Clarks Hill Fishing Report – December 2010

Clarks Hill: Level: 6.6 feet below full pool. Temp: 63 degrees. Clarity: Perfect color.

Bass: Fair to good. Dale Gibbs reports, “The baitfish are migrating into the backs of creeks and will be a little easier to find this month. Check the back end of creeks early in the mornings for bass feeding on these. As always, baits such as Zoom Super Flukes in pearl or white-ice colors will be handy. Use them on jig heads or floating, depending on the depth of the fish. Rapala Shad Raps in the No. 5 or No. 7 size will work also. Color is not as important as line. I like to use 10-lb. Berkley Fireline. This line is good when cranking around grass because it has no stretch and will easily free your bait from hydrilla when it gets tangled. Just quickly snap your rod tip when you feel it becoming entangled, and it should pop free with little effort. This is when you will get a lot of your strikes as the bait snaps free from its entanglement. Remember to use a rod that has a soft action when using lines that have no stretch, so as not to tear the bait out of the fish’s mouth while fighting him. A Buckeye Lures Mop Jig in brown can be very effective also later in the day as the feeding in the back ends slows. Try fishing it on points or in brush. I like a Zoom Super Chunk in green pumpkin to tip it with. Also, don’t forget to use your jigging spoons this month. Watch your depthfinders closely in the 25- to 40-foot range. CC spoons, Berry’s Flex It spoons and Buckeye Jigging Blades can be very effective. Colors are silver, gold and white.”

Linesides: Excellent. Capt. William Sasser reports, “The hybrids and stripers on the lower end of the lake are averaging between 2 and 8 pounds and are jumping in the boat. We are still fishing downlines with live herring in 20 to 40 feet of water and having a ball. Raysville area is full of schooling fish every evening. Sammys and weighted flukes (white with chartreuse) catch fish. Later in the month we will break out the planer boards with gizzards for bigger fish in the smaller tributaries of the lake.”

Crappie: Good. Capt. William Sasser reports, “Georgia Little River is where we will be on top of brushpiles fishing in 30 to 40 feet of water with the bait 20 feet down. Germany and Lloyds creeks are great places to start.”