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Clarks Hill Lake
Lake Strom Thurmond, known by most Georgia fishermen as Clarks Hill Lake, is a reservoir at the border between Georgia and South Carolina in the Savannah River Basin. It was created by the J. Strom Thurmond Dam during 1951 and 1952 by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers near the confluence of the Little River and the Savannah River. Fishing for largemouth bass and striped bass in particularly popular at Clarks Hill, and the lake also offers very good shellcracker fishing during the late spring spawn, and there are some giant catfish in the lake. Crappie fishing can also be very good on Clarks Hill. At 71,000 acres, it is the third-largest artificial lake east of the Mississippi River, behind Kentucky Lake on the Tennessee River and Lake Marion on the Santee River. The J. Strom Thurmond Dam is located upstream from Augusta. Clarks Hill is one of the southeast's largest and most popular public recreation lakes.
Clarks Hill Lake Resources
Clarks Hill: Level: Full at 330. Temp: Low 70s. Clarity: Clear. Bass: David Earl Thorton, with Franklin Gun Shop in Athens, reports, “The herring bite is in full effect on the lower end of the lake. Spinnerbaits, flukes and topwater will get the job done. Fish them over shoals and shallow gravel points. Blow-throughs are especially good and wind helps. After that early bite, go to the bank and run shallow, shaded pockets with a Greenfish Toad Toter Buzzbait. Bream will bed around the full moon, making this shallow bite much better.” Clarks Hill Page: Archived Articles, Fishing Reports & Lake Records
Read MoreClarks Hill Lake Articles
You would have to consider it quite unusual if a 45-year-old lake fishing record was shattered by someone fishing from the bank in a community fishing hole that everyone knows about. Well, Walker Crowe is a quite unusual 16-year-old. While others his age are playing video games and worrying about teenage anxieties, Walker is dominating…
Flathead catfish are spawning on rocks at Clarks Hill right now, and you can have fun catching them for the next two months. Go after a mess to eat, or try to break the lake record—but be forewarned, breaking a catfish record at Clarks Hill will require a monster fish! The flathead record was set…
Anderson Jones, of Lander University, saved the best for last en route to singlehandedly sacking up 43 pounds, 15 ounces and winning the Strike King Bassmaster College Series at Clarks Hill Reservoir presented by Bass Pro Shops. After placing third on Day 1 with 19-12, Jones stepped on the gas and sacked up a second-round…
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Savannah District, J. Strom Thurmond Project, Forest, Fish, and Wildlife section have set the dates for primitive weapons deer hunts in Bussey Point Corps Management Unit, located in Lincoln County. The first 100 hunters to arrive each day will be registered on a first-come, first-served basis. Archery hunters are invited…
Michael Dollar, of Raysville, said that flathead catfish in the 70-lb. variety in Clarks Hill aren’t necessarily rare, but catching one on a rod and reel isn’t something you hear much about. Taking that one step further, boating one after an hour-long fight using an ultralight crappie fishing setup using just 6-lb. line may have…
Clarks Hill Lake Record Fish
| Largemouth Bass | 14-lbs., 14-ozs. | Carl Sasser | 02/16/72 |
| Spotted Bass | 5-lbs., 7.2-ozs. | Tanner Hadden | 04/23/2404/23/24 |
| White Bass | 3-lbs., 9-ozs. | Ed Lepley | 03/09/15 |
| Striped Bass | 55-lbs., 12-ozs. | Sam Porter | 05/27/93 |
| Hybrid Bass | 16-lbs., 12-ozs. | Jim Hankinson | ----- |
| Black Crappie | 4-lbs., 8-ozs. | Dewey Marks | 1979 |
| White Crappie | 4-lbs., 12-ozs. | Weldon Clark | 03/30/06 |
| Blue Catfish | 72-lbs., 3-ozs. | Walker Crowe | 05/07/24 |
| Flathead Catfish | 70-lbs. | Michael Dollar | 03/04/23 |
| Channel Catfish | 25-lbs., 2-ozs. | James Gunn | 05/13/93 |
| Yellow Perch | 2-lbs., 8-ozs. | Brad Murphy | 12/89 |
| Sauger | 4-lbs., 3-ozs. | Stuart Bowers | 04/05/86 |
| Warmouth | 13-ozs. | Daniel Rawlins | 04/15/01 |
| White Perch | 1-lb., 4-ozs. | Dennis Franklin | 02/22/15 |
| Shellcracker | 2-lb., 6-ozs. | Allen Fitzgerald | 04/24/25 |