Lake Hartwell Fishing Report – September 2019

Hartwell: Level: 1.8 feet low. Temp: Mid 80s. Clarity: Mostly clear with some stain in creeks.

Bass: Tournament angler Kerry Partain reports, “The bass fishing on Hartwell has been tougher the past few weeks, but the cooler weather is starting to change everything for the better. We have been catching some fish deep around brush and timber using drop shots with a Zoom Z-drop worm or a Swamp Crawler worm. We have also been catching some bigger fish on humps and points near deeper water with a shaky head rigged with a Zoom Trick Worm or Magnum Swamp Crawler. There has been a little schooling activity starting to fire up, and this should only get better with the water temperatures starting to cool down. For schooling fish in September, I always keep a Zoom Super Fluke on the front deck because you never know when or where they will come up feeding and you have to get bait in there quick. The baitfish and bass move around a lot this time of year, so I rely heavily on my Lowrance electronics to hit different areas until I find a group of active fish.”

Linesides: Guide Preston Harden reports, “Fishing is in the summer pattern, and September will be mostly like August. By late September, the water should start cooling, and the fish will start moving up shallower. Stripers and hybrids are mostly in the mid to lower lake. The biggest concentrations of fish are close to the dam area. This is the area that has the best water quality of the whole lake. They will stay in this area until the water starts cooling in late September. Then they will start roaming and feeding shallower. Blueback herring on a Carolina rig works great. Lower the bait to the fish, and hold on. Big spoons and big jig heads with swimbaits work, too. Using artificials takes more work to entice a reaction strike. I always have a topwater plug rigged this time of year. You never know when they will come up chasing herring in the surface.”