Clarks Hill Fishing Report – April 2009

Clarks Hill: Level: 8.8 feet below full pool. Temp: Mid 60s. Clarity: Slightly stained.

Bass: Good. Dale Gibbs reports, “The largemouth bite is getting better every day. Bass have been hitting shallow- to medium-running crankbaits in firetiger patterns and anything with a little red on it. As fish begin bedding, be sure to throw spinnerbaits and floating worms early while changing to lizards, worms and jigs later in the day.”

Linesides: Good. Capt. Dave Willard reports, “April is a great month to catch not only limits of 3- to 6-lb. fish but also the monster stripers. My favorite pattern is to go out at daylight and down fish (weighted lines straight down) live bait over large schools of fish and to get a bunch of those. That takes the pressure off me, and then we go after the larger stripers. In April this means freelining and planer-board fishing in the shallow water. My favorite spots are Holiday Park and Big Hart Creek on the Georgia side and Buffalo Creek and Russell Creek on the South Carolina side. The blow-throughs also come alive this time of year. These are shallow areas between islands where the winds can blow through. They usually hold lots of spawning herring, and largemouths, hybrids and stripers congregate and feed on the baitfish. This is the tine for the Zara Spook and other topwater lures.”