Clarks Hill Fishing Report – June 2009

Clarks Hill: Level: 3.7 feet below full pool. Temp: 69-75 degrees. Clarity: Clear on the main lake; light stain in the upper ends and up Georgia’s Little River.

Bass: Excellent. Dale Gibbs reports, “Clarks Hill has been red hot now for about a month. Largemouths are still chasing herring on major river-channel points the first few hours of the day but are becoming elusive, due to the fishing pressure on them the last four weeks or so. All the usual schooling baits will work early, but you need to try worms and jigs later in the day for continued action. Look for the surface temp to begin to rise in the beginning of June into the mid 80s, which will move the fish farther out off the points and onto humps in 10 to 15 feet of water and sometimes as deep as 20 feet. Be prepared to throw jigs and Carolina rigs with Trick Worms and finesse worms.”

Linesides: Very good. Capt. Dave Willard reports, “May has been a great month, and June should be even better. The fish should be coming back down from up river, and as they mix with the local fish, we should start seeing huge schools of stripers and hybrids on the sonar. These schools should run in the 24- to 30-foot range, and they should definitely be open for business. We usually drift live herring on downrods using Carolina rigs. Some good places to try would be at the mouths of Soap Creek and Hawe Creek on the main river channel, and Cherokee Creek and Mims Branch on the Little River Georgia arm. After finding a good location, the action should be fast and furious. Many times we’ll have a limit after just a couple of hours.” Capt. William Sasser reports, “This June, the way the weather has been this year, we will still be fishing an April pattern for stripers and hybrids. We’ll pull planers early in the morning in shallow water and then fish cut bait mid morning in 10 to 20 feet of water. Amity and Soap Creek are great areas to fish. Flukes fished in the blow-throughs right after daylight and right at dark will catch fish.”

Crappie: Good, according to William. “We’ll fish live small shiners over brush in 15 to 20 feet of water fishing on the bottom under the structure. Areas of the lake are not so important this time of year as finding trees in the right depth and being patient,” he said.

Catfish: “June is a great month for fishing at night for these whiskered fish on Clarks Hill,” said William. “We use cut herring or gizzard shad for bait and fish a hump that rises to within 5 feet of the surface. Fish on the slopes of the hump. Chum in the water is a plus. Stay away from hydrilla banks.”

Shellcrackers: Fair. “You can still catch a respectable number this month by fishing on the bottom with pink worms off of secondary points that have muscle shells on them,” William said.