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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 – December 2024

By GON Staff | November 28, 2024

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…

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Lake Russell Articles

Find the Bluebacks, Catch Russell Bass

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 Summertime Bass

Standing timber everywhere! Sounds like a fisherman’s dream, but on Lake Russell a combination of factors that center around abundant standing timber have created a tough bass-fishing situation. Luckily, GON readers have folks like Bobby Stanfill of Greenwood, S.C. to help put together the puzzle that is summertime bass fishing on Russell. Bobby is a…

The Lake Russell Reef Marker Staycee Scenario For Magnum Spots

It is time to take Staysee fishing. At Lake Russell. On main-lake points and humps south of the Hwy 72 bridge. According to bass fisherman Brandon Davis of Athens, that’s the formula for some great spotted-bass fishing in April. On March 18, Brandon and I were on the lake to test the theory. We put…

Lake Russell’s December Crappie And Perch

During the early winter months as water temperatures drop into the low 50s on Georgia reservoirs, large schools of baitfish, like threadfin shad, move off the main lake and into the coves and creeks. This massive migration of bait is followed closely by concentrations of larger fish that move along under the schools and feed…

Minnow-Rigs, Pop-Eye Jigs Catch Lake Russell March Slabs

Jerry Craft is a crappie-fishing fanatic. He doesn’t hunt deer much anymore; he doesn’t fish for bass; what he likes best is catching crappie at Lake Russell. In March when the crappie are on the move, coming up from deep structure out on the main lake and moving into the creeks ahead of the spawn,…

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