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Lake Hartwell
Lake Hartwell is a 56,000-acre Corps of Engineers reservoir bordering Georgia and South Carolina on the Savannah, Tugaloo and Seneca rivers. Lake Hartwell is one of the southeast's largest and most popular recreation lakes, and it offers good fishing, particularly for bass and stripers. Three recent Bassmaster Classic tournaments have been held at Hartwell. The lake is created by Hartwell Dam located on the Savannah River 7 miles below the point where the Tugaloo and Seneca rivers join to form the Savannah. Interstate 85 crosses Lake Hartwell at the Georgia-South Carolina line.
Lake Hartwell Resources
Hartwell: Level: 2.7 feet below 660. Temp: 49-52 degrees. Clarity: Clear. Bass: Cole Wilson, with Spot Chaser Guide Service, reports, “February is one of my favorite times of the year to fish Hartwell. Fish are feeding up heavily and are very aggressive. In the creeks, most fish are still being caught in ditches and on rocky points near their staging areas. A crankbait in the red and brown color fished along the points is a great option. Another great bait to throw is a Fish Head Spin paired with a Fluke Jr. slowly rolled along the bottom in the ditches. Keep an eye out for bait in the ditches because the fish will be nearby. Early in the mornings, focus on the backs of the ditches. As the sun rises, the bass will move out and the fish will follow. There is a main-lake bite, as well, that is producing…
Read MoreLake Hartwell Fishing Articles
As most people were driving home from their 9-to-5 jobs the evening of Feb. 17, Aaron Riggins was having the fight of his life on Lake Hartwell. “With whom?” you might ask. None other than a 75-lb. catfish, and it very well could have been the same 74-lb. fish he caught in the area about…
A Lake Hartwell striped bass fishing tournament ended in tragedy Saturday morning, Jan. 11, when a competitor’s boat with four anglers onboard sank. A 25-year-old woman from Aiken, S.C. did not survive. The Anderson County (S.C.) Corner’s office identified the young woman as Kimberely Gomillion. According to statements from officials, Gomillion was fishing the tournament…
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Savannah District’s Forest, Fish, and Wildlife Section at the J. Strom Thurmond Lakeand the Hartwell Dam and Lake will accept real Christmas trees for recycling as fish habitat again this season. Thurmond Lake will accept real trees from Dec. 20, 2024, through Jan. 17, 2025, and Hartwell Lake will…
If you’ve ever come out of the canal in Mexico Beach, Fla. and run 3 miles south into the Gulf of Mexico along the buoy line and experienced fish busting on top as far as you could see, that’s what it reminded me of—even if I was hundreds of miles from the salt. The scene…
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Savannah District, Hartwell Lake Project Office will open three of its larger recreation areas for hunting during the regular hunting season for 2024-2025 in Georgia, in addition to the seven areas within Fant’s Grove Wildlife Management Area in South Carolina. In Georgia, 410 acres at Hartwell Dam Quarry Area,…
Lake Hartwell Record Fish
| Largemouth Bass | 12-lbs., 6.5-ozs. | Jack Breshears | 03/08/76 |
| Spotted Bass | 5-lbs., 6.08-ozs. | Raulie Bleech | 03/18/07 |
| Redeye Bass | 3-lbs., 7-ozs. | Steve Williams | 04/17/04 |
| Striped Bass | 59-lbs., 8-ozs. | Terry McConnell | 02/03/02 |
| Hybrid Bass | 20-lbs., 1-oz. | Buster Green | ----- |
| White Bass | 4-lbs., 5-ozs. | H.T. Davis | 02/06/67 |
| White Crappie | 4-lb., 4-ozs. | Charles McCullough | 04/27/68 |
| Black Crappie | 3-lbs., 1.76-ozs. | Jimmy Burns | 03/02/22 |
| Walleye | 9-lbs. | T.O. Sherriff | 1974 |
| Blue Catfish | 30-lbs., 8-ozs. | Melvin Wall | 06/26/03 |
| Flathead Catfish | 66-lbs. | Darrin Sealey | 04/04/10 |
| Shellcracker | 1-lb., 4.16-ozs. | DJ Hill | 05/13/23 |
| Chain Pickerel | 2-lbs., 5-ozs. | Jay Franklin | 03/16/23 |