June 23
Lake Hartwell water levels are down to 660.46 (full pool is 660.00) and clarity is about as high as Lake Hartwell gets. With no more than brief rain showers recently, except for the very back of some creeks the water is clear. Morning surface water temperatures are 84-85 degrees.
There’s been a bit of a change with the hybrid and striped bass this week on Lake Hartwell, and even as the fish are still basically in the mid-rivers and have not moved down the lake much Guide Chip Hamilton (864-304-9011) reports
June 17
Lake Hartwell water levels are well above full at 660.71 (full pool is 660.00) and clarity remains very high. Morning surface water temperatures are around 84 first thing.
June is usually a good month for hybrid and striped bass on Lake Hartwell, and Guide Chip Hamilton (864-304-9011) reports
June 9
Lake Hartwell water levels are well above full at 661.32 (full pool is 660.00) and clarity is very high. Morning surface water temperatures are 80-81 degrees over most of the lake.
The hybrid and striped bass are in some pretty reliable patterns right now on Lake Hartwell, and Guide Chip Hamilton (864-304-9011) reports
May 24
Lake Hartwell water levels are still above full at 660.32 (full pool is 660.00) and even after a bunch of rain most of the lake is still very clear. Morning surface water temperatures got as high as 78 or 79 but they have since dropped to about 74.
Even with dropping temperatures Guide Chip Hamilton (864-304-9011) reports
May 19
Lake Hartwell water levels are still above full at 660.29 (full pool is 660.00) and the lake is very clear. Morning surface water temperatures are up to about 76 or 77 degrees.
With the herring spawn now wide open in the areas he is fishing Guide Chip Hamilton (864-304-9011) reports
May 12
Lake Hartwell water levels are still above full at 660.27 (full pool is 660.00) and the lake is very clear. Morning surface water temperatures dropped to about 70 degrees but have now rebounded to about 74.
This week the cold front made them work a little harder to catch hybrid and striped bass on Lake Hartwell, but Guide Chip Hamilton (864-304-9011) reports
May 4
Lake Hartwell water levels are still above full at 660.45 (full pool is 660.00) and the lake is basically clear everywhere again as it has gotten very dry. Morning surface water temperatures are about 73 degrees over much of the lake.
It’s still a very good bite for hybrid and striped bass on Lake Hartwell, but Guide Chip Hamilton (864-304-9011) reports
April 21
Lake Hartwell water levels are still above full at 660.26 (full pool is 660.00) and the backs of some creeks are Clemson orange after recent rains. Morning surface water temperatures range from 58 in cooler creeks to 62 on the main lake to 66 or 67 up warmer rivers.
It’s been a great week, and today was a fantastic day, for hybrid and striped bass fishing on Lake Hartwell. Guide Chip Hamilton (864-304-9011) reports
April 8
Lake Hartwell water levels are at 660.66 (full pool is 660.00) and the backs of creeks are muddy with recent rains. Morning surface water temperatures have risen into the lower 60s.
There has been some significant improvement in the hybrid and striped bass fishing this week on Lake Hartwell, and Guide Chip Hamilton (864-304-9011) reports
April 1
Lake Hartwell water levels are at 661.16 (full pool is 660.00) and the creeks are still dirty. Morning surface water temperatures up the rivers have dropped back into the upper 50s.
The fronts this week had an unusually significant effect on the fishing, and Guide Chip Hamilton (864-304-9011) reports
March 25
Lake Hartwell water levels are up to 661.24 (full pool is 660.00) and the creeks are still muddy. Morning surface water temperatures up the rivers have hit the lower 60s.
For weeks Guide Chip Hamilton (864-304-9011) had to report that the hybrid and striped bass were
March 10
Lake Hartwell water levels are above full at 660.23 (full pool is 660.00) and after a good bit of rain some of the major creeks should soon be muddy in the backs. Morning surface water temperatures got as high as 59 on the main lake and 61 in the backs but they are starting to drop.
He’s not saying he told you so – but I am saying he did – as Guide Brad Fowler almost
March 1
Lake Hartwell water levels are at 659.55 (full pool is 660.00). The water is clear on the main lake but there is some color in the back of creeks. Water temperatures are about 54-57 degrees.
There’s apparently a little bass tournament coming to Lake Hartwell this week, and Guide Brad Fowler reports
February 24
Lake Hartwell water levels are up to 659.22 (full pool is 660.00). The water is pretty clear and morning surface water temperatures range from about 52 to 54 degrees.
With rising temperatures the hybrid and striped bass fishing has significantly removed on Lake Hartwell, but Guide Chip Hamilton (864-304-9011) reports
February 17
Lake Hartwell water levels are up to 659.03 (full pool is 660.00). The water is pretty clear and morning surface water temperatures range from about 48 to 50 degrees.
Even though it’s still cold the hybrid and striped bass fishing has picked up a little on Lake Hartwell, and Guide Chip Hamilton (864-304-9011) reports
February 10
Lake Hartwell water levels are at 659.17 (full pool is 660.00). Some creeks are dingy to muddy but the main rivers are clear. Morning surface water temperatures are down to about 47 degrees.
With the cold conditions it’s not surprising that fish are deep, and Captain Bill Plumley reports
February 1
Lake Hartwell water levels are at 658.11 (full pool is 660.00) and the lake has typical clarity. Morning surface water temperatures are about 49-52 degrees.
Very cold weather has done nothing to push bass shallower on Lake Hartwell, and Guide Brad Fowler reports
January 20
Lake Hartwell water levels are at 658.28 (full pool is 660.00) and the lake is still relatively clear even after recent snow and ice. Morning surface water temperatures have dropped to about 50 degrees.
We have gotten into that time of year where the striped bass fishing really slows down on Lake Hartwell, and Guide Chip Hamilton (864-304-9011) reports
January 6
Lake Hartwell water levels are back up to 657.86 (full pool is 660.00) and the main lake is still clear even as some of the creeks have gotten muddy. Morning surface water temperatures have dropped to about 57 degrees.
The bass fishing has been pretty good on Lake Hartwell, and Guide Brad Fowler reports
December 22
Lake Hartwell water levels are at 656.52 (full pool is 660.00) and the lake is still clear. Morning surface water temperatures are still about 59 degrees.
With water temperatures surprisingly stable there’s not much change with the striped bass this week, and Guide Chip Hamilton (864-304-9011) reports
December 15
Lake Hartwell water levels are all the way down to 656.50 (full pool is 660.00) and the lake is very clear. Morning surface water temperatures have dropped to about 60 degrees.
As the birds have arrived there are more clues for finding striped bass, but Guide Chip Hamilton (864-304-9011) reports
December 2
Lake Hartwell water levels are all the way down to 657.44 (full pool is 660.00) and the lake is very clear. Morning surface water temperatures have dropped to about 61-63 degrees.
While water temperatures are still in a range where there should be plenty of bass eating up shallow, Guide Brad Fowler reports
November 19
Lake Hartwell water levels are down to 658.95 (full pool is 660.00) and the lake is clear. Morning surface water temperatures have dropped to about 65 degrees.
It continues to be an excellent time to catch spotted bass around brush on Clarks Hill, but Guide Brad Fowler reports
November 11
Lake Hartwell water levels are finally below full pool at 659.79 (full pool is 660.00) and the lower lake is in the process of turning over. Morning surface water temperatures are down to about 66-67 degrees.
The bass fishing on Lake Hartwell was