Clarks Hill Fishing Report – April 2010

Clarks Hill: Level: 2.7 feet below full pool. Temp: 54 degrees. Clarity: The main lake is lightly stained; up the rivers and creeks are stained.

Bass: Dale Gibbs reports, “Fishing has been improving over the last month for largemouths and will continue to get better as the water warms. The full moon at the end of March brought our first wave of bedding bass to the shallows. The past couple of weeks the bigger fish have begun to feed in the shallows. Several tournaments have posted 20-plus pound catches. Spinnerbaits and crankbaits have produced the best. On a trip with Gene Williams, of Grovetown, on March 18, we were able to catch 10 fish with our best five weighing 21 to 22 pounds. Both of us caught fish in the 6- to 7-lb. range. April is here, and the bass will be bedding the next four to six weeks pretty hard. The best luck will generally come around the new and full moons. Baits to try during this period are spinnerbaits, Carolina- and Texas-rigged worms and lizards, jig ’n pigs, jerkbaits and crankbaits. Floating worms can be extremely effective also. Keep in mind the lake will probably remain 2 to 4 feet low throughout the spring. This will affect their bedding locations. Look for them to use points instead of pockets and to bed slightly deeper due to the lake’s fluctuation in level.”

Linesides: Very good. Capt. Dave Willard reports, “Look for stripers, hybrids and largemouths to be in the shallow gorging themselves on blueback herring. Almost any shallow-water technique will produce fish this time of year. Live herring fished behind planer boards or freelined in 2 to 6 feet of water is deadly. The blow-throughs are a good place to find hot action for stripers as well as big largemouths. Zara Spooks and Pencil Poppers are super for these areas. Bass Alley on the main river channel as well as Cherokee Creek on the Little River-Georgia side are great areas to try. Also any shallow-water marker buoy is a good place to make a few casts.” William Sasser reports, “April is a great month to fish the area in front of the dam with live herring on downlines 25 to 30 feet deep. We will also pull freelines and planers across points early in the morning and late in the evening. Nighttime fishing around the dam kicks off this month with just about everybody catching fish. Cut bait fished from the bank is also great.”

Crappie: “This month the crappie are spawning, and we will be fishing for them in South Carolina Little River, Buffalo Creek and Soap Creek,” William said. “We will mainly be pulling jigs of various colors depending on the water clarity. Brushpile fishing for postspawn fish will also be good. Anchor on top and use small minnows.”