trickyrick6 wrote:
what and where to catch a few big-uns in the fall? large mouth mostly...
*****
FALL LARGEMOUTH FISHING ON LAKE HARTWELL..
“Early November is kind of a strange time at Hartwell,” Cobb said. “Bass should be biting decent, but it is kind of the time of the year anything you want to do can work. It is just a matter of getting the right bites.”
Warmer-than-usual fall weather has kept Hartwell bass from following their typical fall routines.
“Normally, we are looking at a lot of fish getting bait-oriented, moving off the bank and following the bait around. But it has been so hot this year everything is a little hung up,” Cobb said.
The South Carolina pro predicts lots of bass will still be shallow in the creeks, so power lures such as spinnerbaits, buzzbaits and crankbaits will be productive.
“I think there will be a lot of guys junk fishing, just covering water down the bank catching largemouth,” Cobb said.
Nation contenders can also try a deep pattern, especially if cold weather arrives before the Championship. Cobb suggests they can catch a mixed bag of spotted and largemouth bass in clear water drop shotting finesse worms.
“I actually look for spots to play more if it gets colder,” he said. “The biggest spotted bass will be in depths of 20 to 30 feet.”
( "The best Spotted Bass fishing will be from the "mid-section of the lake to the dam area," ) while largemouth bass can be caught anywhere at Hartwell. “One good thing about Hartwell that I truly believe is if somebody can put a pattern together, they could win on any part of the lake,” Cobb said.
The lake level has been dropping the last couple months, which Cobb considers good news for the Nation contenders. Cobb notices bass are easier to target when Hartwell is low, so he expects better weights for the championship.
“Hartwell has a lot of 3- to 3 1/2-pound fish but it is not a true giant fish lake,” said Cobb, who estimates the winning weight will be around 45 to 47 pounds.
"We are very excited about the opportunity to partner with our friends at B.A.S.S. and host the Nation Championship again in our community, which will generate a significant economic impact for Anderson County, Green Pond Landing and Lake Hartwell,” said Neil Paul, Visit Anderson executive director.
“When you consider that this grass-roots event will feature anglers from 47 states and 11 foreign nations, the Nation Championship provides the ultimate platform for anglers to pursue the biggest bass on the biggest stage and to realize the biggest dream of competing in the Bassmaster Classic."
https://www.bassmaster.com/news/bass-nation-championship-returning-lake-hartwell*****
March 16, 2016 by Jesse Schultz
Lake Hartwell has been the home of many major and local tournaments throughout the years. Recently, Casey Ashley has been the dominant pro on Hartwell, winning the Walmart FLW Tour event on his home lake in 2014 and the Bassmaster Classic here in 2015. Before Ashley, Jason Christie won at Hartwell in 2011, followed by Brent Ehrler in 2012. Most recently, Mike Devere won the FLW Bass Fishing League Wild Card on Hartwell in the fall of 2015.
Here’s a look at the types of areas that have produced tournament wins on Lake Hartwell over the last few seasons.
In 2011, Jason Christie won on Lake Hartwell, with Brent Ehrler finishing 10 pounds behind him. Christie looked for prespawn fish in dirty water that looked like what he fishes back home on Grand Lake in Oklahoma. He found it in Beaver Creek and was able to fish his strengths and throw a spinnerbait for big prespawn bass.
Much of Lake Hartwell is deep and clear, so finding stained water like in the image above isn’t the easiest thing to do.
With this week’s warming trend, any stained water might be the first to warm up for eager bass looking for spawning grounds.
Brent Ehrler got his revenge on Lake Hartwell and took home the crown by holding off Micah Frazier by 3 pounds.(" Ehrler keyed in on a few spots around the islands that are centrally located on Lake Hartwell." ) He fished 30 to 50 feet deep with a football jig, drop-shot and umbrella rig.
Anglers who like to fish deep will be searching these areas for schooling spotted bass feeding up on blueback herring.
Lake Hartwell;
Gulls and loons raft and dive in the water for BlueBack Herring on the edge of the islands.
Lake Hartwell;
In 2014, Casey Ashley won his first major tournament as the hometown hero at the Walmart FLW Tour event on Hartwell. He won by almost a 15-pound margin. Andy Morgan was his closest competitor.( Ashley used local knowledge to fish brush piles in and around boat docks and marinas. )
This year the current weather trend has been much warmer, and the fish are moving quickly. The staging fish might already have moved past the brush piles that Ashley fished, and they could be sitting on the bank when the Tour event starts.
Lake Hartwell;
It wouldn’t be a Lake Hartwell tournament without someone in the (top 10 catching fish off of boat docks.) In 2014, Brandon Cobb won a BFL tournament on Lake Hartwell running a pattern that included fishing docks for big largemouths. Cobb knew the bigger fish were suspended under the floating docks, and he was able to cull up for the win after the sun came out in the afternoon.
As more fish move to the banks these docks might be the last places they stop before committing to the spawn.
Lake Hartwell;
Casey Ashley followed up his FLW Tour win with a Bassmater Classic victory the following year. His( primary bait was an under-spin with a Zoom Fluke trailer, which he used to target spotted bass.) Ashley took advantage of the early bite to put a big fish in the boat every morning.
Spotted bass are always a factor on Lake Hartwell, which is good news for spotted bass experts such as Anthony Gagliardi and Cody Meyer.
Lake Hartwell;
In November 2015, Mike Devere won the BFL Wild Card event by( fishing rocky banks) on Lake Hartwell using a 1/2-ounce Stan Sloan’s Zorro Bait Co. Booza Bug matched with a Zoom Big Salty Chunk trailer. Devere racked up a 21-pound, 11-ounce limit, which showed Hartwell’s true potential.
Although autumn is behind us, Lake Hartwell is setting up to show off big weights this week from many anglers in the top 10.
Lake Hartwell;
Even though a major tournament has yet to be won at Hartwell by strictly fishing spawning bass, the pattern will be a factor in this week’s event. Many of the spawning bays are warming quickly as the air temperature here in South Carolina reaches into the 80's.
One key factory will be the thick pollen blanketing the surface of the water in some pockets. The pollen reduces visibility and makes it harder for anglers to target shallow bass in spawning areas.
Lake Hartwell;
Lake Hartwell is setting up to be a slugfest of sorts for the Walmart FLW Tour pros and co-anglers. Over the next four days, fishing fans will get to see what kind of challenges and the quality of bass that Lake Hartwell has to offer.
Gulls and loons raft and dive in the water for bluebacks on the edge of the islands.
In 2014, Casey Ashley won his first major tournament as the hometown hero at the Walmart FLW Tour event on Hartwell. He won by almost a 15-pound margin. Andy Morgan was his closest competitor. ( Ashley used local knowledge to fish brush piles in and around boat docks and marinas. )
This year the current weather trend has been much warmer, and the fish are moving quickly. The staging fish might already have moved past the brush piles that Ashley fished, and they could be sitting on the bank when the Tour event starts.
It wouldn’t be a Lake Hartwell tournament without someone in the top 10 catching fish off of boat docks. In 2014, Brandon Cobb won a BFL tournament on Lake Hartwell running a ( pattern that included fishing docks for big largemouths. ) Cobb knew the bigger fish were suspended under the floating docks, and he was able to cull up for the win after the sun came out in the afternoon.
As more fish move to the banks these docks might be the last places they stop before committing to the spawn.
Casey Ashley followed up his FLW Tour win with a Bassmater Classic victory the following year. ( His primary bait was an under-spin with a Zoom Fluke trailer, which he used to target spotted bass. ) Ashley took advantage of the early bite to put a big fish in the boat every morning.
Spotted bass are always a factor on Lake Hartwell, which is good news for spotted bass experts such as Anthony Gagliardi and Cody Meyer.
In November 2015, Mike Devere won the BFL Wild Card event by fishing rocky banks on Lake Hartwell using a 1/2-ounce Stan Sloan’s Zorro Bait Co. Booza Bug matched with a Zoom Big Salty Chunk trailer. Devere racked up a 21-pound, 11-ounce limit, which showed Hartwell’s true potential.
Although autumn is behind us, Lake Hartwell is setting up to show off big weights this week from many anglers in the top 10.
Even though a major tournament has yet to be won at Hartwell by strictly fishing spawning bass, the pattern will be a factor in this week’s event. Many of the spawning bays are warming quickly as the air temperature here in South Carolina reaches into the 80s.
One key factory will be the thick pollen blanketing the surface of the water in some pockets. The pollen reduces visibility and makes it harder for anglers to target shallow bass in spawning areas.
Lake Hartwell is setting up to be a slugfest of sorts for the Walmart FLW Tour pros and co-anglers. Over the next four days, fishing fans will get to see what kind of challenges and the quality of bass that Lake Hartwell has to offer.
*****
TOP 10 BAITS FROM HARTWELL
Thomas Guthke
March 8, 2020 by Phillip Gentry and Michael Bibb
Because of high water and cooler conditions, bass on Lake Hartwell haven’t quite gotten fully into the mood to spawn. During the Toyota Series Eastern Division opener on Lake Hartwell, there were plenty of shallow fish to be had, but catching them wasn’t as simple as finding one pattern or one primary bait.
Here's a look at what the top 10 used to catch their fish and cash some checks last week on Hartwell.
Marty Robinson;
1. Marty Robinson used two primary baits to get the win: ( a 3/8-ounce Buckeye Lures Su-Spin Blade in pearl/white and albino with a pearl white Zoom Fluke attached and a 1/2-ounce Buckeye Lures G-Man Ballin’ Out jig with a green pumpkin Zoom Creepy Crawler trailer ). For the underspin, he used a Castaway Rods Taranis Carbon Extreme 7-foot medium-heavy rod paired with a Lew’s Custom Pro Speed Spool SLP (6.8:1) reel spooled with 15-pound-test P-Line fluorocarbon. He used the same reel and line for the jig but with a 7-foot heavy Castaway Rods Invicta II rod.
Derrick Bridges;
2. Derrick Bridges also relied on two baits at Hartwell: ( A 1/2-ounce NuTech Lures jig in brown with a double weed guard and a 5/0 Trokar hook with a skirt Bridges hand-ties and either a 1/4- or 1/2-ounce Fish Head Bucktail Spin in white with a sight flash Zoom Boot Tail Fluke trailer. ) He used 15-pound-test Seaguar InvizX for the underspin and 20-pound-test Seaguar InvizX for the jig, which he had spooled on a high-speed Abu Garcia Revo MGX paired with a G. Loomis NRX 7-foot, 5-inch medium-heavy rod.
David Williams;
3. David Williams primarily stuck with a ( bladed jig to catch his fish. His go-to was a 1/2-ounce Queen Tackle bladed jig in white with a Zoom Salty Super Fluke (white) trailer. ) He fished that on a Cashion 7-foot heavy 8447 rod and a Bass Pro Shops Johnny Morris Series reel with 20-pound-test Hi-Seas mono.
Cameron Lineback;
4. Cameron Lineback used a trio of lures throughout the tournament. His primary baits included a ( Strike King KVD 1.5 square-bill crankbait in orange belly craw, a 1/2-ounce Z-Man/Evergreen ChatterBait Jack Hammer in white with a white Zoom Fluke trailer and a Texas-rigged Zoom Ultra Vibe Speed Craw in black. )He fished those on several different Denali rods, from the KOVERT Lite cranking rod (7-foot) to the Rosewood 7-foot medium-heavy and Rosewood Flipping 7-foot heavy. He paired each of those with Lew’s reels.
Jayme Rampey;
5. Jayme Rampey cranked up a lot of fish on a ( Greenfish Tackle Big G Flat Crankbait in the cellmate color in the mornings and then switched to a local-made shaky head paired with a Zoom Trick Worm in red bug as the day wore on. ) He fished the crankbait on an Abu Garcia Veracity casting rod with an Abu Garcia Revo SX reel spooled with 10-pound-test Hi-Seas flourocarbon line and fished the shaky head on a similar setup with the same rod and reel.
Cody Pike;
6. Cody Pike’s go-to for a sixth-place finish was ( a SPRO Mike McClelland Rk Crawler 55 in red bug. ) He fished it in just about every depth of water, from 4 to 6 feet to 15 to 20 feet.
Rob Digh;
7. Rob Digh used two primary baits to target rock-loving bass: ( a SPRO John Crews Little John 50 crankbait in crawfish and a 1/2-ounce Shooter Lures hand-tied Jig in brown and blue with a Zoom Big Salty Chunk trailer in sapphire blue. ) He used Cashion rods and Seaguar InvizX fluorocarbon for both setups.
Thomas Guthke;
8. Thomas Guthke’s ( Carolina rig consisted of a 1/2-ounce weight on Seaguar fluorocarbon and a 6-inch Zoom Lizard in green pumpkin about 18 inches from the weight. He also mixed in throwing a Boyd Duckett Baits BD Soft Squarebill in red craw. His drop-shot featured a 6-inch ] Roboworm Straight Tail in red crawler ) on 6-pound-test Berkley Vanish line. Guthke fished both the square-bill and Carolina rig on Duckett rods and Shimano Curado reels.
9. Trent Palmer’s ( top two baits for dragging ditches were a 1/2-ounce handmade underspin in white paired with a 3 1/2-inch Zoom Swimmer Paddle Tail, also in white, and a 1/8-ounce Ned Rig with a Roboworm Ned worm in green pumpkin. ) He fished both on ALX rods.
Kerry Partain;
10. Kerry Partain ( focused on finding baitfish and tricking the bass feeding on them into eating his 3/8-ounce Blade Runner underspin in white paired with a Zoom Salty Super Fluke (white). ) He used a setup of a G. Loomis rod and Lew’sreel spooled with Seaguar fluorocarbon.
https://www.flwfishing.com/news/2020-03-08-top-10-baits-from-hartwellI hope that some of this fishing information is helpful and not leading you a stray. Please check back in with us and give your fishing report. Thanks Ron620DVS
Hartwell Lake-East Fishing Map 1 of a 2 Map Set, Covers from Hartwell Dam northward towards Clemson, SC.
Printed Maps > South Carolina
Hartwell Lake-East Fishing Map Hartwell Lake-East Fishing Map
https://www.fishinghotspots.com/e1/pc/viewPrd.asp?idproduct=335*