June Fishing Report – Lake Hartwell, GA
Summertime is officially here. But the fish haven’t quite figured it out yet. Water temperatures vary depending upon which end of the lake you are fishing. Northern stretches have been warmer, in the mid-to-upper 80’s, while the south end is a bit cooler with temps in the mid-to-lower 80’s. Finding the cooler water is a better bet for catching linesides. As summer sets in, and the water really heats up, the thermocline will become distinctive, and the stripers will begin to stack up in the main river channels. Right now, they are still scattered in both the creeks and the river channels.
Start off your morning with a livewell full of blueback herring from The Bait House in Hartwell. Add a dozen or so of their large shiners as well. Sometimes the stripers will get finicky and just scale a blueback. Adding a couple shiners to your downline spread can make a positive difference in your hook-up ratio.
In this summer heat, you need to be on the water early…like first light. Start your search mid-way back in the major creeks using live bait. Look for 25 to 45 foot depths in the creek channels. Use your Side Scan to see schools that might be up on the edge of the creek channel. Get on the trolling motor and zig-zag the creek channel. The schools can be really tight, so simply going straight up the creek channel could cause you to miss seeing a school that is just a few yards away.
Keep a blue/chrome MirroLure or silver/blue Sammy ready for some topwater action. These could be stripers, hybrids or spotted bass crashing bait. Pitch your lure past the school and work it through the chaos and hang on. Be ready, because it won’t last long. In most of the creeks, you won’t be too far fro the bank, so have someone casting a topwater toward the bank, and you’ll catch a cruising bass or two as well.
As the sun gets higher in the sky, move out to the creek channels in 70 to 90 feet of water and suspend baits to cover the water column from 50 feet up to 15 feet. Patience is key, as the schools will be moving from the creeks to the main river channel. You just need to be along their travel path, and when they show up, you will be rewarded. They will usually appear in waves. You’ll catch several fish, and then need to wait a few minutes before the next wave shows up. Two waves of fish in a row indicate you’re on a well-travelled path, and that’s a good place to be.
By mid-day, move to the main river channel over deep water and troll umbrella rigs and X-Rigs, positioned 50 to 75 feet behind the boat. Look at the power generation schedule for Hartwell Dam, and plan to be in the main channel close to the dam about 30 minutes after the corps begins generating. The signal horn will be a clear indicator of generation.
Late afternoon, and into the evening, you can switch back to live bait as the schools migrate back to the creeks. So it’s just a reverse of what you did in the morning. Flukes and swim baits will catch fish, along with frisky blueback herring. Topwater action can happen any time around dusk, so be ready for that too.
Finally, if you see fish in the timber, position your boat and baits in the clearings between stands of subsurface trees. Pull out your drumming stick and call the fish to you. A fish caught over trees has a good chance of getting tangled in the limbs and you’ll never see the fish. Bring them to you by drumming and your odds of landing the big ones are much better.
Want to go have fun on Lake Hartwell, and do some catching? Give us a call at 404 402 8329 to experience a great adventure on the lake.
Tight Lines and Smooth Seas
Capt. Cefus McRae
