Lake Hartwell Fishing Report September 2013

Hartwell: Level: 1.8 feet above full pool. Temp: Low 80s. Clarity: Clear.

Bass: Tournament Fisherman Kerry Partain reports, “The spotted bass have been the most consistent on the deeper humps and points on the main lake and mouths of the creeks. Watch your graphs closely, because a lot of the bass have been right on the bottom this year since there is no real thermocline that I can tell. Once you locate the fish on your graph, you can catch them on a variety of baits and techniques. I start out by throwing a shaky head with a Zoom Trick Worm or shaky tail in green pumpkin or watermelon. If the fish follow it down but don’t take it, I will start fishing the drop shot with a Meat Head worm or something finesse. If you find an area holding a lot of fish, you can back off and throw a Carolina rig, especially if there is a lot of brush or rocks nearby. As always on Hartwell, keep your topwater ready because they can come up schooling at anytime. I like to throw the Zoom Super Fluke on any area you have seen schooling activity. As we get into fall, the bite should really improve, and the bass will begin to transition into the creeks more, but these baits will still work on them. If you need a kicker largemouth, the flooded grass and blowdowns are the best options, but they are just not very dependable because there is just so much to fish with the water so high.”

Linesides: Guide Preston Harden reports, “Fishing can be great if you are on top of the fish. Blueback herring will catch hybrids and stripers one after another. It is more difficult to find fish this summer because the fish are scattered all over the lake. Normal summers will have the fish stacked in the lower lake. This year the water has not gotten hot enough to push lots of fish to the deep, cool water of the lower lake. Don’t be afraid to look farther up the lake, and don’t be afraid to look in shallower water. There has been very little surface activity this summer with all the rain and high water. Hopefully by mid September, we will see some surface action. When they do come up in the surface, I will have a Lucky Craft Sammy in ghost minnow ready to throw. This is also a good time to power reel with a big swimbait and big jig head. If you do not like to use live bait, this is a good technique when you find fish on the graph. Lower the jig down to the fish, and reel back real fast. If they are not in too deep of water, you can cast away from the boat, let the jig fall on a tight line, and then reel back real fast through the depth you marked the fish.”