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Bartletts Ferry

Bartletts Ferry, also known as Lake Harding, is a 5,850-acre reservoir on the Chattahoochee River north of Columbus and south of Lake West Point. The lake was built in 1926 and now owned by Georgia Power. Bartletts offers good fishing for spotted bass.

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Bartletts Ferry Records

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Bartletts Ferry Fishing Report – May 2025

By GON Staff | April 30, 2025

Bartletts Ferry: Level: 1 foot below 521. Temp: Upper 70s to low 80s. Clarity: Clear. Bass: Tournament angler Tyler Morgan reports, “You can still catch some good males guarding fry. Look for balls of fry back in bedding pockets and cast a wacky-rigged green-pumpkin Senko and let it fall through them. Another great May tactic is to look for bream beds and fish a buzzbait or popping frog over them under low-light conditions. When the sun is bright, work your weightless Senko through them. Also start hitting docks back in the bream bedding areas. Skip your Senko to the darkest areas you can hit. Current plays a big role in May, too. You can catch quality largemouth and spots on rocky bluff banks in the Idlehour area. Work a brown Ace Tackle jig down the rocks fishing with the current, and keep it in contact with the rocks down to 20…

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Archived Fishing Reports

Bartletts Ferry Fishing Articles

Warming Trend Mother Lode Of Bass On Chattahoochee Reservoirs

The warming trend that hit Georgia last week had fishermen across the state itching to be on the water, whether pulling jigs for slab crappie or bass anglers hoping to roll a big one that moved up shallow. It sure paid off for GON content contributor Tyler Morgan, of Phenix City, who had a big…

Shallow Power Fishing For May Bartletts Ferry Bass

In May, hungry postspawn female bass—both spots and largemouth—feed heavily in shallow water at Bartletts Ferry, and anglers can have a lot of fun catching them. Head to Bartletts this month and go to the mouths of spawning pockets to land numbers of bass, as well as quality fish. Bartletts Ferry is an old Georgia…

Bartletts Ferry November Bass With Kyle Welcher

Bass are following shad into creeks and coves right now on Bartletts Ferry. In late October and November, you can catch all the keeper-size spotted bass you want to eat by finding them suspended under balls of baitfish. But if you want quality fish and more largemouth, stick with shallow structure and cover like seawalls,…

54-Pound Grass Carp Sets Georgia Bowfishing Record

Sometimes when you are shooting fish with a bow from the front of the boat, things are moving fast. The action can happen in a flash. That was the case the evening of June 30 for a group of bowfishermen at Bartletts Ferry, also known as Lake Harding.  J. D. Bond, of McDonough, saw a…

Storm Clark’s All-American Plan For Bartletts Ferry Bass

As late May bleeds into June, many Bartletts Ferry bass transition to summer holes and feed in deeper water. Bass set up on predictable places and can be caught on a variety of baits. But as always, there are shallow fish to be caught every day. Bartletts Ferry, also known as Lake Harding, is downstream…

Bartletts Ferry Records

Striped Bass36-lbs., 5-ozs.Matt Faircloth04/21/05
Hybrid Bass9-lbs., 12.8-ozs.Chris Brackett04/26/05
Black Crappie3-lbs., 1.44-ozs.Mickey Peacock04/17/20
Yellow Perch10.88-ozs.Joey Pippin05/07/07
Shoal Bass8-lbs., 5-ozs.Matt McWhorter12/23/21
Shellcracker2-lbs., 1.28-ozs.Courtney Cannon08/05/24