October 10

Lake Russell water levels are finally below full pool at 474.43 (full pool is 475.00) and most of the lake looks pretty clear again, with only a mild stain in places. Morning surface water temperatures are around 75 degrees.

Lake Russell looks surprisingly good considering it was several feet over full so recently, but Guide Jerry Kotal with Jerry Kotal’s Fishing Guide Service (706-988-0860) reports that even though the bass are still eating well they have definitely changed locations with the dropping water levels.  At least the bigger fish have moved out deeper again, and he is now finding most of them on brush in 15-20 feet of water on the main lake. There are also a few fish suspended further down about 30 feet deep over deep water, which is also where the striped bass seem to be right now. Jerry is finding them close to the dam but also in the mid-lake, and they seem to be scattering out.

In a similar vein, Guide Luke Wilson with Wilson’s Guide Service (706-283-3336) reports that he has been catching striper on the lower end. 30 feet down seems to be the magic depth, and they are around bait in open water. 

At the same time they are also finding a mixed bag of spotted bass and yellow perch setting up in what is typically a late October/ early November pattern. They are on the bottom in 30-33 feet of water mid-lake around the state park, and right now the best spots have been saddles between points. In addition to about 50 bass and perch, on the last trip they caught a 21-pound flathead on a small yellow perch they dropped down to see what else was around!

Finally, Luke reports that the crappie bite isn’t what it was right after the storm – when they were seemingly everywhere – but they are finding plenty on brush in 17-20 feet about halfway down. 

October 2

Lake Russell water levels are several feet above full at 477.97 (full pool is 475.00) and the main water is stained but not muddy. Morning surface water temperatures are around 76-77 degrees. 

On the water yesterday Guide Wendell Wilson with Wilson’s Guide Service (706-283-3336) was surprised by just how good Russell looked. Even nearly five foot above normal levels it wasn’t muddy or trashy, and riding all over the lake it actually looked fairly clean.  While they couldn’t find much in the way of bass the crappie were very cooperative, and on every piece of structure they pulled up on in the 17-20 foot range, from standing timber to brush to bridges, fish were feeding. They caught fish on baby herring and threadfin shad that they had netted, and also managed to pull some up on a jigging spoon.

They probably didn’t catch more bass because they have gone super shallow, and Guide Jerry Kotal with Jerry Kotal’s Fishing Guide Service (706-988-0860) reports that in the last couple of days he has caught over 70 fish in less than five feet of water – with one largemouth and the rest spots! They are in pockets and on points in the main lake and the front part of creeks, but if you venture far back into the creeks the water is blood red and he hasn’t fished those areas. He has caught everything on a crankbait and shaky head. 

September 26

Lake Russell water levels are at 474.40 (full pool is 475.00) and water color varies over the lake. In some places it is stained like coffee, while it’s clear in other areas, but the lake is not bubbling as much.  Morning surface water temperatures are back to about 78-79 degrees. 

It’s unclear where in the process of turning over Lake Russell is, and Guide Jerry Kotal with Jerry Kotal’s Fishing Guide Service (706-988-0860) reports that it could be that as temperatures got warm again the lake stopped turning over. In any event, the storm is sure to change things. 

One reason Jerry doesn’t think the lake has turned over completely is that usually on Russell once that happens numbers of bass go deep, and that certainly isn’t the case right now. He’s still marking a few fish in the mouths of creeks, on flats and in brush in 15-20 feet of water, where they will take shaky heads, but more of the fish seem to be shallow and they are extremely scattered. Square-billed crankbaits around the banks have been working well. 

At the same time he is catching a few big bass – including this 5-pound spot – in the same areas where the striped bass are holding. That’s 30-40 feet down in 60-70 feet of water down the lake around timber. 

Guide Luke Wilson with Wilson’s Guide Service (706-283-3336) is finding the striper on a similar pattern, namely 30 feet down over 100 feet on the lower end around bait. They are also catching a few bass and catfish off points in 20-25 feet with live bait on the bottom.  

Both guide services report a pretty lively crappie bite, and yesterday Jerry caught 25 big enough to fillet in fairly short order. They were in the creeks 8-10 feet down in 15-20 feet of water, suspended on top of the brush and off to the sides of it. Right now they seem to be biting jigs better than minnows. 

September 19

Lake Russell water levels are bouncing around 474.0 (full pool is 475.00) and water clarity is fairly high, with a brownish tint, and the lake is clearly turning over. You can see it bubbling and after a few hours a boat has a layer of scum on it.  Morning surface water temperatures down to about 73-74 degrees.

Yesterday the best thing going on Lake Russell was the striped bass, and Guide Jerry Kotal with Jerry Kotal’s Fishing Guide Service (706-988-0860) reports that fishing three-quarters the way down the lake around timber in 60-70 feet they caught nine fish up to 20 pounds. The others ran 8-15 pounds. The fish were 30-40 feet down and they all took down-lined herring. 

At the same time the bass have been something of a mystery, and Jerry is not marking them with the striper. Yesterday they caught a few on brush piles in 15-20 feet, but even there they didn’t mark many, and it seems that they must have gone shallower.  The catfish are also absent from deep water, and as temperatures got below 75 it seems like a lot of species moved at once. 

Up the lake Guide Wendell Wilson with Wilson’s Guide Service (706-283-3336) reports that they have found some quality spotted bass on river ledges in 20-25 feet that they were able to jig up with a spoon, but they also aren’t seeing massive numbers. It does seem that the bass have really spread out and likely gone shallower. They have seen a few schooling but never staying up very long. 

Consistent with the shallow theory, they have been killing the small catfish with worms fished in 4-6 feet of water in coves up the creeks. They also picked up a 4-pound largemouth this way!

The crappie report has been positive this week, and yesterday Wendell’s boat fished brush in some coves off the main lake in about 18 feet of water. It’s usually a spot where they can catch lots of small eating-sized crappie, but yesterday fish up to a pound and better were stacked up 10-12 feet down. 

Finally, Wendell notes that some of the flats at the mouths of creeks in 20-something feet of water that they like to fish later in the fall are already producing. The bait and fish are moving around on them more than they would like but they have found catfish, a few bass and a few yellow perch on them feeding on shad. It seems that as temperatures have cooled things have progressed to fall patterns quickly. 

September 5

Lake Russell water levels are bouncing around 474.75 (full pool is 475.00) and water clarity is high although the water is already a little brownish as if there may be some early turnover taking place. Morning surface water temperatures down to about 79 degrees.

The bass are finally acting more normal again on Lake Russell, and Guide Jerry Kotal with Jerry Kotal’s Fishing Guide Service (706-988-0860) reports that he has found good action around brush in the main lake and the front quarter of creeks. Fish are holding on brush in 15-25 feet, with some suspended over the brush and some sitting on the bottom on the edge of it. A drop shot rig with a worm has been working very well.

But the striped bass are still deeper, and Jerry’s boat is catching them 35 feet down over 40-60 feet. He is fishing the mid-lake area in open water (over timber, but timber is everywhere), and basically they are just marking bait and schools. They have had better numbers but also more small fish recently. At the same time Guide Wendell Wilson with Wilson’s Guide Service (706-283-3336) reports that they have still had to fish the ends of the lake to catch striper and hybrids, and this week they landed a 6-pound hybrid on a crappie minnow and a number four hook up the lake!  They also found a good number of spotted bass on vertical ledges up that way. 

But this week Wendell (and Luke Wilson) have spent the most time targeting crappie, and they have found a surprisingly large population of fish all over the lake. Wind forced them to fish the narrower upper lake yesterday where they found fish 6-8 feet deep over 17-18 feet of water on brush in coves off the main lake, while in the mid-lake they have been finding crappie in 20-22 feet of water on brush – but still about 6-8 feet down.   Minnows have been out-fishing jigs.  

August 28

Lake Russell water levels are around 473.6 (full pool is 475.00) and water clarity is high. Morning surface water temperatures are back to about 82-83 degrees.

Water temperatures dropped to about 79 degrees after the cooler weather, but Guide Jerry Kotal with Jerry Kotal’s Fishing Guide Service (706-988-0860) reports that they have rebounded and the fishing has been a little tough for both striped bass and bass. The silver lining is that the fish are they catching have been better ones. 

Both species are suspended about 35-40 feet down over timber in 50-60 feet of water, and Jerry hasn’t really seen many decent bass much shallower. He did catch a bunch of 1 ½ pound spotted bass on drop shot rigs fish around brush on points in 8-10 feet, but they never caught a bigger fish.  They have also picked up a few catfish while targeting striper with live bait on shallower spots 35-40 feet deep on the bottom. 

That’s consistent with the report from Guide Wendell Wilson with Wilson’s Guide Service (706-283-3336, who also advises that the decent spotted bass seem to be suspended and roaming right now.  They get that way in the summer sometimes and can be hard to catch. Wendell’s boat has picked up some good striper in the 12-14 pound recently, again about 35-40 feet down over deeper water on the lower end. 

At the same time there continues to be a pretty good bite for crappie around brush, and they are still catching fish about 10 feet down over 20 feet in the creeks. 

Finally, for a mixed bag of large white perch, a few big yellow perch, and channel catfish in the 1-3 pound range, fish remain grouped up on main lake flats in about 28 feet of water. They are eating minnows. 

August 16

Lake Russell water levels are down to around 473.5 (full pool is 475.00) and water clarity is still normal. Morning surface water temperatures are 84 degrees on the main lake.

As hoped the striped bass and bass fishing both improved this week on Lake Russell, and Guide Wendell Wilson with Wilson’s Guide Service (706-283-3336) reports that on their last two trips they found the fish much more willing to eat again. The magic depth – particularly for striper – continues to be about 30 feet, with the striper suspended over deep water on the lower end and about 50 feet (as deep as it gets) on the upper end. They are eating herring on down-rods again and the fish are back to running a good 9-10 pounds.

The spotted bass are also at about the same depth, but instead of suspending they are finding them on the bottom. Humps have been particularly good. Live bait is hard to beat but they will also take spoons and drop shots. In the last couple of days they have managed to tangle with some nice 3-4 pound spots.

Finally, for a mixed bag of white perch, big yellow perch, and channel catfish in the 1-3 pound range, fish are grouped up on main lake flats in about 25-28 feet. They are eating minnows. 

Whatever the reason they stopped eating, it appears that the fish are back at it again!

August 13

Lake Russell water levels are around 474.20 (full pool is 475.00) and water clarity is still normal. Morning surface water temperatures are about 83-84 degrees on the main lake and around 86 up creeks.   

The bass and striped bass are still in the same areas on Lake Russell, but for reasons that are hard to explain Guide Jerry Kotal with Jerry Kotal’s Fishing Guide Service (706-988-0860) reports that now neither species is biting well. Things may settle out in the next few days, but it has been tough fishing for several days now. Both species are still in about 30-40 feet of water on main lake flats and off points, but while they are marking plenty they aren’t getting many bites. A few spots and the smallest striper (multiple fish in the one-pound range) Jerry has caught in a long time on Russell were the main catch the last time out. It’s hard to describe them as having anything but “lockjaw”. 

The one bright spot is with the crappie, and Guide Wendell Wilson with Wilson’s Guide Service (706-283-3336) reports that even though fish aren’t loaded up on all the brush they are really thick on some brush piles. After bouncing around they finally marked a good number of fish mid-way up a creek in about 20 feet of water on brush, and fishing minnows 8-10 feet down they caught a limit in 30 minutes. 

More to follow if conditions hopefully improve this week. 

August 1

Lake Russell water levels are up to 474.84 (full pool is 475.00) and water clarity is still high. Morning surface water temperatures are about 83-84 degrees on the main lake. 

As water temperatures dropped 2-3 degrees for some reason the bass fishing slowed way down on Lake Russell, but Guide Jerry Kotal with Jerry Kotal’s Fishing Guide Service (706-988-0860) reports that the striped bass are still doing well. The two species are in the same areas in 30-40 feet of water, but the spotted bass are 15-20 feet down and have lockjaw while the striper are on the bottom and feeding. He is fishing with herring, and it’s hard to imagine artificials would do any better for bass. The best concentrations of fish seem to be in the mid-lake and on the lower end. 

While the numbers of striper are never great on Russell, yesterday they had five fish from 8-20 pounds! You would be hard-pressed to find a better place to catch big striper in this state. 

The rare bass they do catch is a spot, and to target largemouth the best bet is to head into the creeks and target shallower brush in the 10-15 foot range. Big worms and crankbaits will work, and you can also get some bites very early on buzzbaits. 

Jerry has also found a decent crappie bite, and yesterday he caught about 20 fish with a good third of them in the one-pound range. The bigger fish seem to be 15-20 feet down around timber in 25-30 feet, while the smaller ones are in brush in 15-20 feet. Jerry has only been fishing with jigs and can’t say how minnows would do. 

His boat is also still picking up a few catfish while targeting bass and striper with live bait, but to rally hammer them fishing 20-25 feet of water over main lake humps and in the center of coves with cut bait is the best bet. 

July 18

Lake Russell water levels are around 474.35 (full pool is 475.00) and water clarity is high. Morning surface water temperatures are about 86-87 degrees on the main lake. 

The striped bass bite continues to be very good on Lake Russell, and Guide Jerry Kotal with Jerry Kotal’s Fishing Guide Service (706-988-0860) reports that he is targeting striper (and bass) in the mid-lake where he is finding both species in the same areas. Most of the fish are around timber in 25-50 feet of water, and some of the fish are on the bottom beside timber while some are suspended over it. In general they seem to just be swimming and eating and moving around a lot, and it’s not unusual to find fish in one area one day but for them to be completely gone the next. 

Herring are working for both species and drop shots are also catching bass. 

Targeting largemouth is a different matter, as Jerry reports that he is pretty much only catching spots among the bass. To target largemouth the best bet is to head into the creeks and target shallower brush in the 10-15 foot range instead of the very deep stuff on the main lake. Big worms and crankbaits will work, and you can also get some bites very early on buzzbaits. 

While he hasn’t been back to the upper end this week, Guide Luke Wilson with Wilson’s Guide Service (706-283-3336) reports that on the lower end they are still catching suspended striper over water as much as 100 feet deep on herring.  Generally fish are 15-50 feet down, but 30 continues to be the best depth most days. 

On the crappie front, Luke reports that you can find small crappie on brush in 12 or so feet of water, but the larger fish are on brush in 15-22 feet of water in the back of creeks. They are suspended about halfway down and show a clear preference for minnows right now. 

Jerry is still picking up a few catfish while targeting bass and striper with live bait, but if you really want to go after them then fishing in 20-25 feet of water over main lake humps and in the center of coves with cut bait is the best bet. 

Finally, one new bite the Wilsons discovered this week is that on the main lake flats in about 28 feet of water there are some massive schools of big white perch. You can catch them with minnows on a drop shot rig. Meanwhile, the mystery of where the yellow perch go in the summer remains unsolved…

July 11

Lake Russell water levels are around 474.3 (full pool is 475.00) and water clarity is high. Morning surface water temperatures are 88 degrees on the main lake. 

The striped bass bite continues to be the best thing going on Lake Russell, and Guide Luke Wilson with Wilson’s Guide Service (706-283-3336) reports that he is catching fish on both ends of the lake right now. They are getting 6-15 fish every day, but three or four of them will often be really big Russell striper. Surprisingly it has not been any cooler on the upper end than the lower end, and in fact the best fishing on the upper end has not been in the tailrace but further down where fish are suspended in 30-50 feet of water.  On the lower end the fish could be in well over 100 feet of water. Overall Luke is catching fish with herring on down-rods 15-50 feet deep, but 30 feet down has been the magic depth most days. 

At the same time Guide Jerry Kotal with Jerry Kotal’s Fishing Guide Service (706-988-0860) is targeting striper (and bass) in the mid-lake, where he is finding both species together. However, he is seeing way more bass than are willing to bite. Mostly he is catching both species in 30-35 feet of water near the bottom beside timber, although some fish are suspended over it. Bait as well as big, abundant white perch is in the area. 

Herring are working for both species and drop shots are also catching bass. 

On the crappie front, Luke reports that you can find small crappie on brush in 12 or so feet of water, but the larger fish are on brush in 15-22 feet of water in the back of creeks. They are suspended about halfway down and show a clear preference for minnows right now. 

Finally, Jerry is picking up a few catfish while targeting bass and striper with live bait, but if you really want to go after them then fishing in 20-25 feet of water over main lake humps and in the center of coves with cut bait is the best bet.