Lake Hartwell Fishing Report – October 2010

Hartwell: Level: 4.2 feet below full pool. Temp: Mid 80s. degrees. Clarity: Clear.

Bass: Good. Josh Fowler reports, “The excellent fall topwater bite we typically see is running a little behind schedule this year, so I expect October to be a great month. I would suggest staying with the famous run-and-gun tactics that Hartwell is famous for as we move into October. You need to have at least 30 or 40 waypoints in your GPS so you can move around the lake in search of an active school. The typical topwater lures like Zoom Super Flukes and a Lucky Craft Sammys or Gunfish will work great when you hit an active school. We typically see the lake start to turn over some time in mid to late October, and this usually marks the end of the run-and-gun bite. Once the turnover gets under way, the fishing will be tough for a few weeks, so you will need to be ready with your finesse tactics. I would still focus on the offshore areas, but you will need a drop shot rigged with a Zoom Swamp Crawler, a Spot Remover rigged with a Zoom Trick Worm, a Buckeye Lures Pulse Jig rigged with a Zoom Fluke Jr. and a Lucky Craft Pointer 78.”