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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: Full at 660. Temp: 62-64 degrees. Clarity: Clear except for some runoff in the creeks. The Potato Creek Bass Masters club fished a two-day tournament at Hartwell on Friday and Saturday. Raymond English won with 10 keepers that weighed 32.33 pounds. He had five at 21.41 on Friday, including a 5.77-lb. kicker. His big one hit a Trick Worm. All others hit a Carolina rig. I had big fish with a 6.63-lb. largemouth that looked postspawn. It hit a wacky-rigged Zoom Fluke Stick with the tails dipped in chartreuse J.J.’s Magic. Fish were caught in a number of ways: topwater, crankbaits, jigs and flukes. Many fish were bedding and cruising. I got on a fun pattern Saturday. I fished a Fluke Stick on clay with rocks on sloping banks for 2-lb. spots. They were in 8 to 12 feet of water. They were fun but not tournament-winning fish.…
Read MoreLake Hartwell Fishing Articles
Tournament bass anglers are a serious and dedicated bunch. You’ll find them lined up at first light at boat ramps on most of our Georgia reservoirs, ready to blast off for a day of competition. Winter is no exception. While most of us prefer to sit at home on blustery cold days and sharpen hooks,…
If you are an angler, you have to love the fall. We get less competition from our hunting brothers while they put on their camos and pursue game, the recreational boaters are home waiting for a football game to start and the lakes are quiet and smooth. Add to that the fact that almost every…
Ziiiipppp. I heard the drag on Randy Childers’ reel make that distinctive sound that tells anglers they have just hung into something solid. When I turned and looked, Randy’s rod was doubled over, and his line was still. “Stump?” I asked. “Good fish,” Randy replied, not really talking to me as much as affirming the…
Kim Carver and Matt Ferman said changing weather conditions and a spinnerbait were key ingredients in their win at Berry’s Lake Oconee tournament Saturday, May 13. “We struggled all morning,” said Kim. “We mostly caught our fish off a Zoom lizard. We’d catch one on a dock, then one on a seawall, we probably only…
If the catfish in Lake Hartwell could complain, they would probably complain about these two: catfishermen Red Duncan and Melvin Wall. When these two go catfishing they usually catch fish — lots of fish, and lots of big fish. A friend recently asked them to keep him the catfish they caught one day so he…
Lake Hartwell Record Fish
| Largemouth Bass | 12-lbs., 6.5-ozs. | Jack Breshears | 03/08/76 |
| Spotted Bass | 6-lbs., 4-ozs. | Chad Mrazek | 03/16/25 |
| 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 |