Clarks Hill is at 328.94 and water temperatures are around 50 degrees.

Black bass: Fair to good. Buckeye Lures in Augusta reports that fishing remains pretty strong on Clarks Hill, although the pattern is changing. Fish are starting to move a bit shallower in the morning when they are feeding on bait, and early in the day anglers are catching them on crankbaits and even Jiggin’ Blades (which are more typically fished deeper than they are being used right now). The fish will usually pull out deeper after that, and anglers can catch them on Mop Jigs thrown at humps, ditches and other deeper depth changes. Overall, fish are starting to spread out into the creeks and to moves into deep ditches that lead up onto spawning flats.

Striped and Hybrid Bass: Fair. Captain William Sasser (864-333-2000) reports that the key to catching fish on Clarks Hill right now is finding the groups of fish, and smart anglers are using the gulls to point them in the right direction. There is a group of hybrids in front of the dam, and anglers can target the fish by tying up to the cable and fishing herring about 20 feet down. Striper are mainly located in the middle and lower lake, and once anglers locate the fish they can catch them on planer boards, free-lines, or down-lines. Again, the key is finding the fish and not the technique that anglers use to target them.

Crappie: Fair. Captain William Sasser reports that crappie are trying to move up shallow right now as they are focused on spawning. When water temperatures drop a few more degrees they will be able to, but for now they are staged up in the backs of creeks 5 or 6 feet down over 10 feet of water. William’s boat has caught some big crappie on minnows.

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DHEC Fish Advisory: Only one meal per week of largemouth bass.