is done.

Illustration by Tom Scott.

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Hooked on Lake Wedowee: Fishing Advice

Hooked on Lake Wedowee

by Wendell Huddleston

 

What a privilege, no make that a blessing to live on Lake Wedowee. Clean beautiful water, friendly people, good fishing. Did you know that the Alabama fish and game department lifted the "slot" on spotted bass a few years ago? before you had to catch one that was sixteen inches long or under twelve inches to keep it. They said that Lake Wedowee is over populated with spotted bass. You read it right (over populated). Doesn't that sound better than endangered? This mean the odds are in your favor on Lake Wedowee. Spotted bass are very aggressive especially in the fall. So if you want to have some fun or get a child interested in fishing, now’s the time. I've heard it said on several occasions that a spotted bass fights like a smallmouth bass. If you have watched a fishing show that shows a smallmouth being caught then you know that is saying a lot. My wife Bonny and I will go out some times, throwing tiny baits on light line, just to see how many "spots" we can catch. The best part is the small lures will get a lot of attention from all sorts of swimming creatures. The spotted bass is easy to identify, it will have a rough spot right in the center of its tongue and the hinge of its mouth will be even with its eye when viewed from the side. So get out on Lake Wedowee and give it a try, you'll have a blast.

One word of advise though, Hold on tight to the rod those spots will try to take it from you.

Saturday, January 12, 2013

Winter River Walking on Lake Wedowee

 every fall our lake level slowly drops down to winter pool. it is sad to see the beautiful lake wedowee water levels fall BUT honestly....it's so cold out who wants to ride the boat (not me)!!

what we normally do is hunt for arrowheads (and we find a TON of them), clean up debris around our area, and go exploring!

on a typical sunny day (which we have not seen many here in the past week but we have had some warm weather) we will walk for several hours along the lake bed looking to see what we find.




i do not recommend walking barefoot as there a lot of inconsiderate lake goers out there that will toss a glass bottle into the water without thinking. we come across broken glass very often. (try telling my 8 year old to keep his waders on....yeah right...boys like to get muddy)


 this photo was taken up river on ketchepedrakee creek.

 

 i love to collect interesting pieces of driftwood (psst: keep your eye open for the april issue there just might be some driftwood crafts showing up in there by yours truly)



a day of river walking would not be complete without taking your lake dog.


 
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