Lake Hartwell Fishing Report – January 2007

Hartwell: Level: 8.2 feet below full pool. Temp: Upper 50s. Clarity: Clear.

Bass: Two recent tournaments on the lake were won with 17- and 19-lb. bags, but according to Hartwell guide Buster Green, a lot of boats came in with bags weighing five or six pounds. “The bass are everywhere from the bank to 60 feet deep,” he said. “With this warm weather and the lake down, the fish were on the bank and people were catching them on shallow-running crankbaits.” According to Buster, if the water temperature drops to 50 or below, it will kill the bank bite, and the jigging-spoon bite on deep structure will light up.

Stripers/Hybrids: Hot & cold. “This crazy weather has made it hard to predict,” said Buster. “The water temperature climbed from 55 degrees to 59 degrees and slowed the fishing.” Buster said he is catching some fish pulling live bluebacks. “The trick is to fish just above the timber, but with the lake down, the top of the timber is only 18 or 19 feet deep. We have been staying hung up. And if you catch a fish, it only takes them a minute to get in the trees.” Buster said he is catching far more fish on jigging spoons than live bait. On a recent trip, Buster and two clients caught more than 60 fish — including bass, catfish, perch, hybrids and stripers — in two hours on spoons. “ You’d drop a spoon to the bottom, give it one stroke, and something would grab it. But a spoon won’t work as well on a calm day, you have to have some wind. If you can get a day with the wind bunching up the bait, you can catch some fish.” The type spoon doesn’t much matter, said Buster. He said Hopkins, CC, Mr. Champ, or Flex-it spoons will all work. Watch for clouds of bait, and drop the spoons below the baitfish.

Crappie: Not many people fishing for them now, said Buster. The fish should be in deep brush, but with the lake down, most of the brush isn’t deep enough. Watch for brush or breaks or ledges in the 30-foot range with bait, and drop minnows or jigs.