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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: 1.9 feet below 660. Temp: 60s. Clarity: Clear. Bass: Trent Gober, with Fish Hartwell Guide Service, said November is a great month to fish Lake Hartwell. The fish are moving shallow into the creeks. Many baits will catch them, from topwater for schooling fish to crankbaits on rocky banks going into the creeks. Pay attention to channel swings in the creeks. The baitfish tend to load up in those swings. Not all bass will go into the creeks. There will still be a main-lake bite, just a little deeper. Use a green-pumpkin jig or Senko to catch fish around brushpiles and on roadbeds 20 to 35 feet deep. Keep your eyes on your electronics for big pods of bait, and you will find the fish close by. Lake Hartwell Page: Archived Articles, News & Fishing Reports
Read MoreLake Hartwell Fishing Articles
As a fisherman, Chris Powell is most at home when he is on the pointy end of a bass boat with rods scattered at his feet and a target in range of his next cast. If that bass boat is on Lake Hartwell, then Chris is not just at home, he is in his own…
The chill of winter puts far too many anglers on the sidelines. Some of the biggest and most impressive stringers of fish you will ever see are caught in early February while air and water temperatures are at their lowest. My advice is to put on plenty of clothes and strike out to Lake…
The lake-record for flathead catfish on Lake Hartwell was set at a mark that’s going to be tough to top. On April 10, 2010, Darrin Sealey caught a flathead that pulled certified scales to 66 pounds. The Georgia state record for flathead is a tie between two Altamaha River cats that weighed 83 pounds. (Most…
Lake Hartwell, on the Georgia/South Carolina border, has long been known as an excellent bass fishery. Both largemouth and spotted bass are present in good numbers, and anglers can land strings of quality fish if they know the territory and habits of the bass. But, right now is arguably the best time of year to…
Many anglers will save their nickels and dimes all year for the chance to sight fish for tailing redfish or bonefish on flats in saltwater. It’s a complete rush to find fish feeding in water so shallow their backs are exposed. What’s more, both of these species are challenging to catch, can grow to some…
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 |