Clarks Hill Fishing Report March 2014

Clarks Hill: Level: Down 1 foot below full pool. Temp: 52-59 degrees. Clarity: The water is starting to clear up where all the winter rain and wind had it stained. The lower end is already almost clear.

Bass: Very good. Tournament pro Jon Hair reports the bass fishing is wide open. On Saturday, it took 27 pounds to win a tournament. Fish are staging for the spawn in pockets all over the lake. “The earliest I’ve seen them spawn on this lake is the last week of March,” said Jon. He said most, if not all, of March will be a feeding-up month as fish prepare to get on the beds. It’s hard to go wrong running shallow, sandy pockets with a crawfish-colored crankbait, ChatterBait or spinnerbait. Look for that bite in 1 to 6 feet of water. Some fish can be taken on jigs and worms on secondary points, but the best bite will be on plugs and spinnerbaits, Jon said.

Linesides: Guide William Sasser reports, “The hybrids and stripers are lingering at the mouths of creeks on the mid to lower ends of the lake. Pulling planer boards with blueback herring and gizzard shad around secondary points and underwater humps will produce some nice catches of 3- to 7-lb. hybrids and 8- to 15-lb. stripers. Focus on areas such as Bennefield Creek, Shriver Creek, Dordon Creek and Cherokee Creek. Also some hybrids in the 1- to 4-lb. class are starting to show up on humps in 30 to 35 feet of water fishing bluebacks approximately 20 to 25 feet deep on downlines. There has been plenty of bait activity on the lower end of the lake around the dam, which is a good indication that the hybrids should be showing up around the cable anytime now.”

Crappie: William reports, “The crappie have started moving shallow with bank fishermen already catching nice coolers of slabs around Baker Creek and Long Cane Creek. If you are fishing from a boat, use a bobber and a small shiner, and cast toward the bank in 6 to 8 feet of water. Also work along the edges of the banks in the backs of creeks.”