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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

Lake Russell Fishing Report – April 2025

By GON Staff | March 27, 2025

Russell: Level: 1 foot below 475. Temp: 60-65 degrees. Clarity: Clear on main lake with some stain in the creeks. Bass: Tournament angler Kerry Partain reports, “Now is a perfect opportunity to catch fish and take a kid to enjoy the great outdoors. The month of April is one of the best times to catch bass in a variety of different ways. If you like to fish shallow, you can catch them in the creeks on crankbaits, spinnerbaits and a Texas-rigged Zoom Baby Brush Hog or lizard. There will also be some prespawn bass out on the points and in the major pockets cruising before they go on bed. For these bass, I like to throw a Blade Runner with a Zoom Fluke or a shaky head out deeper on the points. Later in the month the topwater bite will start to turn on with the herring spawn, and I…

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Lake Russell Articles

Lake Russell Timber Edges For Stacked January Bass

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,…

Lake Russell 63-lb., 4-oz. Striper Bests Georgia And South Carolina State Records

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 Bass Mapped For April

This is the month bass fishermen dream about all year long. Shallow bass are feeding and fanning beds, and fishing is good. The weather is nice and comfortable most days, and it just feels good to get on the water. Lake Russell is a great lake to take advantage of the weather and the bass…

Shallow Shad Attract Active October Bass On Lake Russell

Only one big lake in Georgia offers undeveloped shorelines, lots of largemouth and spotted bass and relatively peaceful fishing. Lake Russell has everything a bass fisherman could want, and October is one of the best months to take advantage of a great shallow bite there. Russell is a 26,650-acre U.S. Army Corps of Engineers lake…

Eliminator Bass Tournament Diaries From Lake Russell And West Point

Two Elite 8 Skeeter Eliminator Series tournaments took place last month, sending two anglers to semi-finals matches in June. Shawn Malcom advanced after a West Point win against Tim Peek on Friday, April 18. Shawn spent the two days prior to the tournament practicing. He had 15 pounds Wednesday, but only boated one keeper Thursday,…

Lake Russell Record Fish

Largemouth Bass13-lbs., 4-ozs.Eddy Propes03/04/90
Spotted Bass6-lbs., 8-ozs.Mike Strickland04/06/13
Striped Bass63-lbs. *Terry McConnell04/03/09
White Bass4-lbs., 4-ozs.James L. Payne04/12/94
Walleye11-lbs., 6-ozs.Neal Watson09/11/95
Brown Trout10-lbs., 8-ozs.Tim Harris07/04/93
Black Crappie3-lbs., 6.08-ozs.Aaron Jenkins02/23/24
White Crappie3-lbs.Tony Baker04/03/03
Hybrid Bass14-lbs., 9-ozs.Wayne McCollum01/11/04
Yellow Perch1-lb., 5-ozs.Vern Fulmer09/27/23
White Perch1-lb., 4-ozs.Eric Young01/02/21