With temperatures staying above 60 degrees for the remainder of the week, many Gamecocks and Columbians are looking to kick off summer full of activities in the water of Lake Murray.
Lake Murray took its present form after being dammed for hydroelectric power in the 1930s. At the time of its completion, the Dreher Shoals Dam was the largest earthen dam in the world, composed of red clay soil and bedrock. The resulting lake has become a cornerstone to the surrounding communities,.
“I’ve grown up fishing on Lake Murray my entire life,” Will Mustard, a fourth-year mechanical engineering student, said.
Beyond fishing and boating, people are also fascinated by rumors of what the lake contains.
Though there was once a town where the lake now sits, most of the buildings were dismantled and moved. A few houses and a large iron bridge have been found on sonar, but beyond that, there is little left.
During World War II, three B-25 Mitchell bombers were allegedly lost during training exercises on the lake, though there has only been one documented recovery in 2005.
“The lake gets packed daily during the main summer months,” Mustard said. “Everyone’s either in a boat or camping on the islands, so it just means you need to be more careful.”
Water sports like waterskiing, tubing, canoeing and kayaking are all popular as well. But it’s not the amount of people in the lake that can make it dangerous, according to Mustard — it’s the excessive drinking.
“Most people on the lake are just cruising around and getting drunk,” Mustard said. “The biggest safety concern is easily the people boating under the influence. The lake’s full of boats and people, going in literally every direction and in between each other. Someone who is drunk driving their boat makes that situation very dangerous.”
People who go boating at night without lighting their boats properly are another safety concern. Without running lights, a boat is essentially invisible at night.
Fortunately for Mustard, however, this doesn’t keep him up at night.
“The best times to go fishing are early morning and late evening,” Mustard said. “That’s when the bass and other fish are feeding and is the best time to catch them. It’s also nicer to go then, because there aren’t as many people out on the water yet."