SUNBURY, Pa. — On a scorching summer day, there's no better place to be than on the water. But after repairs to the fabridam near Sunbury delayed the boating season by a few months, the secret's out now.
"If you could kind of hold this broadcast until the end of August, mid-September, we'd appreciate that," Carl Wolever of Northumberland said.
Lake Augusta on the Susquehanna River is officially back. Great news for Carl Wolever and his fiancee.
"It certainly is. We've been looking forward to this for quite some time, we bring the jet skis and the boat out, even with the dam not down, but it's officially up, so we're more than happy," Wolever said.
The fabridam creating Lake Augusta is usually inflated in May to allow boating and fishing. But Department of Conservation and Natural Resources officials said one of the seven dam bags that make up the eight-foot-tall, 2,100-foot-long dam needed to be replaced.
It's the fourth time since 2017 that repairs led to a shortened season, but work was finished ahead of schedule.
The completed dam changed things up a bit for anglers like Seth Burk.
"Yeah, it's nice. It's nice to see a different change in the water, different change in the way the river is running for us. I mean, it's been pretty low all year with lack of rain, but you get different pockets when the dam's up, and the water runs a little different over it. So the fish kind of hide in different areas," Seth Burk of Sunbury said.
Ryley Albright came from Millersburg to fish at Lake Augusta. A change, and challenge, for him, too.
"With the dam up, we don't get the water like you guys get up here, so it's a lot nicer that it's up, and we can actually get out and fish again now. I think it's a little easier for them to get around. They got better hiding places, and you've got to work for them a little more, but that's the name of the game, I believe," he said.
It's a bit of a late start for Lake Augusta, but those at the lake are happy it's back.
"Everybody is always out here to help one another. You see the camaraderie with the boats getting ties together up the other branches and things like that. So we're looking forward to seeing people we know and other people out here on the river," Wolever said.
Staff at Shikellamy State Park said they hope to put the docks in on Friday.
They said launching is available at Northumberland Point, just across the river.
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