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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: 0.2 feet below 660. Temp: 56 degrees. Clarity: Clear. Bass: Cole Wilson, with Spot Chaser Guide Service, reports, “Fish are in all stages across the whole lake. There are some fish in prespawn, spawn and even postspawn out there right now. For prespawn fish, look in ditches and rocky points throwing a Damiki jig, shaky head and crankbait. For spawning fish, any flat pocket protected from a north wind should be holding spawning fish. Target these fish with a wacky worm or swimbait. Another spawning pattern is to target rocky shoals with a Keitech swimbait slow-rolled on the bottom. For postspawn fish, remember they are going to be lazy but will fall for a slow-moving bait like a Carolina rig, shaky head or a wacky worm. Target these fish on the first points coming out of the spawning pockets. Full moon is April 12, so the biggest wave…
Read MoreLake Hartwell Fishing Articles
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Savannah District, Hartwell Dam and Lake Project, has a campground park attendant contract position open at the Twin Lakes Campground in Pendleton, South Carolina. Lake Hartwell officials are currently looking for an outgoing, active couple who would like to work as paid contract park attendants from April 1 through November…
Will Davis Jr. made history Friday when he won the TNT Fireworks B.A.S.S. Nation Championship for the second consecutive year. Not only did the 31-year-old Sylacauga, Ala., resident become the first angler to win the event in back-to-back seasons, but he started a chain reaction that helped two other anglers receive a bit of B.A.S.S.…
Will Davis Jr. hoisted the Bryan V. Kerchal Memorial Trophy a year ago, and by all accounts, it looks like he wants to hold on to the hardware that is awarded annually to the winner of the TNT Fireworks B.A.S.S. Nation Championship. Davis, in second place after Day 1 with 16-lbs., 1-oz., jumped into the…
Tim Dube had never fished a competitive round on Lake Hartwell prior to Wednesday’s start of the TNT Fireworks B.A.S.S. Nation Championship. But he went out and treated the place like home water. Dube, a 29-year-old New Hampshire resident, caught a limit of five spotted bass for a total of 16-lbs., 3-ozs. That was enough…
Several dynamic scenarios will be at play when anglers take on Lake Hartwell for the 2023 TNT Fireworks B.A.S.S. Nation Championship, and Bassmaster Elite Series pro Brandon Cobb believes everything will depend on the lake turnover. “This time of year is kind of a strange time,” the Greenwood, S.C., native said. “On Hartwell the fish…
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 |