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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

Lake Hartwell Fishing Report – May 2025

By GON Staff | April 30, 2025

Hartwell: Level: 0.6 feet above 660. Temp: 68-73 degrees. Clarity: The main lake is clear, some creeks are stained. Bass: Cole Wilson, with Spot Chaser Guide Service, reports, “Fish are in all phases across the lake. It’s a time of year when you can pick your favorite thing to do and go do it. Look for the fish to continue spawning and pushing up to bed, as well as the herring and shad spawns across the lake. Target the herring and shad spawns by fishing shallow, flat clay or sandy points. Lots of times you can see these fish schooling and feeding up early in the morning. A weightless fluke and swimbait, such as a Keitech, are my favorites to target these fish. There is also a brushpile bite starting to happen. This pattern isn’t as effective yet, but it is a good pattern to keep in the back of…

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Lake Hartwell Fishing Articles

Hartwell’s Heavy Metal Winter Bass

Nothing heats up a cold winter day like a bass on the end of the line. Two of the best ways to catch that instant heat are jigging spoons and crankbaits. These two classic cold-water hard lures can warm up a winter day in a hurry when the bass turn on. Working these two baits,…

Calling Up Lake Hartwell’s Bass Of Summer

It’s hard to believe, but you can catch bass on topwater baits all day on the brightest, hottest days in July on Lake Hartwell. The bass at Hartwell are looking for blueback herring, and the action can be fast. You can’t beat the excitement of hooking a bass on a topwater plug and watching six…

Topwater Tricks For Hartwell Bass

The name Buster Green is synonymous with fishing at Lake Hartwell. Buster has been catching fish from the lake for a long time; 24 years as a full-time fishing guide. “They call me grandpa up here,” said the 55-year-old angler. He has caught some big fish at Hartwell. For a spell he held the lake-record…

Spoon For Winter Hartwell Bass

When the weather turns from cool to cold, anglers throughout northeast Georgia tie on their jigging spoons, head to the various lakes in the area and prepare for some of the best action of the year. The cooler temperatures are what spoon fishermen wait months for, as it typically improves the fishing on area lakes,…

Hartwell Record Redeye Bass

Steve Williams, of Dallas, set a Lake Hartwell and a Georgia state record with a redeye bass he caught April 17, 2004. Steve’s 3-lb., 7-oz., redeye bass surpassed a 3-lb., 5-oz. redeye caught on Lake Hartwell in 1999. The South Carolina state record redeye was caught April 4, 2001 by Randy Dixon, of Westminster, S.C.…

Lake Hartwell Record Fish

Largemouth Bass12-lbs., 6.5-ozs.Jack Breshears03/08/76
Spotted Bass6-lbs., 4-ozs.Chad Mrazek03/16/25
Redeye Bass3-lbs., 7-ozs.Steve Williams04/17/04
Striped Bass59-lbs., 8-ozs.Terry McConnell02/03/02
Hybrid Bass20-lbs., 1-oz.Buster Green-----
White Bass4-lbs., 5-ozs.H.T. Davis02/06/67
White Crappie4-lb., 4-ozs.Charles McCullough04/27/68
Black Crappie3-lbs., 1.76-ozs.Jimmy Burns03/02/22
Walleye9-lbs.T.O. Sherriff1974
Blue Catfish30-lbs., 8-ozs.Melvin Wall06/26/03
Flathead Catfish66-lbs.Darrin Sealey04/04/10
Shellcracker1-lb., 4.16-ozs.DJ Hill05/13/23
Chain Pickerel2-lbs., 5-ozs.Jay Franklin03/16/23