Lake Hartwell Fishing Report – June 2019

Hartwell: Level: Full pool. Temp: Upper 70s. Clarity: Clear.

Linesides: Guide Preston Harden reports, “June is the perfect month to catch fish consistently. If you understand the fish transitions, it is easy to pattern most game fish. The hybrids and stripers start to group up and move down the lake out of the creeks and the upper-lake areas. Lots of years I catch hybrids and stripers as they migrate down the lake on top of the thermocline. The thermocline develops in the upper lake and creeks first. It will look like a fuzzy line on most sonars at about 35 to 40 feet deep. Below the thermocline is very low oxygen, and above the thermocline, the water is warm. Lots of years I can follow the schools as they slowly migrate toward the lower lake. They will ride on top of the thermocline about 30 to 40 feet deep. They are looking for cool, oxygenated water. By July, most big fish are in the lower half of the lake. They can be found deeper than 100 feet and feed and be happy all summer. The bass also migrate to deeper water. Most largemouth and spotted bass leave the shallow bank and move offshore to brushpiles. This can be 10 to 15 feet deep or deeper. By July, the bass can be 20 to 40 feet deep, usually around structure. I will have topwater plugs at the ready. I really like the Lucky Craft Sammy in the ghost minnow color. I will have this topwater plug ready all summer. I will also have rods rigged with 1-oz. jig heads and 5-inch swimbaits to power reel with.”