Lake Hartwell Fishing Report – August 2021

Hartwell: Level: Just above full pool. Temp: 85-89 degrees. Clarity: Lots of rain has stained the water, so expect 2 to 3 feet of visibility and zero to 1 foot in the creeks.

Bass: Guide Matt Justice reports, “August is considered the dog days of summer, but with higher-than-normal oxygen levels, the fish don’t seem to mind. Fishing has been better than what can normally be expected. Throwing large walking baits and flukes above brush and canepiles is the predominate pattern. Look for brush in 15 to 30 feet of water on main-lake points and humps. With the lake just above full pool, a lot of shallow cover is available to throw topwater frogs and Zoom Speed Worms around. Look for moving and stained water. Night fishing has also been doing very well with large catches of largemouth and striper around lights.” 

Linesides: Guide Preston Harden reports, “Stripers and hybrids migrate to the mid to lower lake in the summer. Some years by August most larger stripers are south of the fork between the Seneca and Tugaloo rivers where the Savannah river begins. We have had bad water quality for the last three years and the thermocline has made it to the lower lake. The Fisheries biologists say the huge rains have been a problem. Hopefully the heavy rains will subside. If there is a thermocline, fish will be above 40 feet. Bait will die if fished below the thermocline. If the thermocline does not make it to the lower lake, look for big fish as deep as 120 feet deep. Live herring work great. I add a few pounds of ice in the summer. I lower the bait through the hot surface water quickly. Power reeling works great on these deep fish. A big, 8- to 10-inch spoon or a big jig head with a big swimbait will get bit. When you reel through the fish marked on the sonar, don’t slow down. Reel fast when you see a fish following. Bass and crappie move to deeper water around structure. I think the spots group up more as the water heats up. Look for brushpiles 15 to 30 feet deep around points and humps. I will start with a topwater plug and then a drop shot or use a shaky head and fish vertically where I mark the spots on the sonar. When you find one, there are usually more.”