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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: 1 foot below 475. Temp: 75-80 degrees. Clarity: Clear on the main lake, but the creeks are stained. Bass: Tournament angler Kerry Partain reports, “The bass fishing has been a little slower, but they have started to transition to the summer pattern and become a little more predictable as they relate to the deeper water. We have been catching a few good spotted bass in 20 feet on main-lake humps, points and brush. There will still be some fish shallow in the creeks, and a Texas-rigged Zoom Ol’ Monster worm or jig with a Zoom Speed Craw around blowdowns and timber is good for some big largemouth. Right now, the fish seem to be scattered everywhere, but as we head into June, look for them to concentrate more as they begin to setup on the main-lake points around baitfish.” Lake Russell Page: Archived Articles, News & Fishing Reports
Read MoreLake Russell Articles
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,…
The look exchanged by my fishing partner and I was one of surprise, almost shock… a “can you believe that” kind of look. It was late afternoon on a beautiful mid-October day on Lake Russell. What could we possibly have seen that was so surprising? It was another boat, the first and only boat we…
Each time I go to Lake Russell, I am impressed with its beautiful, clear green water, and good bass fishing. With undeveloped, tree-covered shorelines, steep banks and abundance of cover, it looks like bass-fishing heaven. And it is. Filled in 1994, Russell’s 26,650 acres sit between the upper end of Clarks Hill and the Hartwell…
December is a great month for bass fishing. The fish are still active, and there are few other boats on the water. And if you choose Lake Russell, you will find a pristine lake with no shoreline development, low fishing pressure and lots of largemouth and spotted bass ready to hit. Russell is a 26,650-acre…
With a forest of underwater timber in deep water for bass to hold in, some attractive cover closer to the banks of Lake Russell might make fishing easier for the average angler. That shallow cover may be on the way in the form of pond weed. A joint project between the U.S. Army Corps of…
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 |
| White Catfish | 4-lbs., 6.72-ozs. | Garrett Duncan | 05/06/25 |