January 2

Lake Hartwell water levels are up to 657.40 (full pool is 660.00) and the lake has normal clarity. Morning surface water temperatures are about 52 degrees. 

The hybrid and striped bass continue to bite very well on Lake Hartwell, and Captain Chip Hamilton with Lake Hartwell Fishing Charters (864-304-9011) reports that in addition to catching good numbers of striped fish they are also getting plenty of black bass (spots) and white perch. On the last trip they had 28 hybrids and striper, 12 spots and a handful of perch. 

The majority of the fish are set up in 40-50 feet of water off the ends of ridges and points that have a long, slow taper which creates a flat spot at the key depth. Those fish are being caught on down-rods just off the bottom.  They are still in the first 7-8 miles of the Seneca and Tugaloo as well as up the major creeks. 

While down-rods with herring are still the predominate pattern, jigging spoons are also working well. That bite could get really good after the coming cold front. 

While Captain Bill Plumley hasn’t been back after the big catfish with the holidays and then time at Santee, but he expects that they are still very deep in the main channels of the major rivers. Today he went minnow fishing and caught spotted bass and a few channel catfish in 35-40 feet of water. 

As for the crappie, Captain Rodney Donald (864-356-0143) reports that they appear to be pulling off of brush and starting to roam more in open water. There have been some big schools in the middle of major creeks chasing bait, and looking at them on forward-facing sonar and throwing jigs you can catch fast limits. Fish seem to be holding about 15-20 feet down over deeper water.

At the same time, there are also plenty of fish still suspended under docks – pretty much a year-round pattern on Hartwell. Because of the clear water they like to have something over their heads, and point docks with at least 20 or more feet of water are fishing the best. 

December 19

Lake Hartwell water levels are up to 656.96 (full pool is 660.00) and, even after significant rain, water conditions are mostly clear. Morning surface water temperatures are about 55 degrees. 

There’s a significant change with the hybrid and striped bass on Lake Hartwell this week, and Captain Chip Hamilton with Lake Hartwell Fishing Charters (864-304-9011) reports that in lots of different areas of the lake there has been significant schooling activity. The birds are working the fish pretty well, and especially when there is some cloud cover you can really get into good surface activity. 

Beyond that the patterns haven’t changed much, and the majority of the fish are set up in 40-45 feet of water off the ends of ridges and points that have a long, slow taper which creates a flat spot at the key depth. Those fish are being caught on down-rods just off the bottom now.  

Fish have not moved further the rivers, and probably won’t head that way until the spring, but they are still in the first 7-8 miles of the Seneca and Tugaloo as well as up the major creeks. Overall catch rates are good. 

It’s also a really good time for black bass fishing, and Guide Scott Allgood with Lake Hartwell Fishing Guides (864-364-1733) reports that right now you can pretty much fish the way you want to from shallow to deep and the creeks to the main lake. On the shallow side there is really good action on jigs around cover, and on main lake points crankbaits out to about 10-12 feet of water are working well. The underspin bite is also really good, particularly in the bellow of ditches and creek channels. You also need to have an Alabama rig tied on in 10-30 feet of water.

Finally, for now the LiveScope patterns are clearly here to stay and lots of people are just wandering around looking for bass around bait schools and throwing minnow-style baits on jigheads at them.  

As for the crappie, Captain Rodney Donald (864-356-0143) reports that he has not been able to target them himself this week but understands there is a very good bite on deep docks in about 30 feet of water. The fish he is hearing about are suspended about 15 feet down.

Finally, Captain Bill Plumley reports that he is back on Hartwell and still finding a very strong catfish bite in 80(!) feet of water. He is fishing the main channel of the Tugaloo River and having better luck with frozen shad and herring than fresh perch or bream. The catch is a mix of channels and teenage-sized blues. 

Next week there will be no new fishing reports with the Christmas holiday, but regular reports will resume after the New Year. 

December 12

Lake Hartwell water levels are up to 656.40 (full pool is 660.00) after significant rain and water conditions are dirty in places. Morning surface water temperatures are down to about 53-56 degrees. 

You can usually count on the blueback herring lakes to dish out some surprises, and Guide Scott Allgood with Lake Hartwell Fishing Guides (864-364-1733) reports that he was shocked this week to see 40 black bass caught on a trip – with six of them on underspins, and the remainder on Spooks! The fish were over deep water busting like crazy and feeding right there were the hybrid and striped bass. 

Schooling activity in the winter is always a possibility, but it’s a near-certainty that fish can be caught both deep and shallow right now. Of course you can catch fish on drop shots, shaky heads, and minnows baits around deeper brush piles on points looking at the fish on electronics, but there is also a good bite just throwing a jerkbait or underspin in the mouth of pockets up the gut of the channel in 20-30 feet of water. 

Beyond that there are good numbers of fish shallow right now, and they can be caught fishing a jig in brush. You can also slow roll a spinnerbait or Chatterbait in the shallows.

Overall it’s a good time to catch fish and Scott rates the action about a 7/10.

Obviously there will be times when they are mixed in with the bass and schooling, but in general Captain Chip Hamilton with Lake Hartwell Fishing Charters (864-304-9011) reports that the striper/ hybrids and black bass have separated as the striped bass fish have slid a little deeper. They are catching good numbers, and most days getting a limit for three or four anglers happens in pretty short order. 

The majority of the fish are set up in 40-45 feet of water off the ends of ridges and points that have a long, slow taper which creates a flat spot at the key depth. Most of the fish are being caught on down-rods just off the bottom now.

Fish have not moved further the rivers, and probably won’t head that way until the spring, but they are still in the first 7-8 miles of the Seneca and Tugaloo as well as up the major creeks. 

As for the crappie, Captain Rodney Donald (864-356-0143) reports there is still a mix of fish on brush, docks, and bridges. There are also more fish starting to roam in open water. As a general rule 15-20 feet is still the best depth range. 

Finally, Captain Bill Plumley reports that – while he’s been fishing elsewhere the last few days – the last time he pursued them the catfish bite had gotten really, really slow. He was still marking a ton of fish under the boat in 75-80 feet of water, but they just aren’t feeding very well. Hopefully once the fish adjust to the water temperatures and the air warms the action will improve again. 

December 4

Lake Hartwell water levels are down to 655.17 (full pool is 660.00) and water conditions are clear. Morning surface water temperatures are down to about 56 degrees. 

The hybrid and striped bass bite continues to be pretty outstanding on Lake Hartwell, and Captain Chip Hamilton with Lake Hartwell Fishing Charters (864-304-9011) reports that the biggest change is that fish have slid a bit deeper. Now the majority of the fish are set up in 40-45 feet of water off the ends of ridges and points that have a long, slow taper which creates a flat spot at the key depth.  As a result of the fish moving deeper, they are catching less black bass. To go with a typical thirty fish limit they are now catching 6 or 7 spotted bass instead of roughly equal numbers. There is no longer any significant schooling activity, and everything is being caught on down-rods just off the bottom now.

Fish have not moved further the rivers, and probably won’t head that way until the spring, but they are still in the first 7-8 miles of the Seneca and Tugaloo as well as up the major creeks. 

While it’s still not easy fishing the artificial lure bite for bass has picked up, and Guide Scott Allgood with Lake Hartwell Fishing Guides (864-364-1733) reports that fish are feeding pretty well from shallow to deep water. They can be in just a few feet out to about 35 feet, and main lake points have generally been the ticket. 

Fish are eating crankbaits shallow and Alabama rigs deeper, and on windblown banks spinnerbaits are also working well. 

While there is not generally a ton of action in the creeks, flipping a jig or shaky head around creek brush is generating less bites but some good ones. 

While he hasn’t been out personally for crappie since Thanksgiving, Captain Rodney Donald (864-356-0143) reports that from what he saw earlier and has recently heard there is a mix of fish on brush, docks, and bridges. There are also more fish starting to roam in open water. As a general rule 15-20 feet is still the best depth range. 

Finally, Captain Bill Plumley reports that post-cold front the catfish bite has gotten really, really slow. He is still marking a ton of fish under the boat in 75-80 feet of water, but they just aren’t feeding very well. Hopefully once the fish adjust to the water temperatures and the air warms the action will improve again. 

November 20

Lake Hartwell water levels are at 656.68 (full pool is 660.00) and water conditions are clear. Morning surface water temperatures are down to about 66 degrees. 

It’s a significantly improved hybrid and striped bass bite from a few weeks ago on Lake Hartwell, and Captain Chip Hamilton with Lake Hartwell Fishing Charters (864-304-9011) reports that they are catching good numbers of quality fish. The best action is still in the first 7 or 8 miles of the rivers, but fish have also moved back into creeks in that range. Captain Chip can only find small fish further up the rivers. In general his boat is catching fish in about 25-30 feet of water – although he did have a buddy find some in a creek closer to the dam in 50 feet. First thing in the morning they will take free-lines, and sometimes you can find them schooling right at daylight. After that they are generally stuck to the bottom, and down-rods a few cranks off the bottom are the key. The best spots are points and ridges that have a long, slow taper which creates a flat at the key depth.  

Chip notes that about half the fish they are catching are black bass (almost always spots), while they will rarely pick a channel catfish or two. 

Speaking of bass, Guide Scott Allgood with Lake Hartwell Fishing Guides (864-364-1733) reports that he expects these cooler temperatures to help the bite and push the fish further into later fall patterns. In addition to some late offshore topwater activity with these mild temperatures, there are also a fair number of fish shallow right now, in both the creeks and the main lake. They will take spinnerbaits and shallow-running crankbaits, and in the afternoon this bite has been better. 

The crappie fishing is still good, and the only complaint from Captain Rodney Donald (864-356-0143) is still that he might mark 700 fish on a brush pile but only catch three or four before they stop biting. Fish are still on brush in the creeks that is in 15-20 feet of water, and they are suspended about 8 feet down over the top of it in huge groups. There is tons of bait there and that is what the fish are feeding on, and so unsurprisingly jigs in natural shad colors are working very well. 

Finally, Captain Bill Plumley reports that the catfish he is catching are still deep. He is finding them in about 75-80 feet of water in the rivers, and there is a mix of sizes and species ranging from small channels, blues and flatheads to large blues and flatheads. The bite has changed and the biggest fish are now coming on larger sections of fresh cut bait instead of frozen bait. 

November 13

Lake Hartwell water levels are down to 656.80 (full pool is 660.00) and water conditions are clear. Morning surface water temperatures are still about 68-69 degrees. 

The hybrid and striped bass fishing has picked up on Hartwell, and Captain Chip Hamilton with Lake Hartwell Fishing Charters (864-304-9011) reports that even though patterns remain similar the fish are biting better. It has been disappointing visually that the schooling activity has slowed down, and it’s made locating the fish a bit less obvious, but as predicted overall it’s a good thing and the catch-rate has improved. Since they were on such small bait the schooling fish were never that cooperative. 

With very little change in water temperatures, generally fish are still in the main Savannah River channel as well as in the first 7-8 miles of both the Tugaloo and Seneca. They will take down-rods as well as free-lines. 

Even though they aren’t on the surface as much fish have moved shallower, and 25-35 feet of water has been the best depth range. They can be found on points and flats at that depth, and Captain Chip has also been finding them pushing bait into the back of deeper coves where they get as shallow as about 25 feet. 

On the black bass front, Guide Scott Allgood with Lake Hartwell Fishing Guides (864-364-1733) reports that the fishing isn’t terrible but it’s also not as good as it could and will be. Some steadier temperatures are needed, and right now the cold then hot then cold then hot again weather has the fish confused. 

For right now the offshore topwater bite is still going on, but if the sun is not up (and the bait is therefore deep) you can forget about it. Beyond that there are a fair number of fish shallow right now, in both the creeks and the main lake. They will take spinnerbaits and shallow-running crankbaits, and in the afternoon this bite has been better. 

Fish are still fairly concentrated and when you locate them it’s common to catch a burst of fish. 

The crappie fishing is still good, and the only complaint from Captain Rodney Donald (864-356-0143) is that he might mark 700 fish on a brush pile but only catch three or four before they stop biting. Fish are still on brush in the creeks that is in 15-20 feet of water, and they are suspended about 8 feet down over the top of it in huge groups. There is tons of bait there and that is what the fish are feeding on, and so unsurprisingly jigs in natural shad colors are working very well. 

Finally, Captain Bill Plumley reports that the catfish are still deep. Everything he is catching, including a nice mix of blues (which he releases on Hartwell), flatheads and channels is coming in 78-82 feet in both arms of the rivers. That’s despite the absence of bait, and so it’s not clear why they are there. 

Interestingly fresh bream and perch and getting literally no bites, and the only way Captain Bill is catching them is on American shad and ocean herring he caught and carefully salted and froze this spring!

November 8

Lake Hartwell water levels are down to 657.14 (full pool is 660.00) and water conditions are clear. Morning surface water temperatures are about 69 degrees. 

Fishing reports don’t get any fresher than this, and Captain Rodney Donald (864-356-0143) is on the water right now pulling in crappie. He reports that the bite for big fish is very good, and they are on brush in the creeks that is in 15-20 feet of water. The fish are suspended about 8 feet down over the top of it in huge groups. There is tons of bait there and that is what the fish are feeding on, and so unsurprisingly jigs in natural shad colors are working very well. He doesn’t even have minnows in the boat. 

At the same time the hybrid and striped bass fishing has been a little tricky on Hartwell, and Captain Chip Hamilton with Lake Hartwell Fishing Charters (864-304-9011) reports they have had to really work to get fish this week.  They are still managing limits, but they aren’t jumping in the boat. 

The patterns and locations haven’t changed at all, and generally fish are still in the main Savannah River channel as well as in the first 7-8 miles of both the Tugaloo and Seneca – and there continues to be a lot of schooling activity.  But they are eating 1-2 inch bait and so 4-5 inch herring aren’t particularly attractive to them, and they will only (occasionally) take the very smallest lures like a panfish-sized Rat-L Trap. 

There are basically two ways guides are catching them right now, and one is fishing a free-line over fish in deeper water. You can be sitting on literally thousands of fish, but you have to put in time to catch them.  And they don’t want to down-rods. 

Counter-intuitively, they are also catching some fish on down-rods when the fish move shallower. In minutes the fish might run a school of bait from 60 feet to a bank in about 20 feet, and if you are able to set up on the shallower bank with baits on the bottom they will bite. 

On the black bass front, Guide Scott Allgood with Lake Hartwell Fishing Guides (864-364-1733) reports that they are still having to work for fish but it has definitely gotten better. For right now the offshore topwater bite is still going on, but if the sun is not up (and the bait is therefore deep) you can forget about it. Beyond that there are a fair number of fish shallow right now, in both the creeks and the main lake. They will take spinnerbaits and shallow-running crankbaits, and in the afternoon this bite has been better. 

Overall fishing is not easy, but when you do run into fish they seem to be concentrated and it’s not unusual to get a good burst of action. 

Finally, Captain Bill Plumley has unlocked the secret to the catfish – fishing deep.  Everything he is catching, including a nice mix of blues (which he releases), flatheads and channels is coming in 78-82 feet in both arms of the rivers. The bait is not there and the fish aren’t saying why they want to be that deep when there isn’t bait, but there are some good concentrations of fish and big ones!

Interestingly fresh bream and perch and getting literally no bites, and the only way Captain Bill is catching them is on American shad and ocean herring he caught and carefully salted and froze this spring!

October 29

Lake Hartwell water levels are at 657.90 (full pool is 660.00) and water conditions are relatively clear. Morning surface water temperatures range from about 67 in the creeks to 72 on the main lake. 

The hybrid and striped bass are still schooling on Hartwell, but Captain Chip Hamilton with Lake Hartwell Fishing Charters (864-304-9011) reports that they have gotten very hard to catch. They are eating 1-2 inch bait and so 4-5 inch herring aren’t particularly attractive to them, and they will only (occasionally) take the very smallest lures like a panfish-sized Rat-L Trap. 

There are basically two ways guides are catching them right now, and one is fishing a free-line over fish in deeper water. You can be sitting on literally thousands of fish, but you will be lucky to catch seven or eight this way – but it’s better than anything else when they are deep.  

Counter-intuitively, they are also catching some fish on down-lines when the fish move shallower. In minutes the fish might run a school of bait from 60 feet to a bank in about 20 feet, and if you are able to set up on the shallower bank with baits on the bottom they will bite.  

Even though it’s fun to watch and makes it easy to locate them, it will probably be easier to catch fish when the schooling slows down. Generally fish are still in the main Savannah River channel as well as in the first 7-8 miles of both the Tugaloo and Seneca.  

On the black bass front, Guide Scott Allgood with Lake Hartwell Fishing Guides (864-364-1733) reports that that the fishing has gotten much tougher and the schooling action has generally gotten spotty.  He blames the turnover.  You can still have some days (like Guides Wendell and Luke Wilson with Wilson’s Guide Service (706-283-3336) did today in a creek in the Tugaloo) where you find them busting the surface, but overall it’s not reliable. 

Right now you basically have to go offshore to catch fish, and the best pattern is fishing deeper points with a drop shot, shaky head, Carolina rig, or your favorite other way to present soft plastics. Scott recommends that if you find fish you stay on them and don’t go looking for more!

Finally, Captain Rodney Donald (864-356-0143) reports that the crappie fishing has also gotten tougher – it’s very common to mark 100 or more fish and only catch two or three before you have to move to the next brush pile and repeat the process. While he has colleagues fishing 8-10 feet down in standing timber in 30 plus feet, Captain Rodney is fishing 8 feet down over shallower brush in about 15 feet. He is having the best luck casting jigs at the fish, and couldn’t buy a bite on minnows Saturday, but other people report that minnows are the only way they are getting bites. 

It's fair to say the crappie have gotten more finicky. 

Catfish report to follow from Captain Bill Plumley – if he can tear himself away from the deer woods!

October 16

Lake Hartwell water levels are slightly down to 658.88 (full pool is 660.00) and water conditions (which never got that dirty after the storm) have significantly cleared. Morning surface water temperatures are still in the mid-70s. 

The hybrid and striped bass fishing has picked up again on Hartwell, and Captain Chip Hamilton with Lake Hartwell Fishing Charters (864-304-9011) reports that most days the fish are schooling again. They are still in the main Savannah River channel as well as in the first 7-8 miles of both the Tugaloo and Seneca, and when they are on top they are very easy to locate. 

Fishing is a little trickier when they aren’t busting the surface, and on those days you have to look at a lot of places but they are still very catchable. Fish can be found in 35-45 feet of water on the bottom around ridges and points, although there are other times when they are suspended at that depth over 80-120 feet of water. Then other time they will push bait onto shoals in 20-25 feet – although then they are usually feeding on top.

When fish are schooling they will eat topwater lures, shallowly-retrieved swimbaits, and free-lines.  When fish are not schooling they will usually take down-lines.  

Captain Chip doesn’t expect the cold front to change much except to possibly improve the bite. If there is a hard northeast wind it could slow the fishing for a day or two, but on the back-end as temperatures get into the low 70s things will still be better than before.

This week we welcome Guide Scott Allgood with Lake Hartwell Fishing Guides (864-364-1733) as a black basscontributing expert, and Scott tells us that right now the fishing is pretty outstanding. First thing you can run the creek banks with a buzzbait or Berkley Choppo and catch fish, but then once the sun comes up it’s as simple as putting on your favorite topwater lure and looking out for schooling activity. Fish are coming up over cane, brush, and about any structure you might have marked like crazy, and you just have to keep your eyes peeled. On a day when Scott wasn’t fishing and just making a lap in his pontoon boat he saw over 20 groups of fish come up! Fish are in varied sizes, and if you get into small fish just keep moving. 

But Captain Rodney Donald (864-356-0143) reports that the best thing going on Lake Hartwell right now may be the crappie fishing, and he says that right now the fishing is on fire over shallow brush in the creeks. The key depth range is 10-15 feet, and Captain Rodney says this is a typical fall occurrence for the fish to turn on like this as the water cools. Both minnows and jigs will catch fish. 

No new catfish and shellcracker news this week from Captain Bill Plumley, but at last report he was finding the fish deeper in about 30 feet.  

October 9

Lake Hartwell water levels are slightly down to 658.99 (full pool is 660.00) and the main lake is clear while you can find some stained water way up the rivers and creeks. Morning surface water temperatures on the main lake are 77 at daylight and more like 74 in the backs of the rivers. 

The hybrid and striped bass fishing has been pretty good on Hartwell, but Captain Chip Hamilton with Lake Hartwell Fishing Charters (864-304-9011) reports that there are days when the fish just aren’t schooling or biting very well.  In general one day they will school sporadically, another day they will school very well, but then there are occasional days like today where they just will not bite.  But overall they are catching about a dozen hybrids and stripers and a similar number of spotted bass each day. 

The fish are still in the main Savannah River channel as well as in the first 7-8 miles of both the Tugaloo and Seneca. Captain Chip has looked further up the rivers but for now they are just not there. 

When fish are schooling they will eat topwater lures, shallowly-retrieved swimbaits, and free-lines.  When fish are not schooling then they are mostly holding in 35-45 feet of water around ridges near the river channel sometimes with and sometimes without trees, or points that reach the same depth. They will usually take down-lines.  

On days like today where they eventually have to move off the striped fish, and the spots aren’t schooling either, then the best concentrations of spotted bass are usually on rocky points in about 25 feet of water. 

Again this week Captain Rodney Donald (864-356-0143) has been too busy to do much crappie fishing as he cuts trees, but he is still hearing good reports on brush in about 20 feet of water in the middle to back of creek runs. They are suspended about 12 feet down. But as the lake filled back up they have also loaded up on deeper docks in about 20 feet, and Captain Rodney says a reliable source told him he caught a limit shooting docks in about 20 feet of water with jigs. 

The channel catfish and shellcracker bite has slowed down a little, and Captain Bill Plumley reports that is normal for some reason when the water comes up very fast on Hartwell. Counterintuitively he is also having to fish deeper to catch them, and everything this week has come in about 30 feet of water. Worms will work for both species but dip baits have been better for catfish. 

October 2

Lake Hartwell water levels are up to 659.37 (full pool is 660.00) and water conditions are stained in many areas.  

Of all the lakes in South Carolina Hartwell experienced some of the most rapidly rising water levels surrounding Helene, and in less than 24 hours the lake shot up almost four feet. All told the lake is up about six and a half feet from before the storm.

While none of our guide captains have been out on the lake so far this week, and with so many trees down access is difficult, one point of interest is that driving around the region the lake is still surprisingly clear. Areas that can get muddy aren’t, and at worst it is stained in places right now. 

With a major tournament cancelled, and the region trying to regain its footing, fishing is not most people’s primary concern, but we will provide updates as soon as we have them.