April 3
Lake Hartwell water levels are at 653.65 (full pool is 660.00), and most of the lake is clear with a slight stain in certain creeks. Morning surface water temperatures are about 64 degrees, but they’re rising higher on sunny afternoons.
The big news on Lake Hartwell is the wide-open crappie fishing with spawning fish now in the shallows in the back of the creeks. Capt. Jay Bruce(Carolina Fishing Adventures with Jay Bruce; 864-420-8512) said the good news is that spawning action is great this week, and will likely improve by the weekend. He reports that one day this week, his clients kept three limits of big crappie and culled 100 others on a six-hour trip. Capt. Jay found the fish in the back of creeks in the big bays. Early in the day, the fish were near the bottom in 7 feet of water; by mid-day, they were three feet deep, suspended in water six feet deep. He caught the fish by longline trolling using a double jig rig, with a 1/16-ounce jig in front and a 1/32-ounce trailing. Best color patterns were pink/chartreuse early, then Junebug and chartreuse once the sun got higher in the sky. Captain Bruce said multiple species of fish are in these bays, including crappie, striper, white perch, catfish, bream, largemouth bass, and spotted bass.
Thehybrid and striped bass action has made one big leap in the past week, and Captain Chip Hamilton withLake Hartwell Fishing Charters (864-304-9011) reports that the topwater schooling activity is on fire in the mornings. Herring moving into pre-spawn staging locations is the key to this bite. Capt. Chip said the stripers and hybrids are moving up the creeks where the herring are congregating, and topwater lures work well, but he’s also pulling freelines with blueback herring, and the stripers and huge hybrids are mauling the bait. This is an early morning bite, but the first couple of hours can be sensational. After the topwater action ends, Capt. Chip moves to deeper water, around 25-35 feet, and fishing downlines with bluebacks in the same general area where the fish were schooling and is picking up more fish, but at a slower pace. He said that if you’re fishing on a cloudy morning, the topwater action will last longer, with fish still active until 1030 one morning this week. The action consists of more than just stripers and hybrids; black bass (largemouth and spots) are schooling on the herring as well.
Theblack bass bite has improved considerably since last week, andGuide Lane Clark (864-254-8614) reports that shallow patterns are the key. He said the dominant pattern for this week and into the weekend is spawning fish on the banks, and with the full moon phase this week, and warm temperatures, it should be an excellent time for bass action. Anglers can target beds and, in between beds, fish the shoreline for cruising fish found throughout the shallows in the creeks and spawning coves. Many different lures are producing, and the Wacky rig, Shakey Head, and Fluke are all productive. Fish any woody cover you see, and rocky areas and points along the shoreline.
March 25
Lake Hartwell water levels are at 653.59 (full pool is 660.00) and most of the lake is clear with a slight stain in certain creeks. Morning surface water temperatures are up to about 60 degrees.
The crappie fishing has significantly rebounded on Hartwell, but Captain Rodney Donald (864-356-0143) reports that with so many fish already having spawned he is now mostly focused on post-spawn fish on brush in 10-15 feet of water in the mouths of creeks and in coves. But he is still catching fish with eggs as well as very dark males, and so after this cool front there will be at least another round of fish to come in when anglers who like fishing around the banks will still be able to employ their favorite shallow-water techniques.
The hybrid and striped bass has also improved, and Captain Chip Hamilton with Lake Hartwell Fishing Charters (864-304-9011) reports that more fish are now up the rivers. The patterns have been pretty reliable, and early fish are very shallow in 3-6 feet of water off shoals and points. You can cast them fan-casting free-lines as well as on Carolina rigs with herring. After that the bite moves a little deeper into 8-15 feet out from the same areas, and they are pretty much just fishing free-lines. If guides are fortunate they already have their limit by the time the sun gets higher and fish move deeper, but if not then they are having to fish down-rods further out in 25-35 feet for less active fish which are near the bottom.
The black bass bite is a little funny with the up-and-down weather, but on the water today Guide Lane Clark (864-254-8614) reports that shallow patterns are the key. He estimates that only a small percentage of fish have spawned but expects a major wave any day now with the full moon next Wednesday. Right now you can target the few fish that are on beds, dock fish, and fish staging near spawning areas. The best pattern is to slow down and cover water near the bank with soft plastics. Swimbaits can also work.
With another cold front the catfish bite has been slow this week, and Captain Bill Plumley reports that he thinks it will take stable weather for the bigger blues to really move up. Bites have been hard to come by this week.
March 19
Lake Hartwell water levels are up to 653.51 (full pool is 660.00) and most of the lake is clear with a slight stain in certain creeks. Morning surface water temperatures have fallen to 55 degrees.
Unfortunately the crappie bite is doing exactly what one would expect after a hard cold front that dropped temperatures 7 or 8 degrees, and back on the water again yesterday afternoon Captain Rodney Donald (864-356-0143) reports that they had to work extremely hard to catch 11 or 12 fish. Marking fish wasn’t a problem, and they saw lots of crappie in 4-8 feet of water. However, they were almost all singles on the move and not eating. The only fish they were able to catch were related to shallow cover.
From what Rodney saw yesterday conditions will need to stabilize before they will get back on a pattern where you can cast or troll for them in the creeks near their spawning grounds, but by the weekend it should be good again.
It’s a similar story with the hybrid and striped bass, and Captain Chip Hamilton with Lake Hartwell Fishing Charters(864-304-9011) reports that even though very few people have gone the cold has definitely messed things up. Conditions will need to stabilize before fish start feeding well again.
But he also expects that by the weekend you will again be able to pull up early on the banks and catch fish in just 4-6 feet of water casting live herring on Carolina rigs at red clay points with rock. After that early bite slows fish should be caught on free-lines in 15-20 feet of water before they move into the creek channels in 28-35 feet. And then again later in the day there should be a very good bite casting swimbaits at wind-blown red clay points and straight banks.
While not all fish will move up the rivers, expect a solid migration of fish to go that way in the coming weeks.
One of our few guides to brave the cold and wind early this week, on Tuesday Captain Bill Plumley was hungry to get back on the water after being down at Santee and pulled up on shore in a protected spot out of the wind and put four rods out the back in 30-35 feet with cut frozen river herring and then a rod out each side of the boat with worms on a sandbar in about 6-7 feet. He caught three catfish (all blues) in the 6-7 pound range on the herring, and then some nice shellcracker and one channel cat on the worms. Despite the cold it’s obvious that both species have started to move up and this bite should only get better as it warms.
More information to follow once we have current updates.
March 12
Lake Hartwell water levels are at 653.11 (full pool is 660.00) and the main lake is clear but there is some stained water in the creeks. Morning surface water temperatures have risen to about 62-64 degrees.
As temperatures have shot up the hybrid and striped bass fishing has changed significantly, and Captain Chip Hamilton with Lake Hartwell Fishing Charters (864-304-9011) reports that now he can pull up early on the banks and catch fish in just 4-6 feet of water casting live herring on Carolina rigs at red clay points with rock. After that early bite slows then he is finding fish popping the surface in 15-20 feet of water that will take baits on free-lines, and then fish move into the creek channels in 28-35 feet. The bite slows down until the afternoon, when later in the day there is a very good bite casting swimbaits at wind-blown red clay points and straight banks.
While Guide Lane Clark (864-254-8614) reports that he has seen some striper schooling on the main lake, the spiking water temperatures have not been such a boon for the black bass which have gotten extremely spread out and are on the move every day. He characterizes the fishing as a little tough but has had his best success around shallow docks and channel bends in dirty water. Main lake secondary docks have also been productive. Wacky rigs, small finesse jigs, and swimbaits have been his best baits.
On the other hand the shallow crappie bite in less than 8 feet of water has exploded again, and Captain Rodney Donald(864-356-0143) reports that now fish are pre-spawn and actually spawning. Almost every dock has fish under or beside it, and any limb sticking up in the water also has crappie around it. Little creeks seem to be more productive than big creeks, and he is almost exclusively casting small swimbaits and not even messing with minnows this spring.
Catfish report to follow when Captain Bill Plumley is back on the water next week.
March 4
Lake Hartwell water levels are up to 623.15 (full pool is 660.00) and the main lake is clear but there is some stained water in the creeks. Morning surface water temperatures are about 50-54 degrees on the main lake and 54-58 in the creeks.
Temperatures still haven’t risen enough for morning hybrid and striped bass fishing to get where it needs to be, and Captain Chip Hamilton with Lake Hartwell Fishing Charters (864-304-9011) reports that really what is needed is for water temperatures to reach and sustain 60 degrees. On the few trips that he and other captains have run hybrids and striper are very rare, although another guide did get two striper (pictured below) in a five-hour trip by fishing free-lines around points and down-rods in the channel. Captain Chip is still marking the most fish in the creeks and very little in the main Savannah River.
The afternoon bite casting swimbaits at wind-blown red clay points and straight banks still has not taken off, but are they getting a half-dozen fish on a good afternoon. However, Chip has found that these same fish will not feed in the morning.
But things appear to be right on the verge of busting open, especially with very warm weather predicted.
Unfortunately it’s also a tough time for black bass, although Guide Lane Clark (864-254-8614) reports that some quality fish are being caught. The best action is still shallow, and Lane advises fishing the creeks and rivers around docks, laydowns, bends, and other traditional shallow areas. Target dirty water and fish a Chatterbait and a jerkbait.
While Captain Bill Plumley knows they will turn on at some point, the catfish bite remains very slow in 15-40 feet. On his last trip he did not have a bite.
But he is finding some good spring crappie fishing, and on a recent windy day he located a school of crappie feeding on threadfin shad that had been blown into a pocket. Instead of trying to sit on top of the fish he pulled up on a bank with the wind at his back and drifted minnows under floats to the fish 4 feet below the surface.
But it’s not always that easy, and in a long day on the water today Captain Rodney Donald (864-356-0143) reports that he caught 32 fish but had to really work for them. Counter-intuitively the giant schools of fish that were in the creek runs have gone deeper, and now he is only finding very small groups of fish around shallow brush. He did catch decent numbers of fish around brush in 10 feet and 20 feet of water, a few around docks, and some in open water today – but the commonality was that they were all difficult to stay on top of. The open water fish would run from the boat, and when he would catch a fish off brush the whole school would swim to his boat and then disperse. Basically you have to run-and-gun to get a limit right now.
Captain Rodney notes that he doesn’t think the spawn is very close based on the egg development of fish he has been catching.
February 25
Lake Hartwell water levels are down to 652.58 (full pool is 660.00) and the main lake is clear but there is some stained water in the creeks. Morning surface water temperatures are about 50 degrees on the main lake.
For the first time in a while Captain Rodney Donald (864-356-0143) did not wear out the crappie today, and he reports that after catching 70 Monday and 40 Tuesday they only had 18 today. But the fish were still in the same places, and he thinks the difference was that the sun did not come out and warm the water on the creek flat they were fishing. It actually never got above 46 degrees before they finished up!
But the fish he is catching continue to be remarkably shallow, and as cold as Monday and Tuesday were they were in just 3-5 feet of water suspended on a creek flat. Today the same fish were in 6-8 feet of water. He has been catching everything on small swimbaits.
Captain Rodney has also marked a ton of fish on brush 12 feet down in about 22 feet of water, but they have been reluctant to eat.
The morning bite for hybrid and striped bass is still pretty slow after this cold snap, and Captain Chip Hamilton with Lake Hartwell Fishing Charters (864-304-9011) reports that he is seeing plenty of bait and marking (and catching) a few fish in about 22-32 feet on the bottom – but overall it’s very tough. The best pattern continues to be casting swimbaits along wind-blown banks, and while you can fish live bait the same way with the afternoon winds it’s much easier to use artificials.
The wind has kept Captain Bill Plumley from targeting catfish the last few days, but he doubts the action has improved with the temperatures still cold.
But the black bass have totally changed since the last report, and Guide Lane Clark (864-254-8614) reports that the deep bite has really fallen off as a result of last week’s warming and now the most consistent thing going is shallow patterns. He is finding the best fishing up the creeks in stained water rather than targeting offshore LiveScope fish, and in less than ten feet of water they are catching them on spinnerbaits, crankbaits, and Alabama rigs. It’s basically Junk Fishing 101 and rock, laydowns and docks are all holding bass.
February 18
Lake Hartwell water levels are at 652.79 (full pool is 660.00) and the lake is mostly clear. Morning surface water temperatures are about 47-48 degrees.
The best thing going on Lake Hartwell is still the crappie, and Captain Rodney Donald (864-356-0143) reports that he continues to find incredibly cooperative fish at a variety of depths. This morning he was catching them with the boat sitting in less than 10 feet of water casting small swimbaits at brush 4 feet down in 6 feet of water, while yesterday he was catching them 4 feet down casting to the shady side of docks in 15 feet of water. And then there are still plenty of people catching fish around brush in 15-20 feet of water or deeper timber.
While it’s easy to understand why fish want to be high in the water column as the surface warms, harder to explain is why there have been some fish so shallow all winter. Captain Rodney’s best guess is that it is related to very low water levels.
The morning bite for hybrid and striped bass is still pretty slow with temperatures below 50 degrees, but Captain Chip Hamilton with Lake Hartwell Fishing Charters (864-304-9011) reports that especially after lunchtime the afternoon bite is getting better. The best pattern continues to be casting swimbaits along wind-blown banks, and now they are catching 8-10 fish in an afternoon this way. However, they suspect that with a rise of just a few more degrees the numbers will double or more.
At the same time the down-rod bite should start to pick up, but for now it is still slow. The best pattern for big fish remains pulling big baits on free-lines and planer boards.
Now down on Santee, Captain Bill Plumley reports that the catfish bite was incredibly slow before he left. He has fished all over the lake, from 25-80 feet, with very little to show for it. The relatively low population of blues and the difficulty of fishing deep water due to so much standing timber make the winter months a difficult time for catching Hartwell catfish.
Black bass report to follow after Guide Lane Clark (864-254-8614) finishes the tournament he is fishing.
February 11
Lake Hartwell water levels are at 652.57 (full pool is 660.00) and the lake is clear. Morning surface water temperatures are about 45-47 degrees.
It’s excellent black bass news this week from Guide Lane Clark (864-254-8614), and fresh off the water this morning Lane reports that the deep bite is extremely good right now. He is fishing main lake ditches and drains in 40-60 feet of water, and if there is cover it will be timber. They are using jigs, jigging spoons, and jighead minnows, and most of the fish are in the bottom half of the water column. When they chase bait they come up off the bottom but a lot of the time they are close to it.
The best thing about the bite is that in the deep water the quality is better than normal, and Lane notes that there are some hybrid and striped bass mixed in.
But for conventional herring fishing techniques the striper bite is still not great, and Captain Chip Hamilton with Lake Hartwell Fishing Charters (864-304-9011) reports that it’s just too cold for down-rods to be that consistent. Although it’s not wide open yet they are starting to catch some fish especially on warm afternoons casting swimbaits along wind-blown banks, and from about mid-February to mid-March this should be a really good pattern. But the best pattern for catching a big fish is still pulling big baits on free-lines and planer boards.
But the best thing going could be the crappie bite, and Captain Rodney Donald (864-356-0143) reports that he has found an outstanding bite in 15-20 feet of water around brush as well as docks in about the same depth. Fish are generally about 8 feet down. And while they are no longer related to brush, he has been surprised to also find some big groups of fish surprisingly shallow around rocky, red clay banks. Small swimbaits are working well.
Finally, on the catfish front Captain Bill Plumley reports that he has been on the water three days this week and has one bite and a 1 ½ pound channel cat to show for it. He has fished all over the lake, from 25-80 feet, and the bite has been brutally slow. A big one could come at any time, but the relatively low population of blues and the difficulty of fishing deep water due to so much standing timber make the winter months a difficult time for catching Hartwell catfish.
February 4
Lake Hartwell water levels are down to 652.70 (full pool is 660.00) and the lake is clear. Morning surface water temperatures are about 43 degrees.
When water temperatures get this low Captain Chip Hamilton with Lake Hartwell Fishing Charters (864-304-9011) reports that hybrid and striped bass fishing gets pretty tough, and in his experience you can get bites but it’s more like they are “grazing” than eating. Again, about the only thing that continues to bite decently for them when water temperatures get in this range is the white perch, and with small jigging spoons you should still be able to catch perch in 35-50 feet of water.
But with air temperatures in the 60s in the forecast things should turn around pretty soon.
We don’t have fresh black bass or crappie reports since the snow either, but Captain Bill Plumley has been out after the catfish. But the fishing was “terrible”, and he only managed a couple of pecks from channel catfish in 70 feet of water.
We expect to have much more action to report on next week.
January 28
Lake Hartwell water levels are at 653.59 (full pool is 660.00) and most of the lake is clear. Morning surface water temperatures are about 46-47 degrees.
After the last cold front Captain Chip Hamilton with Lake Hartwell Fishing Charters (864-304-9011) has decided to give the hybrid and striped bass on Lake Hartwell a break, and he doesn’t know of another captain who has been fishing for them. There’s no reason to think they won’t be in the same areas, but the bite was already very slow and has almost certainly gotten even slower. And this next cold front won’t help.
Usually about the only thing that continues to bite decently for them when water temperatures get in this range is the white perch, and with small jigging spoons you should still be able to catch perch in 35-50 feet of water.
It’s a similar story on the catfish from Captain Bill Plumley, who also hasn’t been out this week but reported a terrible bite at last report. Which is unlikely to have improved.
On the other hand Captain Rodney Donald (864-356-0143) reports that the crappie were doing well when he was last able to target them, but he also hasn’t been able to fish with the weather. Most recently he was on a shallow pattern which is hard to imagine continues, but there could still be fish biting on his other former pattern around timber in 35-50 feet. Captain Rodney will report back as soon as he gets out there.
Black bass report to follow, probably after the snow when our expert is back in town and on the water.
January 21
Lake Hartwell water levels are at 653.21 (full pool is 660.00) and most of the lake is clear. Morning surface water temperatures are about 50 degrees.
Even before water temperatures dropped from about 53 to around 50 the hybrid and striped bass fishing had really slowed down on Lake Hartwell, and Captain Chip Hamilton with Lake Hartwell Fishing Charters (864-304-9011) reports that the coming weather will almost certainly slow things much further if the conditions predicted actually materialize.
Fish are still grouped up in the same areas in 35-50 feet on the bottom around structure in the creeks and rivers, but they just aren’t biting very well. At times even white perch aren’t biting! Numbers are low on down-rods, and pulling big baits on free-lines and planer boards is often more productive for catching fish and certainly good ones. If you can find a warmer afternoon when the water warms then targeting 20-25 feet is often the best pattern.
Luckily the black bass are feeding better than the striper, and Guide Lane Clark (864-254-8614) reports that the cold is actually often a good thing for the bass. It congregates the fish in bigger and tighter schools, and they become even more bait-oriented.
By far the best action is still out deep, and fish are oriented to ditches and channels with 35-50 feet the best depth range. Some are on the bottom while others are roaming and chasing bait. Basically they are around bait schools and timber, and spoons, underspins, jigs, and minnow-type swimbaits have been the best ways to target them.
But there is an alternate pattern, at least before the weekend’s weather arrives, and fishing the rivers with an Alabama rig around docks can be productive. The best docks are a bit flatter in 5-15 feet but near the main channel, while steeper docks are less likely to hold fish.
On the other hand the catfish bite has been brutally slow, and Captain Bill Plumley reports that anchoring in clean spots in very deep water he has not had any bites. If he could drift it might be easier to put baits in front of more fish, but with so much timber in Hartwell that is very difficult. Regardless they don’t seem to be feeding very actively.
Off the water this week Captain Rodney Donald (864-356-0143) doesn’t have a personal read on the crappie, but in any event the patterns should be all about to change after the front. More information to follow.
January 7
Lake Hartwell water levels are down to 652.96 (full pool is 660.00) and most of the lake is clear. Morning surface water temperatures are about 50 degrees.
The hybrid and striped bass are still biting really well on Lake Hartwell, and Captain Chip Hamilton with Lake Hartwell Fishing Charters (864-304-9011) reports that in particular the jigging spoon bite has been very good. Some boats are going out without bait and getting impressive mixed bags with a bunch of striped fish, black bass (mostly spots) and white perch. Down-rods with herring are also working.
Locations have not changed much, and while the rivers do have fish, the better concentrations of fish (perhaps because of the size of the water) are in the creeks right now. They are mostly fishing the front quarter of smaller creeks and roughly the front half of bigger creeks. About 30-40 and even now 45 feet is the ideal depth range, with ridges, humps, and long tapering points with clean spots near the creek channel all productive.
In striper tournaments there is a different pattern, however, and anglers looking for a few big fish are almost exclusively running planers boards with big baits. They are generally looking a little shallower in 20-25 feet of water, especially when the sun gets up and the water warms, for fish that are more of loners.
The best black bass bite is certainly still out deep, and Guide Lane Clark (864-254-8614) reports that fish are highly grouped up in deep water. They are oriented to ditches and channels, and 35-50 feet has been the best depth range. Some are on the bottom while others are roaming and chasing bait. Basically they are around bait schools and timber, and spoons, underspins, jigs, and minnow-type swimbaits have been the best ways to target them.
Amazingly for this late (now early) in the year, Captain Rodney Donald (864-356-0143) reports that he is still catching crappie shockingly shallow. Today on the water he was catching them casting swimbaits to fish just over the top of brush that extends to 6 feet below the surface in 10 feet of water. Again, the area he is fishing has a little stain.
He also has friends catching them around standing timber in 30-40 feet of water.
Meanwhile, Captain Bill Plumley reports that he is catching crappie as well as perch and a few spots around brush in 27 feet of water on minnows. He plans to use the heads for catfish, which he expects to still be very deep. The last big fish he caught was in 70 plus feet of water while smaller channel catfish are still occasionally coming in about 40-45 feet of water.
