Clarks Hill Fishing Report January 2006

Clarks Hill: Level: 2.3 feet below full. Temp: 59-60 degrees. Clarity: Clear.

Bass: Fair. David Smith said there’s no big secrets to fishing Clarks Hill in January. Just take a lead-head Fluke, start at the mouth of a ditch and start chunking. Expect bites in 15-25 feet of water, and yo-yo the bait back to the boat. Any irregularity, like a stump or bend in the ditch, can hold four or five fish. Look for a lot of ditches in the Cherokee-Mosley-Fort Gordon areas. “The jig ’n pig is starting to really catch on over here,” said David. “I like to yo-yo a 1/2-oz. brown jig on points with some sort of rock on them.”

Linesides: Good. There’s several ways to catch Clarks Hill linesides in January. However, the most important thing to do first is find birds diving on bluebacks. From there you can begin to catch fish. The birds will show you where the bait is, and that’s key. You can freeline under a cork or troll planer boards with live bluebacks. You’ll continue to catch fish on some flatlines, and downlines in 18 to 25 feet of water will work, too. Jigging spoons are great baits for catching stripers, hybrids, white bass and white perch. Look for giant balls of shad on your depthfinder, and lower a spoon. Traditionally fish are up the lake in the bigger tributaries. A good place to start is above Raysville in the Big and Hart creeks area of the Little River arm.