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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: 0.4 feet below 475. Temp: 66-70 degrees. Clarity: Stained Bass: Tournament angler Kerry Partain reports, “The water is turning over in a lot of areas and causing many sections of the lake to be brown or off colored. When this happens, I look for the clearest water I can find that has baitfish, or I just fish shallow in the areas where the fish have been active previously. Early in the day, I like throwing spinnerbaits and crankbaits. Then, as the day goes on, I switch to a jig or shaky head with a Zoom Magnum Swamp Crawler. As we head into November, the water will begin to clear up as it continues to cool off and the bass will get more aggressive. Once this happens, I try to find big schools of baitfish and catch the active bass on a jigging spoon and an A-rig. Lake Russell…
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It’s so hot I saw two trees fighting over a dog. When it’s that hot, you have to wonder if it is worth going fishing. The dog days of August are tough, but head to Lake Russell, and you can catch a lot of keeper bass and have a chance at some quality fish. Russell…
See all of GON’s Official Georgia Lake & River Records Requirements For Record Fish • Fish must be caught legally by rod and reel in a manner consistent with state game and fish regulations. • Catch must be weighed on accurate Georgia DOA certified scales with at least two witnesses present, who must be…
Jimmy Kelley, 68, of Lilburn, died the morning of May 20, 2010, just a month ahead of his 50th wedding anniversary, of complications from injuries sustained in a boat accident. Three other men involved in the accident, which occurred during the blast-off of a Lake Russell pot tournament on May 8, suffered non life-threatening injuries.…
In January, most bass fishermen are at home where it is nice and warm, cleaning reels and sharpening hooks while dreaming of bass fishing. They’re missing out on good bass fishing at Lake Russell, particularly for numbers of spotted bass that stack up on the edges of the underwater timber. Russell was built in 1984,…
On April 3, Eastanollee’s Terry McConnell caught a Lake Russell striper that pulled a set of certified propane scales to 63 1/4 pounds. That translates to 63-lbs., 4-ozs., which would beat the current Georgia state record. However, because the scales did not read in 1-oz. graduations, Georgia DNR may not accept Terry’s fish as the…
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 |