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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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If you are looking for a lake that has a natural shoreline, limited access and is full of spotted bass you should head to Lake Russell. This U.S. Army Corps of Engineers lake has very restricted shoreline development, and you can fish for miles without seeing a dock or house. You will see spots though,…
In tournament fishing, the name of the game is to come in with five bass that weigh more than the five bass anyone else on the lake has caught. When Trad Whaley fishes a tournament on Russell, he says he’s swinging for the fences — and he has often been successful bringing five, big, difficult-to-catch…
I gave my line slack, and somewhere down in the tangle of tree trunks and branches 40 feet below the boat, my jigging spoon fluttered down like a dying shad sinking toward the bottom. When I pulled upward the jig felt like it bumped something. I pulled up gently, maintaining pressure, watching the rod tip.…
Mike and Sabrina Millsaps earned another 10 points in the Team Power Ranking race after their May 20 win on Russell at the Southern Bassin’ Couples tournament. “The last time I fished Russell was six years ago, I’ve fished it twice in my life,” said Mike. “Thursday and Friday all I caught was short fish.…
The older gentleman with the walking stick leaned his foot on the guard rail of the bridge over Allen Creek on Lake Russell and yelled down to Troy Morrow, who was rigging a rod on the deck of his boat. The man, who was taking his morning walk, saw Troy and asked, “You caught anything…
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 |