Lake Hartwell Fishing Report November 2014

Hartwell: Level: 4.2 feet below full pool. Temp: 66-69 degrees. Clarity: Clear.

Bass: Tournament fisherman Kerry Partain reports, “The bass fishing is really starting to pick up now, and there is a lot of schooling activity with the cooler water temps. Most of the bass seem to be on the secondary pockets at the creek mouths and along the major pockets. This is one of my favorite times of the year to throw the Zoom Super Fluke because the bass are chasing bait and are very aggressive. If you are not seeing big schools of bait, keep moving around until you find them, or you will be wasting your time. The bait is on the move back into the creeks, and the bass are right there with them. When the bass are not busting on the bait, I keep trolling around these same areas and keep an eye on my electronics. When you see bait and bass on the screen, just use the drop shot rigged with a small worm. I like the Zoom Z-Drop this time of the year, because it matches the bait size really well. I will also start fishing some of the creeks with a crankbait or jerkbait to try and get some of the more aggressive largemouth around docks and the flooded grass that’s still around.”

Linesides: Guide Preston Harden reports, “November can be a tough month. It all has to do with turnover. The water can look brownish and have foam on the surface. Turnover starts in the creeks and up the lake. It works down the lake to deeper water. Most fish migrate from open water to major creeks and up the arms of the lake. Bass, stripers and hybrids all migrate up the lake to find better water quality. Look for cleaner, greener water. October has been a great month for fish schooling in the surface on the lower lake. Sammys and Zara Spooks have been catching a lot of fish. There should be more of that going on in November. I am looking forward to December when the turnover is complete. That is when the hybrids and stripers go on a feeding frenzy on the surface. It will then be subsurface finesse fishing with light spinning and fly-fishing tackle.”