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Lake Russell
Lake Russell is one of Georgia's youngest reservoirs, completed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 1983 with construction of the Richard B. Russell Dam on the Savannah River bordering Elbert County, Georgia and Abbeville and Anderson counties in South Carolina. Lake Russell is 26,650 acres and sits between Lake Hartwell to the north and Clarks Hill Lake to the south. As a newer reservoir, environmental laws impacted construction, one factor being that thousands of acres of standing timber were left. Lake levels don't fluctuate much more than 5 feet. Pumpback features at Russell Dam can both pull and release water into and from the tailrace. In addition to the Savannah River, major tributaries include Beaverdam Creek on the Georgia side and Rocky River in South Carolina.
Lake Russell Resources
Russell: Level: 0.8 feet below 475. Temp: 64 degrees. Clarity: Clear. Bass: Guide Trad Whaley reports, “The shallow bite is tough, but the spots are starting to set up in their winter patterns. The key, as always, is finding the bait. The birds are just starting to show up. We have been catching a mixture of spots and really nice stripers on A-rigs and small swimbaits and Damiki rigs. The smaller spots seem to be on every brushpile and point in 10 to 20 feet of water. Jerkbaits, shaky heads and swimbaits get the call. There are some nice ones mixed in. We have found the better spots and some largemouth in 28 to 35 feet on jigging spoons and drop shots. Try the middle of the creeks and the edges of the timber. Fishing jigs in channel turns is also starting to heat up. Russell is a fun lake…
Read MoreLake Russell Articles
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Savannah District will host youth waterfowl hunts at the Richard B. Russell Project during the months of December and January for youth participants ages 9 to 16. Hunters will be selected by random drawing, and those selected to participate will be contacted with tentative hunt dates. All hunters must…
November can be a spot-fest at Lake Russell as spotted bass move into coves and ditches feeding on shad. You can load the boat with spots—and a few largemouth, too—by fishing ledges in ditches and coves. Typically in November, the bass will be from the mouths of coves to halfway back. As the days shorten…
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Savannah District, Richard B. Russell Project, will host dove hunts for youth and the general public on Sept. 28 and Oct. 5, 2024, at two fields in Elbert County, and one field in Abbeville County, South Carolina. Youth and public hunts will begin at 2 p.m. The youth hunts start…
Aaron Jenkins calls Canton, N.C. home now, but his heart will forever be in east Georgia. He makes the three-hour trip home to crappie fish with his dad, Keith, whenever he can. As far as Aaron is concerned, there’s only one Georgia lake in which to fish for crappie. The 31-year-old grew up fishing on…
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Savannah District, has two youth dove hunts scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 16 and 23 at the Richard B. Russell Project Office. For both hunts, a parent or guardian must accompany youth participants, ages 9-16, and will be permitted to hunt along with the youth hunter. Hunters will be selected…
Lake Russell Record Fish
| Largemouth Bass | 13-lbs., 4-ozs. | Eddy Propes | 03/04/90 |
| Spotted Bass | 6-lbs., 8-ozs. | Mike Strickland | 04/06/13 |
| Striped Bass | 63-lbs. * | Terry McConnell | 04/03/09 |
| White Bass | 4-lbs., 4-ozs. | James L. Payne | 04/12/94 |
| Walleye | 11-lbs., 6-ozs. | Neal Watson | 09/11/95 |
| Brown Trout | 10-lbs., 8-ozs. | Tim Harris | 07/04/93 |
| Black Crappie | 3-lbs., 6.08-ozs. | Aaron Jenkins | 02/23/24 |
| White Crappie | 3-lbs. | Tony Baker | 04/03/03 |
| Hybrid Bass | 14-lbs., 9-ozs. | Wayne McCollum | 01/11/04 |
| Yellow Perch | 1-lb., 5-ozs. | Vern Fulmer | 09/27/23 |
| White Perch | 1-lb., 4-ozs. | Eric Young | 01/02/21 |