Lake Hartwell Fishing Report – September 2024

Hartwell: Level: 4.8 feet below 660. Temp: 84-87. Clarity: Clear.

Bass & Stripers: Trent Gober, with Fish Hartwell Guide Service, said bass are on the main-lake brush and canepiles, as well as natural timber. Catch them by casting big topwater plugs, like a Super Spook, OG and Gunfish to draw them to the top. You can also catch them on shaky-head worms and drop shots. Use a green-pumpkin-green Trick Worm on both. Brush in 25 to 30 feet of water is best for spots and largemouth. Many folks are using forward-facing sonar to find and cast to bass over the timber. Use soft minnow baits, like a fluke on a jig head, for them. It takes time to learn how to use FFS to catch them, but once you do, it is the best way to win a tournament. Stripers are stacked up deep from 30 to 80 feet of water. Troll a Captain Mack’s Chipmunk Jig on lead-core line or on a downrigger to get down to them.  If you are seeing fish on your electronics but not getting bit, the downrigger ball may be spooking them, so go to the lead core line. Trent says if someone in the boat is fighting a striper or hybrid, get a big spoon ready to throw behind the hooked fish. There are likely others following it, and they will “jerk the rod out of your hand!” Baitfish are stacked up near the mouths of creeks and will start moving into them later in the month. Bass, hybrids and stripers will follow the bait as it moves.”

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