AHQ Report - Lake Hartwell
Here are some pictures, courtesy of Captain Bill Plumley (864-287-2120), that show water conditions on Lake Hartwell today. Even though water levels dropped about a foot yesterday – down to 662.91 as of publication – they are still about three feet above full pool. Pictured here is the view of Double Springs Ramps, which is obviously still closed, […]
Full pool for Lake Hartwell is 660.0 feet, and right now Lake Hartwell water levels stand at 664.15. This actually represents a drop of about a foot in the last few days, and at their peak water levels were more than five feet above full pool. Captain Bill Plumley (864-287-2120) points out that the problem is […]
While the bite for striper and hybrids on Lake Hartwell has gotten really good, the fish still haven’t made a huge move up the rivers. Guide Chip Hamilton (864-304-9011) reports that the fish usually make the run sometime in November, but with water temperatures still hovering in the low 60s they haven’t made the move […]
Last weekend tournament angler and guide Brad Fowler fished the ABA National Championship on Lake Hartwell and finished in fourth place in the roughly 300-boat field. Most people would have been thrilled. However, when we spoke I could tell that – instead of being satisfied at having won several thousand dollars and come out so […]
Guide Chip Hamilton (864-304-9011) reports that striped bass on Lake Hartwell are in a transition phase, and about last Friday he says that the bite got really tough. For the last few days his boat has been struggling to catch striper and hybrids, and it’s only because of spotted bass that the action has stayed […]
Even though catching bass on Lake Hartwell has been a struggle, the bite just up the road on Lake Keowee is very strong. Guide Brad Fowler of Pendleton reports that fish are feeding pretty heavily and there is significant schooling activity going on all over the lake, both over shallow water and over deep water. Anglers […]
This Wednesday, Thursday and Friday the ABA Ram American Fishing Tour held its National Championship on Lake Hartwell, bringing with it nearly 300 boaters competing for the first prize of a top-of the line boat and a Ram truck. With the lake turning over anglers knew that fishing conditions would be tough, but they were […]
We all know the fish aren’t biting all day every day, and if someone tells you that they can’t miss that’s probably not a fisherman worth trusting. The report from Captain Bill Plumley (864-287-2120) this week shows that he is someone worth trusting as Bill gives the honest appraisal that striped bass fishing has gotten a […]
Unusual for this time of year Captain Bill Plumley (864-287-2120) reports that striped bass fishing has been pretty tough, and while the causes are unclear it may be related to a lot of hot water having been pulled down deep as part of power generation. Whatever the cause, mornings have been relatively slow with the fishing […]
Typical of late summer Guide Brad Fowler (864-934-5813) reports that the bass bite has slowed down somewhat on Lake Hartwell, but there are still fish to be caught. In fact, anglers looking to catch numbers of fish should have no trouble catching a ton of bass drop shotting around deep structure, particularly when there is the […]
In February of this year (around the time that the Bassmasters Classic anglers were dealing with frozen rod guides, icy boat ramps, and more), I remember talking to Captain Bill Plumley (864-287-2120) about what was then a pretty slow striper bite. He told me that he always does better with striper when it’s really hot than […]
Lake Hartwell is at 660.00 and water temperatures are up to about 80 degrees. Striped and Hybrid Bass: Very good. Captain Bill Plumley reports striped bass fishing is very good right now and his boat is catching strong limits of fish daily, mostly on down-lined live herring. Fish can still be caught in the major rivers […]
Week 13 saw four open/ tournament trail events reported on SCFishingReport.com; an ABA Weekend Series event on Lake Hartwell, two CATT tournaments (Santee and Wateree), and a BFL NC Division tournament on Lake Wylie. ABA Weekend Series Lake Hartwell The American Bass Anglers Weekend Bass Series had its second event of the season on Hartwell out […]
Lake Hartwell is up to 657.99 with water temperatures in the mid-50s some days, and as the lake begins to thaw out the fishing is picking up, too. Feeding activity is still not great but it is headed that way. Striped and Hybrid Bass: Fair. Captain Bill Plumley reports that as water temperatures are rising striper fishing […]
The Fish the Fall Elite Team Trail had its two-day Lake Murray event on Friday and Saturday (March 6 and 7), and it was a good one. The father/ son team of Mike and Brian Tidwell won the tournament with a two-day total of 48.33 pounds, including a whopping Day 2 bag weighing 30.79 pounds! […]
Week 9 saw six open/ tournament trail events previewed/ reported on SCFishingReport.com, as well as the first week of the “Pick ‘Em” contest on this site. Results and winning patterns follow: ABA Weekend Series Lake Murray Congratulation to Brock Taylor of Pendleton, winner of the first ABA Weekend Series SC Division event of 2015 on Lake Murray. […]
Congratulation to Brock Taylor of Pendleton, winner of the first ABA Weekend Series SC Division event of 2015 on Lake Murray. Brock had 19.12 pounds (5 fish). Second place went to Sean Anderson of Leesville with 18.78 pounds (5). Third place went to Todd Pearson of Anderson with 16.28 pounds (5). Fourth place went to Randy C. Huffman […]
On the Wednesday before the Bassmaster Classic, this site interviewed 2014 FLW Forrest Wood Cup Champion Anthony Gagliardi about baits he would be throwing if were fishing the Classic. Anthony told us his first choice would be the Buckeye Lures Su-Spin Blade, and told us that in the late winter when bass are around bait – either suspended […]
When the FLW Championship came to Lake Murray in the summer of 2014 bass fishing experts from around the country (if not the world) offered their perspective on the Midlands fishery. A lot of it was very good information, and from the tournament we learned some things we didn’t know about Lake Murray – such […]
FLW Tour Professional Anthony Gagliardi, winner of the 2014 Forrest Wood Cup on Lake Murray, doesn’t have to contend with the arctic blast that is greeting anglers this week in the 2015 Bassmaster Classic on Lake Hartwell. But that doesn’t mean he isn’t thinking about how he would fish if he were in the competition. […]
Week 7 saw two open/ tournament trail events reported on SCFishingReport.com, a BFL event on Lake Murray and a South Carolina Bass Federation tournament on Lake Hartwell. BFL Lake Murray 90 boats (each with a boater and co-angler) fished the first BFL Savannah River Division event of the 2015 season, and there were more big bags […]
On Saturday, February 14 the first event of the 2015 BFL South Carolina Division season took place on Lake Murray out of Dreher Island State Park. 90 boaters and co-anglers braved freezing conditions early, and fierce winds throughout the day, in search of unpredictable late winter bass. Most anglers described the conditions and the fishing […]
Week 7 was originally supposed to see three open/ tournament trail events calendared on SCFishingReport.com, but tournament director Brett Collins decided to postpone (date TBA) the second CATT Spring Qualifier on Lake Wylie because so many anglers were planning to fish the first CBC NC Division event of the year on Lake Norman. Accordingly, this […]
The first event of the Carolinas Bass Challenge 2015 South Carolina Division season is in the books, and as expected tournament director Brett Collins hosted a superb tournament to officially kick off the fourth year of this mega-trail for weekend anglers. 173 boats and 374 anglers were part of the event where more than $40,000.00 […]