Lake Hartwell Fishing Report – December 2007

Hartwell: Level: 12.1 feet below full pool. Temp: 61 degrees. Clarity: Clear.

Bass: Good. Hartwell bass-fishing guide Josh Fowler said bass are being caught a lot of different ways right now. The better fish are being caught on crankbaits and spinnerbaits in the creeks. Matt and Aaron Isbell won the pot tournament on Nov. 10 with 13 pounds. They reported catching 17 fish all on shallow-running crankbaits. The crankbait bite is a tactic you have to stick with all day. You may fish an hour and not get a bite then catch three or four out of one pocket. This bite should hold up for the next few weeks. The vertical approach is just starting to produce, however, the fish are small. The jigging spoon and drop-shot should really start to produce some solid weights by the second week of December. Look for the fish to be in 35 to 50 feet of water on the edge of the timber. Pay close attention to your graph; the fish will be holding right on the edge of the trees. Try using a 5/8-oz. Berry’s Flex-it spoon for jigging and a 4-inch finesse worm on the drop shot. There will be a lot of fish caught with these vertical techniques this month; however, I prefer to fish a jig. There are always a few fish around the docks this month. I like to use Buckeye Lures football-head jig with a Zoom Super Chunk as a trailer. Brown or crawfish colors are good. Key on the docks that sit on the creek channel. Brush is just an added bonus. It’s always a good idea to have something ready to cast to surface activity this month. I will always have a jerkbait and a Buckeye Lures Ditch Blade ready to cast to any schooling fish.”

Linesides: Really good, said guide Steve Crenshaw. “The fish are schooling some, and the gulls are working the bait, too,” he said. Steve said the fish have followed the bait back into the creeks chasing bait. You can catch them with freelined live baits, but Steve mostly fishes downlines. “When they school, they will be stacked up 20 or 30 feet deep, and you can catch them straight under the boat,” he said. The fish are running anywhere from 2 1/2 to 12 pounds, although one of Steve’s clients boated a 35-pounder in October.