LaGrange Ga.’s Year-Round Water Recreation Paradise

June 30, 2011 - PRLog -- LAGRANGE, GA – Since 1977, Shawn Zwilling has thought of West Point Lake as “home.” An upbringing on the lake segued into a stint teaching waterskiing classes to students at nearby LaGrange College. But, as time progressed, the bright lights of Atlanta called Zwilling away for a brief period during which he started a successful communications firm and met his wife.

“When my wife became pregnant with our first child, the lake started calling us home,” says Zwilling. “It was the reason we chose to move and upon our return, I was amazed at the water quality as compared to 1977, when the now beautiful lake was a murky mess.”

Although visitors play all year long on the nearly 26,000 acres that comprise West Point Lake, which offers 525 miles of shoreline, 35 miles of them along the Chattahoochee River on the Alabama-Georgia state line, Zwilling remembers a time when the water conditions were less than ideal.

“Many years ago, West Point Lake had a reputation for being distressed because of an overload of nutrients in the water,” says Joe Maltese, a retired LaGrange resident who worked more than 10 years on West Point Lake projects for the City of LaGrange. “Now the lake is in a good place with a balance of nutrients that has resulted in healthy water.”

Formed by the Flood Control Act of 1962, West Point Lake is unique in that it was authorized by Congress for sport fishing, wildlife development and general recreation. At one time, nutrient overload from upstream dumping led to excessive algae and phytoplankton growth in the lake, resulting in cloudy, turbid water that damaged the fish population.

These days, West Point Lake, operated and maintained by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, has gained a reputation that is as pristine as its fishing conditions. The lake verily brims with bass, catfish, crappie and bream and bank fishing is excellent at many locations, including public fishing piers at Hardley Creek Park, Rocky Point Park and McGee Bridge Park.

The bass fishing is so good that West Point Lake attracted the 2011 Bassmaster Elite Series Pride of Georgia tournament. The top anglers in the world competed on the lake in May.

After weighing in a sack of fish totaling more than 23 pounds, Kevin Van Dam, the king of bass fishing, said, “Each day in practice I’ve been trying to learn this lake. I didn’t think it would be nearly this good, that we could catch those fish.”  Many of the anglers declared the lake “a treasure” at the weigh-in each day.

A dozen creeks and more than 40 square miles of lake provide plenty of good fishing holes for the thousands of anglers who fish regularly at West Point. Boat launching ramps located in 34 public recreation areas around the lake mean you can be fishing peacefully in just minutes. In the 2010 issue of Sport Fishing, a publication of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Coastal Resources Division and Wildlife Resources Division, it is noted that of the 45 lakes in Georgia, West Point is one of only six pristine lakes from which there are no eating restrictions on four or more types of fish found in the lake.

For the locals – as well as Atlantans seeking a close-by water haven – West Point Lake beckons with its sparkling water and water fun, promise of R&R and lazy picnics. And lakeside camping can turn any visit into a full-fledged vacation.

“We work toward finding the ‘sweet spot,’” notes Maltese, “that balance between good nutrients coming into the lake that will support the fishing without damaging the water and the associated recreational qualities of the lake.”

Also, the Corps’ strict shoreline management plan, which has created a substantial natural buffer between the lake and area development, has spawned a filter of sorts by which the lake can naturally clean itself.

That has tremendous appeal for Zwilling, who never has to worry about how much time his children romp in the water.

“We spend every weekend at the lake. My eight-year-old son loves wakeboarding and kneeboarding, and we’ll soon have my three-year-old daughter up on skis.

“With sports and everything else we have going on, the one place you can always count on finding my family is at the lake,” he adds.

So sweet a spot is West Point Lake that, these days, some 2.5 million people come to play in and on the water. From camping to fishing, boating, tubing, jet-skiing and wakeboarding, lake-goers never fall short on nature-inspired options for entertainment.

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Two privately operated marinas provide for your every need when it comes to spending a day on West Point Lake. Highland Marina Resort’s 200 acres offer lakefront cabins, RV sites and pavilions, complemented with locales for games of horseshoe and volleyball. At Southern Harbor Resort and Marina, spacious waterfront cottages provide a jumping off point for an unforgettable day of R&R. Both marinas can provide almost everything under the sun – from groceries to gas. Rent a boat and add a fishing guide for a customized lake experience.

All of West Point Lake’s piers provide access for persons with disabilities. Visitors with disabilities can also fish in a pond at Hardley Creek Park.

In addition to camping available at West Point Lake, LaGrange has about a dozen brand name hotels, including the full-service Best Western Lafayette Garden Inn. Additionally, there are lakefront cottages at Highland Marina and Resort and Southern Harbor Marina and Resort and charming guestrooms at the Thyme Away Bed & Breakfast.

LaGrange-Troup County Chamber of Commerce, http://www.LaGrangeChamber.com

HI- AND LOW-RES IMAGES AVAILABLE

MEDIA CONTACT: Laura Jennings, 706-884-8671
LaGrange-Troup County Chamber of Commerce
http://www.LaGrangeChamber.com

About LaGrange-Troup County │ Ideally-located less than an hour from both Atlanta and Columbus and sharing a 35-mile border with Alabama, LaGrange-Troup County – named for the estate of French and American hero General Marquis de Lafayette and Governor Troup – is home to 67,000 residents. The thriving community, where textiles are big industry and a recently-established Kia Plant plays a major economic role, harbors the nearly 26,000-acre recreational wonder known as West Point Lake and the four-year liberal arts and science institute, LaGrange College, and West Georgia Technical College.

Image: Sailboats on West Point Lake. Credit: Lee Cathey

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