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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: Full at 475. Temp: 50-52 degrees. Clarity: Clear on the main lake and stained in the creeks. Bass: Tournament angler Kerry Partain reports, “The bass fishing has been good the last few weeks and should continue to get better with warmer weather on the way. Most of the bass are being caught on main-lake points and pockets or in ditches toward the mouths of the creeks. The best baits right now have been a jig head with a Zoom Winged Fluke, Blade Runners with a Zoom Fluke and jigs. It has been taking 19 pounds to win just about every tournament, and the big prespawn females are biting. Once the water warms up in March and temperatures get above 55 degrees, fish will move up shallower on secondary points and into spawning areas. The creeks will also start to heat up in March, and I will be fishing…
Read MoreLake Russell Articles
A group of five young hunters from North Carolina and more than a dozen dogs trained to find, chase and bay wild hogs were in a boat on Lake Russell Sunday afternoon, Feb. 9, hunting the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers property that borders the Savannah River reservoir between Hartwell and Clarks Hill. Meanwhile, a…
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…
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 |