Fishing Report (Updated 6.21.2009)

Lake Hartwell is steady at 657. 

Catfish: Very good.  Fishing around main river points in 15 to 20 feet of water with cut bait (mainly blueback herring) or Berkeley catfish bait is working.  Jug fishing, only legal on the Georgia side of the lake, is also working. 

Striped and Hybrid Bass: Good.  Fish have moved down the lake and Captain Wendell Wilson reports that around the dam he is catching good numbers of striper fishing down lines 25 feet deep over 30-35 feet of water.  A one ounce egg sinker and live herring are working.  Every three or four days he is seeing topwater schooling but the action is not consistent.

Bream: Good.  Bream are spawning which they will continue to do around the full and new moon all summer until September.  Look for shell beds (freshwater mussels) around secondary points and look for shoals at the mouths of creeks that have a hard, sandy bottom. 

Largemouth Bass: Good.  The Fishing Hole in Seneca reports that bass have moved into a summer pattern.  Early in the day Zara Spooks and Super Flukes are catching fish, and late in the evening buzzing a horny toad in the backs of creeks is picking up bass.  During the day shakey head worms and Carolina rigs fished on points and ridges in 25 feet of water will catch fish. 

Crappie:  Fair.  The crappie have backed out of the shallows and moved out to 18 to 20 feet of water where they are holding in standing timber and brushpiles, particularly in the Beaver Dam area, and around bridge pilings.  Tight-lining jigs and minnows is working.   

DHEC Fish Advisories: Due to PCB advisories visit http://www.scdhec.gov/environment/water/fish/Advisories/hartwell.htm before consuming any Lake Hartwell fish. 

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