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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 – March 2025

By GON Staff | February 26, 2025

Hartwell: Level: 0.8 feet below 660. Temp: 48-53 degrees. Clarity: The main lake is clear, but there is stain in the creeks. Bass: Cole Wilson, with Spot Chaser Guide Service, reports, “When March rolls around, there are a lot of different patterns and ways to catch fish. In the early part of the month, continue to look in the ditches early in the morning using Damiki jigs or small swimbaits since fish will still be out there feeding up. As the sun rises and temperatures rise, look for rocky points in the 10- to 25-foot range and target them with a shaky head, jig or small swimbait reeled slowly along the bottom as the spotted bass will be feeding up heavily. Of course, there is always a prespawn rock bite with a crankbait. Target the rocky banks with deep water nearby with a crankbait. A mud-bug color in the Spro…

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Lake Hartwell Fishing Articles

The Nuts & Bolts Of Hartwell Summer Linesides

Stripers and hybrids can seem like aquatic nomads in a vast ocean of water, says Capt. Cefus McRae, an expert fishing guide who operates on Lakes Hartwell, Lanier and Clark Hill. Cefus is  also the producer and on-screen personality for the “Nuts & Bolts Of Fishing” TV show that airs on FOX Sports South and CarbonTV.…

Navy Takes Hartwell Win At ABA Military Team Bass Tournament

The team of Shaun Flanagan and Curt Poggenpohl put in three good days to win the 32nd annual Military Team Bass Tournament, presented by American Bass Anglers and Caymas Boats, held May 3-5 on Lake Hartwell. Launching at Green Pond Landing in Anderson, S.C., Flanagan and Poggenpohl landed three consecutive daily tournament limits of five…

Hartwell Bass On The May Herring Spawn

Blueback herring are spawning at Hartwell in May, and that means all month long bass are feeding on main-lake and creek humps and points, gorging themselves on their favorite prey. You can catch bass on a variety of lures, and according to tournament angler Justin Kimmel, you can also keep it simple with just three…

Hartwell Chain Pickerel Record Set By 4-Year-Old

It is said most people will have 15 minutes of fame at some point in their lives. For 4-year old Scott James (Jay) Franklin III, the afternoon of March 16, 2023 led directly to the fulfillment of that adage. More importantly, history will remember Jay’s name fondly.  Fishing with his father Jake in a cove…

Herring Spawn Spots Produce Hartwell Win In Kayak Series

As a resident of Upstate South Carolina, Lowell Brannan has spent many days on Lake Hartwell. But the two days he spent fishing the Yamaha Rightwaters Bassmaster Kayak Series powered by TourneyX might have been his best two yet. With a two-day total of 183.5 inches—92 inches on Day 1 and 91.5 on Day 2—Brannan…

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