Clarks Hill Fishing Report August 2006

Level: 4.0 feet low. Temp: 85-89 degrees. Clarity: Clear.

Bass: Good. Craig Johnson says, “It’s taking 17 pounds to win a tournament, and at least 15 pounds to get a check. We’re catching 90 percent of our fish from 12 to 3 p.m. suspended in 20-35 feet of water. Throw topwater all day long. The clear Gunfish 95 by Lucky Craft is doing the best. A few people are catching them on Spook Jr’s, but nothing like the Gunfish is producing. Just keep the boat in 40-45 feet of water, and throw as far as you can to the deep side of the humps. It’s gotta be the deep side, the shallow side isn’t producing. There are about 400 humps on this lake, and we’re catching fish on all of them in the middle of the day with the Gunfish. Some guys are catching bigger fish with a green pumpkinseed worm on a Carolina-rig. They are fishing in 20-30 feet of water on the outside of the hydrilla. This is where all the baitfish are so it’s where you want to throw your bait. The morning bite is fair on buzzbaits for the first hour to hour and half of daylight. The night bite has been horrible before 10:30 or 11, the fish just aren’t biting. Next month look for the buzzbait bite to improve into early October. Stick to the main-lake humps to get the bigger fish.”

Hybrids: Great. “The hybrids are schooling every morning around an hour after daylight from the dam all the way to the Little River Bridge. There will be at least two acres of them in the schools. We were catching fish every cast with a Berkley five-inch jerk shad. It’s the saltwater series in pearl watermelon. Just work it the same as you would a fluke. It has the same action, but it looks more realistic so its producing major results,” said Craig.