Lake Hartwell Fishing Reports – July 2021

Hartwell: Level: 1 foot above full pool. Temp: 82-85 degrees. Clarity: 1 to 4 feet.

Bass: Guide Matt Justice reports, “Fishing in July can be quite tough, but if you know what to look for, the fishing can be red hot. Finding fresh brush (cane) piles with the leaves still attached is key. This gives fish a nice open-water ambush spot. Throw topwaters over previously marked spots, and fish lots of locations. Finding active fish can take some time. Fishing shallow with a hollow-body frog around bream beds can still produce some very large fish.”

Linesides: Guide Preston Harden reports, “As we go through June, most fish migrate to cooler, deeper water. Hybrids and stripers are moving south toward the lower lake. Bass and crappie are moving to deeper water away from the shallows. Electronics become more important to locate fish in deeper water. By July, the water is hot in the upper water column. Stripers and hybrids have to have cool, oxygenated water. This need pushes them down the lake to better water quality. Look from mid lake to the dam. When you locate fish on your sonar, lower a lively blueback herring right above the fish. This time of year, herring rarely get refused. Another technique is to power reel through the school with a big spoon or a big jig head and a swimbait. I also keep a topwater plug ready in case fish chase bait to the surface. Bass and crappie find cooler water 20 to 30 feet deep. They do not migrate far from their shallow areas. Look for them around brush and other structure off the bank. Crappie love small minnows on a slip float right above where you find them. Bass will come up 20 feet to smash a topwater plug worked above structure. They will eat a soft plastic on a drop shot or a shaky head worked close to the structure.”