Lake Russell Fishing Report – September 2006

Russell: Level: 1.4 feet below full pool. Temp: 82-84 on the lower end, but a cool 68 degrees up the lake in the Hartwell tailrace. Clarity: Clear.

Bass: Guide Wendell Wilson said it’s been tough in the main lake. He recommends trying drop-shot rigs with finesse worms on the main-lake points. There are some bass hanging in the backs of the creeks on deep, shady banks. Another option is to go way north to the Hartwell tailrace and fish the river ledges. Wendell recommends crankbaits and topwater fished on the ledges where the lip is in five feet of water and drops off into 15 feet of water. “I like to fish it when water is coming out of the dam, but not too much current. When they’re generating in the afternoons, it’s too much current. The bass get in the little bitty creeks then. In the mornings when they’re not generating, you can go more places — ease up and down the river channel,” Wendell said.

Crappie: Good. “You can go out right now and catch a pretty good mess of fish,” Wendell said. He’s fishing over 15 to 20 feet of water about 10 feet down in brushpiles. “It’ll be better in September. You can catch some quality fish in the backs of the creeks by the end of September.” Wendell said to look for the crappie bite to turn on even more when the surface temperature gets below 80 degrees.

Linesides: There aren’t many hybrids and stripers in the lake, but Wendell said there’s the chance for a big striper this time of year below the Hartwell dam. “We hooked some giant fish up the river below the Hartwell dam in the past couple of weeks.” Use live blueback herring on freelines, or if the current is really strong, use downlines