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December 19
Clarks Hill water levels are at 326.50 (full pool is 330.00) and water clarity is normal. Morning surface water temperatures are around 55 degrees.
December 11
Clarks Hill water levels are at 325.98 (full pool is 330.00) and water clarity should drop after significant rainfall. Morning surface water temperatures are around 58 degrees.
December 4
Clarks Hill water levels are down to 326.24 (full pool is 330.00) and water clarity is normal. Morning surface water temperatures have dropped to about 59 degrees.
November 20
Clarks Hill water levels are at 327.37 (full pool is 330.00) and water clarity is normal. Morning surface water temperatures are around 67 degrees.
November 13
Clarks Hill water levels are at 327.54 (full pool is 330.00) and the lake is very clear because of the absence of recent rains. Morning surface water temperatures are around 68 degrees.
Fishing activity is still well below normal, but Captain Rocky Fulmer with Little River Guide Service (706-210-3474) reports that he has been finding a pretty fantastic hybrid and striped bass bite. On their last trip they caught 70 fish in two hours, and even though fish are moving around a fair amount they have been able to find some very consistent spots. The best action has been coming 10-20 feet down in about 30 feet of water on the edge of the Savannah River channel, but fish are scattered all over the place. They are in both major river arms, and some days they are moving to the very backs of the creeks.
While it’s not uncommon to mark fish on the bottom in 35 feet, once they actually start biting they usually come up to about 12-20 feet to feed.
Captain Rocky reports that the crappie fishing is also good, and fish can be found in the river and creek channels up the lake in about 30 feet of water. They are 15-18 feet down suspended over brush, trees, or any other structure in the channel, and while they will take jigs minnows are working much better.
But there are also crappie a little shallower, and Guide Wendell Wilson with Wilson’s Guide Service (706-283-3336) reports that they managed to catch a nice limit of crappie on the very upper end of Clarks Hill fishing in 15-17 feet of water. They have caught everything on minnows about 12-14 feet down, and while fish aren’t on every piece of structure when you find them there are some big schools. And lots of big fish.
While the black bass fishing has also been good for numbers, tournament angler Tyler Matthews of Evans, Georgia reports that catching decent-sized fish is a completely different matter. On the water recently he has seen and caught a good number of schooling fish, but most of them you have to measure. He is seeing better ones on top but they aren’t biting.
They aren’t as shallow as in the spring, and most of the action he is finding is in 12-15 feet. It’s also pretty random, and some points and humps are covered in fish while others are desolate. Brush does seem to make a big difference.
But the hardest part is not locating the fish but getting them to bite, and with the bass on very small bait at times that is “outrageously” tough. Bright skies and calm days make it even worse. Everything he has caught has been on a small fluke or Sashimmy swimbait.
As for other patterns, a buzzbait should only get better in the next couple of weeks but for now Tyler is not getting many bites on it. A white or methiolate floating worm should also be good, especially with all the newly fallen trees in the water.
Finally, there are a lot of fish on brush piles that you can see on electronics but right now they are more likely to follow a bait than commit.
Finally, Captain Chris Simpson with Fightin Da Blues Fishing Guide Service (864-992-2352) reports that the fall catfishbite remains remarkably consistent. The productive depth range might vary a bit from day to day, but otherwise things are pretty predictable and the fishing is very good.
The best pattern is still anchoring on main lake points in 25-50 feet of water. You can also catch some fish dragging the bottom at about the same depths in creeks with cleaner bottoms. Cut herring, bream and gizzard shad will all catch fish.
October 29
Clarks Hill water levels are at 327.94 (full pool is 330.00) and the lake is relatively clear. Morning surface water temperatures are around 70 degrees.
Read more fishing reports from Clarks Hill and other popular places at the AHQ Report!
Located on the Georgia/ South Carolina border approximately 22 miles upstream of the Savannah River from Augusta, Georgia, the originally named Clarks Hill Dam and Lake were built by the US Army Corps of Engineers between 1946 and 1954. The last lake of the “Savannah River chain”, the dam near the South Carolina town of Clarks Hill is located near the confluence of the Georgia Little River and the Savannah River which form its two main arms. One of the largest man-made lakes in the Southeast, the lake covers approximately 71,000 acres at full pool, has around 1200 miles of shoreline, and extends over 39 miles up the Savannah River in its longest run. The lake was federally renamed J. Strom Thurmond Reservoir in 1987, but residents of Georgia and South Carolina often still refer to this body of water as Clarks Hill – still its official name per the state of Georgia.
A fishermen’s paradise with abundant underwater timber, Clarks Hill is known for its largemouth bass fishery, a large population of stocked striped and hybrid bass, big flathead and blue catfish, prolific crappie, bream, and more. The most significant forage species are a very large population of blueback herring, abundant gizzard shad and a dwindling population of threadfin shad.
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