Lake Hartwell Fishing Report – July 2010

Hartwell: Level: 0.7 feet above full pool. Temp: 89 degrees. Clarity: Clear; some stained water in the backs of pockets with flooded cover is holding a few shallow bass.

Bass: Josh Fowler reports, “Bass fishing on Lake Hartwell has been excellent over the last few weeks, and I expect it to stay strong as we get into July. It is taking 18 pounds or better to win a daytime tournament up here, and these weights will likely hold up as we move deeper into the summer. The bass are set up on the offshore points, humps and ledges all over the lake. The fish will typically be suspended over these areas 15 to 20 feet below the surface over 25 to 35 feet of water. The baits I like for catching these suspended fish include a weightless Zoom Super Fluke, a Lucky Craft Sammy and a Buckeye Lures Su-Spin Blade rigged with a Zoom Swimming Fluke Jr. You need to have about 20 locations on your map or GPS so you can run-and-gun from one spot to the next. If the fish are set up right, they will bite quickly, so don’t sit on a spot very long before moving on to the next stop. If you see fish on the graph, always have a drop shot or Spot Remover jig head rigged with a Zoom finesse worm ready to drop straight down.”

Linesides: Preston Harden reports, “As it was in the spring, everything is late this year. Fishing is still getting better, with fish shallow and schooling at times. They have schooled better under bright sun, mid morning. Normally they go deep this time of year. They should be heading out of the creeks down to the main lake. They are still up the main rivers, but they’re heading down lake. Unless they are schooling, I look for them 30 to 40 feet deep in the rivers or deeper out on the main lake. If you see them blowing up, throw a big topwater such as a Lucky Craft Sammy or a Zara Spook. They will still come up to these plugs even after they go down. By mid July, I look down the lake in deep water where there is not a thermocline.”