Did you know all Georgia lakes are man made? Yup, there is not one natural lake in our state. I'd like to tell you a little about MY lake....
Lake Sinclair is 15,300 acres of beauty. It has 417 miles of shoreline and stretches through Putnam, Baldwin and Hancock Counties.
Sinclair Dam construction began by Georgia Power Company in 1929, but was stopped in 1930. The depression took hold and suspended the lake for more than 19 years. Work on the dam resumed in 1949 under the supervision of B.W. Sinclair, the superintendent of power plant construction and operations (who the lake was named for) and finished in 1953. The dedication of the dam took place on July 28, 1954 on the eve of B.W. Sinclair's retirement.
Not only does lake Sinclair create power at the Sinclair Dam, but also at Plant Branch built in the Beaver Dam area of Lake Sinclair where lake waters are used for cooling towers at the coal fired generation power plant. The water released are now cooled back off in the summer months to protect the fish, but can be as much as 10 degrees warmer when released back into the lake. It makes for wonderful fishing in parts of the lake in the winter months. There are several local and national fishing tournaments on Lake Sinclair annually. Largemouth Bass, Crappie and catfish are harvest-able sized. The shoreline is very developed with private homes, but there are also several public access areas and several private marinas with low launch fees.
In 1979 Lake Oconee was created to the north of Lake Sinclair as a pumped storage reservoir for Lake Sinclair. In drought situations Lake Oconee may be down, but because it was built as a reservoir for LakeSinclair during the severe drought just that just passed Lake Sinclair remained at full pool. They have to keep the levels up for the cooling purposes at Plant Branch, so when many other lakes in Georgia had as much as 20 feet low water levels Lake Sinclair remained at full pool. The addition of Wallace Dam at Lake Oconee also created additional power generation during flow through to Lake Sinclair. On a daily basis water is pumped into Lake Oconee and then released again into Lake Sinclair. It generally is around 18 inches per day. So our lake has a man made tide daily. During peak power usage in summer months it is sometimes closer to 24 inches. As a general rule water is pumped from late evening and during the overnight hours to Lake Oconee and our low tide is early in the morning and then we begin to fill back to full pool. Full pool for Lake Sinclair is 340 feet above sea level.
Sinclair Dam is 104 feet hight and 2,988 feet long and the height is 343 feet above sea level. Lake Sinclair has depths as much as 90 feet. It's the perfect spot for outdoor recreational activities. From early spring you can find people on skis and seados all over the lake and fishing is great year round. One of my favorite times is the 4th of July where one local marina has for the past several years had a professional fireworks show and you can find boats lined up for miles on the lake anchored and awaiting dusk for the show to begin. There is also miles of the shore where docks provide a perfect view of the show.
My parents moved from downtown Eatonton to Lake Sinclair in 1974, but I was already familiar with the lake from my Uncle Jack's place located just across 441 from the power plant. He had a Bait and Tackle store for years. Later that building became a restaurant and bar. That area is now home to the Georgia DNR boathouse where rangers go to patrol the lake by boat daily.
There are lots of little fingers and coves on Lake Sinclair because it's not just made up of the Oconee River which was where the dam was built, but by many smaller tributaries flowing into the lake. Beaver Dam, Crooked Creek, Rooty Creek, Sandy Run, Shoulder Bone, Potato Creek, Island Creek, Rocky Creek, Nancy Branch, Reedy Branch, Cold Branch, Murder Creek and Little River are the major contributors.
It's a beautiful place to live and filled with Nature. I love to watch the ducks and we even have several bald eagle nests around the lake where you can watch them soar and fly in the mornings. If you ever get this way, stop and visit Lake Sinclair. I promise, you will want to stay.
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