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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: Mid 70s. Clarity: Clear. Bass: Jon Hair with Greenfish Tackle says the herring bite is wide open right now. Fish shallow flat points with topwaters, like an Ark Topwater Blower, and also soft jerkbaits, like flukes. Always watch for surface action. When the fish go down, follow up with a shaky head or a little rubber jig, like the Bad Little Dude. Brushpiles and canepiles make the bite better. The bite is pretty good all day long with this combo. D.J. Hadden, with Hadden Outdoors, says the herring spawn will be going on until mid-May and that plays heavy on the Clarks Hill bass bite this time of year. Focus on major creek and main-lake points. By mid May, they will move to shallow shoals. Fish marked shoals or find unmarked ones with a good GPS map. Work topwater hard baits and soft…
Read MoreClarks Hill Lake Articles
Ed Lepley caught a 3-lb., 9-oz. white bass on March 9, 2015 at Clarks Hill Lake. The fish set a new lake record for Clarks Hill. 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…
Dennis Franklin caught the Clarks Hill white perch record on Feb. 22, 2015. His fish weighed 1-lb., 4-ozs. DNR’s sampling efforts prove the lake to have an abundant population of white perch. Not only do they make for a fun fight on light tackle, but they are delicious to eat. Most anglers catch white perch…
Clarks Hill largemouth are a different breed. I was there a couple of weeks ago with Jon Hair, a regular on the tournament scene on this east Georgia reservoir, and we had a blast on an 85-degree afternoon catching topwater schoolies in 50 feet of water over hydrilla beds. There was no difficulty when it…
After more than five years of studies and discussion, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will ask Congress to fund an Environmental Assessment to determine if sterile grass carp can be introduced to Clarks Hill Lake to control hydrilla. Hydrilla at Clarks Hill has been linked to an algae bloom and neurotoxin responsible for the…
Summer is a great time for outdoor recreational activity, particularly if it has anything to do with water. Clark Hill, near Augusta, is a favorite of local residents and fun seekers from both Georgia and South Carolina who show up in large numbers to enjoy this beautiful body of water. Clark Hill is a fine…
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 | 1-lb., 9-ozs. | Kathleen Weeks | 06/23/11 |