Advertisement
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: 0.8 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…
Read MoreLake Hartwell Fishing Articles
The country’s best college anglers will resume their quest for a national championship title and Bassmaster Classic berth on Lake Hartwell when the Carhartt Bassmaster College Series presented by Bass Pro Shops competes Aug. 27-29. According to Bassmaster Elite Series angler Jason Williamson, of Wagener, S.C., Lake Hartwell will produce plenty of action for the…
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers began a “phased reopening” of some campgrounds and additional boat ramps at reservoirs along the Savannah River the third week of May. “The gradual reopening will vary based on the ability to ensure visitors and Corps of Engineers staff remain safe and can continue to reduce the spread of…
Evergreen trees aren’t typically considered aquatic vegetation, but if they’re used as Christmas trees in the Savannah River Basin, chances are they’ll continue “bearing fruit” under water. Rather than have old Christmas trees go to the landfill, rangers with the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers reservoirs at Hartwell and J. Strom Thurmond (Clarks Hill)…
Lake Hartwell will host its fourth B.A.S.S. championship event in the last four years with the TNT Fireworks B.A.S.S. Nation Championship scheduled for Nov. 6-8, 2019. The 56,000-acre lake situated along the South Carolina/Georgia border was the site of the 2015 and 2018 Bassmaster Classics and the 2017 B.A.S.S. Nation Championship. “It is a great…
Representatives of the S.C. Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR), the Georgia Department of Natural Resources (GADNR) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) will hold a meeting at the Anderson Civic Center to give an overview and status update to anglers on cooperative striped bass fishery management programs undertaken by the three agencies. Interested members…
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 |