Clarks Hill Fishing Report – March 2007

Clarks Hill: Level: 4.6 feet low. Temp: 50 degrees. Clarity: Clear.

Bass: Great. Look for fish to follow the ditches into shallower water. Jeremy Altman targets ditches 10 to 20 feet deep with hydrilla nearby. He’ll throw a Ditch Blade in the ditches and a Mop Jig onto grassy flats near the ditches. Don’t be surprised to see some good surface activity on these flats if we have three or four days with temperatures in the 70s. Jeremy keeps a Fluke handy for these fish, and he like fishing the Little River, Georgia area. For more on how Jeremy fishes Clarks Hill in March, turn to page 52. “Fish should be on the move in the next week or two.”

Linesides: “March is the start of our spring season, and fishing can really be productive or it can be very frustrating,” said Capt. Dave Willard. “The weather is crucial. A warming trend will really turn the fish on, but unfortunately March can have many cool fronts. I like the water to reach the high 50s, which will increase the fish bite. We’ll be pulling planer boards with live herring in the shallow water. This should produce some nice hybrids, stripers and largemouth bass.” Capt. William Sasser will be fishing from Parksville to the dam. “I’ll downline live herring in 20 to 30 feet of water on main-lake points,” said William. “The water is so clear; you’ll need four feet of fluorocarbon to catch a fish.”

Crappie: Fair. William said the fishing has been pretty slow, but it should really pick up. “I’m going to kill them in Grays, Lloyds, and Cherokee,” said William. “They will be staging in 20 to 30 feet of water around brush. It’s a great time to troll.” Look for the fish on big flats. Downlining minnows works, too.