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Summersville Lake
04/23/2009 - By Mark T. Allen Little Bahamas of the East
Summersville Lake, located in Nicholas County, West Virginia, was
named “The Little Bahamas of the East” by “Skin
Diver Magazine” and for good reason. Summersville Lake is
the cleanest, clearest freshwater lake east of the Mississippi River.
Summertime visibility averages 20’ to 40’ depending upon
the rainfall. Heavy rainfall will cause the visibility to drop for
several days. Visibility of 60’ to 80’ has happened in
the past, but is rare. The diving season runs from late May thru
mid-September. The best time to dive and snorkel is from June thru
September.
Long Point Cliff
Summersville Lake is an oligotrophic lake characterized by steep
rocky shorelines with boulders and cliffs that extend to a depth of
about 100 feet in most places. These rocky shorelines are what make
the lake visibility so good. There are huge boulders, cliffs,
overhangs, swim-thrus, and fish to see such as small mouth bass,
walleye, sunfish, bluegill, and catfish. Most people agree that
Summersville Lake is the most beautiful of all of the Corps of
Engineer projects in the U.S.
Long
Point Cliff (left side)
Summertime surface temperatures range from 78 degrees to 85
degrees. Summersville Lake is 2700 acres in size with 65 miles of
shoreline. Therefore, there are miles of shoreline to dive.
However, the best sites can only be reached by boat. Sarge’s
dive shop runs charters to these sites for divers, swimmers,
snorklers, and bubble watchers. Walk-in shore diving is available;
but, these areas do not have the rock structure that the main lake
offers. The lake is over 300 feet deep at the base of Summersville
Dam.
Sarge’s dive shop, http://www.sarges.net (304-872-1782), is the only dive shop on the lake. It opens in
late May and closes mid-September. During this time, it is open 7
days a week from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. It has been in business for
33 years and is a full-service facility providing air, equipment
sales and service, rental gear, and lake charter services. There is a
campground and an airport just 3 minutes from the dive shop. Also,
there are motels, restaurants, shopping centers, a movie theatre, a
hospital, and local cabins for rent just ten minutes from the dive
shop. The dive shop is located at Summersville Lake Marina,
304-872-1331, which has overnight boat slips for rent, pontoon boat
rentals to non-divers, fuel, and food. Sarge’s is an authorized
dealer for Sherwood, Genesis, Akona, Dive Rite Mfg. and Henderson to
name just a few of its suppliers. They also offer NAUI dive
certifications and training. Sarge’s dive shop literally
floats on the lake. You can drive up to the facility in a car or a
boat.