Lake Hartwell Fishing Report – February 2010

Hartwell: Level: 0.4 feet above full pool. Temp: 46 to 49 degrees. Clarity: Stained in the backs of drainages from weekend rains.

Bass: Good. Josh Fowler reports, “Bass fishing has been good over the last few weeks. It’s taking about 15 pounds to win the local tournaments, and I expect the weights to increase as we head into February. The best deal going right now is the deep jigging-spoon bite. On the main lake I am fishing the ditches and drains that lead out into the timber. Most of the fish are holding on the shallow side of the trees in 35 to 45 feet of water. If you’re in the creeks you can focus on the sharp channel bends and the old roadbeds. The fish are hugging the bottom very tight, and they are hard to see on the graph until you catch one. When you hook one, the screen will light up with fish. If the spoon bite slows after you catch a few, try casting a Buckeye Lures 1/2-oz. football jig rigged with a Zoom Creepy Crawler or a 3/8-oz. Ditch Blade rigged with a Zoom Fluke Jr. Work these baits slowly through the same ditches. If the weather stays cold, these same techniques should hold strong as we get into February. If we have several days of warm weather, I wouldn’t be surprised to see a shallow cranking bite get fired up. A Lucky Craft D-9 Slim Shad or a Lucky Craft Flat CB MR fished in the creeks on the channel-swing banks can produce well in February.”

Striper: Preston Harden reports, “The last month has been really cold with fishing slow. Deep jigging with spoons has been about the only way to catch fish. The last few days have warmed, and the stained creeks are warming quickly. With rising water temps, the bait and fish will move into the creeks to the warmer water. The larger fish will be more active, while the small fish seem to have a slower metabolism in the cold water. If the weather stays warm, the bigger fish will be eating 1- to 2-inch threadfin shad. Small jigs, flies, crappie minnows and other small imitations that represent the small shad work best. They need to be fished slowly in the backs of creeks and coves. If the water has a little color from run-off, it will be warmer and hold more bait. Remember, small and slow.”