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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
March is unlike every other month of the year for bass anglers at Lake Hartwell. Fishing during the first half of the month is totally different than the second half. And to make things even more confusing, Lake Hartwell is unusually low, making most of the best places to catch fish in March inaccessible. But…
A few years ago, bass fishermen discovered an amazing summer pattern on some Georgia lakes. Bass would hit topwater baits worked over deep water on some of the brightest, hottest days of summer. Blueback herring were the key to that pattern, and Lake Hartwell is one of the best lakes in the state to catch…
The great thing about Rounds 4-6 of the Skeeter Eliminator Series is that GON editors ride along for all the tournaments. We take detailed notes and publish each angler’s diary about how they spend their seven hours on the water. The following pages contain diaries from the Round 5 Hartwell and Jackson tournaments. The Skeeter…
With wind-blown chop rocking the surface of Lake Hartwell, close attention was necessary to keep up with the commotion made by a white stickbait being ripped as quickly and erratically as possible across the surface. For an instant it was lost from sight behind a whitecap, before emerging on the face of the wave with…
With 56,000 acres of surface water and a wealth of linesides and largemouths, Hartwell may be known as a striper and hybrid fishery, as well as a great place for topwater bass explosions in the spring. But one thing that is often overlooked on this large lake on the Georgia/South Carolina border is the crappie…
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 |