Clarks Hill Lake Fishing Reports – August 2020

Clarks Hill: Level: Full pool. Temp: High 80s. Clarity: Clear down the lake but some good color still in the creek and rivers.

Bass: Tournament angler Josh Rockefeller reports, “The shallow bite is the way to go. Throwing buzzbaits and poppers around shallow cover is producing fish. Look for places where cover meets a transition in the water. Run-offs and the backs of creeks are the best places to look. Due to the rain this year, the rivers are staying pretty stained, which helps the topwater bite and allows you to get closer to the cover without spooking the fish. Down toward the dam the water is clear and fish can be caught fishing the brushpiles, as well.”

Linesides: Guide Bradd Sasser reports, “The hybrids and stripers have moved onto humps in the middle of the channel on the lower end of the lake. The most aggressive bite is coming an hour before sunrise and lasting until about an hour after and then the same scenario around sunset. The fish are 30 to 35 feet deep early and then move out toward 45 to 50 feet deep later in the morning. These patterns will hold steady until the heat begins to break.” Guide Eddie Mason reports, “I’m staying on the lower end of the lake. For the most part I’m putting in at Modoc and staying between Hamilton Branch and the dam. They turned the oxygen lines on right there at the Modoc ramp, and that really helps this time of year when the water is so hot. I’m using downrods and blueback herring, and the oxygen helps keep the bait alive. I’m starting in the morning about daybreak in water that’s approximately 25 feet deep in the main river channel and on long, running points. As the sun comes up, we’re going out into water that’s a little deeper (about 40 feet), but we’re usually off the lake fairly early.”

Read archived fishing articles on GON’s Clarks Hill Lake page.