Lake Hartwell Rockfish

[JABIII]

Ok. Santee is dead. I need a new striper fishery. I would prefer it be a riverine fishery but hell you can't have everything.

I have never so much as stuck a toe in Hartwell. All I know about it is that Clemron pollutes one part of it and it houses some monster rockfish.

Per Google Earth, the upper reaches of Hartwell are 32 miles from my house. Well within striking distance.

Is anyone here familier enough with striper fishing to talk about it without having to wade through a bunch of Bogsterisms?

[TJ&ABBY]

Are you talking about the upper reaches of the Tugaloo? I fish Hartwell quite a bit, but I fish on down the Tugaloo. Been catchin a few up in the creeks (boards and freelines), don't know how you fish or what you fish with, but could point you in some directions further down the lake.

[JABIII]

I am an old river fisherman. Bloody herring head or live bream on the bottom.

I don't know anything about catching stripers in a deepwater lake.

Any hints to get me started would be great...

[FreeLiner]

JAB, most of the fishing in this type of lake is done with free lines, planer boards, down rods or cut bait in the channels

The free lines are just that, no weights, just a hook, a herring and the line - set straight back off the boat around 30-40 yards

The planer boards are used on the free lines about 15-20 yards up from the herring to place the bait away from the boat and away from the free lines

Both of these setups are using a trolling motor to maneuver around - slowly and rod holders placed all around the boat

The down rods are used when schools of fish or located, generally late spring to summer, and use egg sinkers to keep the bait in place, set 18 to 24 inches up from the bait. They can be fished near the bottom or at the depth were the fish are located

I use a bait tank to keep the herring alive and frisky.

As for fishing the channels, its just like fishing a river, beach the boat and cast off the back.

I have caught my largest fish using the free line method, 46lbs 6oz.

Hope this helps.

[FreeLiner]

JAB, most of the fishing in this type of lake is done with free lines, planer boards, down rods or cut bait in the channels

The free lines are just that, no weights, just a hook, a herring and the line - set straight back off the boat around 30-40 yards

The planer boards are used on the free lines about 15-20 yards up from the herring to place the bait away from the boat and away from the free lines

Both of these setups are using a trolling motor to maneuver around - slowly and rod holders placed all around the boat

The down rods are used when schools of fish or located, generally late spring to summer, and use egg sinkers to keep the bait in place, set 18 to 24 inches up from the bait. They can be fished near the bottom or at the depth were the fish are located

I use a bait tank to keep the herring alive and frisky.

As for fishing the channels, its just like fishing a river, beach the boat and cast off the back.

I have caught my largest fish using the free line method, 46lbs 6oz.

Hope this helps.

[Dook]

Get out in the boat JAB, this tim eof year you need to be fishing or scouting creek mouths of the main lake. The colder temps force the lake stripers to chase the higher oxygenated water, where the shad are. Find the birds, find the fish. Live bait is an option, but shad like swim baits, white and chart bucktails and hopkins spoons are great ways to catch them schooling or not. If the fish are schooling you can catch them with a bare hook.

Other times of year, live herring or gizzard shad on main and secondary lake points are good places to start, match the bait to the fishery or come up short. Find the bait find the fish.

If I was in a position to fish at hartwell, get you a few packs of shad colored(white, grey, ice blue) zoom flukes or superflukes, about a 1/2-3/4" oz white or red jigheads, and cast to those rocky points, from 2" to 20'. Spotted bass, largemouth and stripes, the trifecta. We have caught some smallies there, but very few.

I will not fish that lake any more. I had a friend murdered at clemson, and her killers threw her in the lake. After floating flowers after her funeral, I can't see myself there.

[JABIII]

I have caught all the Sub 30 pounders I need to catch in this life. I want one 30+ and am willing to get after it. Damn I don't need another boat do I? I assume CC's are the way to go for this freelining? I have an 18' bassboat but it sounds like a CC might be the better rig...

[Stripa Swipa]

Originally posted by JABIII:
I have caught all the Sub 30 pounders I need to catch in this life. I want one 30+ and am willing to get after it.

Dang cyberscouters....

Go north. Plan a cast and blast to the Chesapeake Bay in Dec. With a decent guide, you'll find what you're looking for.

[JABIII]

I would if we didn't have them here in my backyard. I can catch them myself, I just need to know the deal. Yeah I am cyberscouting like a mofo... [img]graemlins/sonar_125.gif[/img]

[FreeLiner]

I have a 19' CC that works great. The biggest thing is to make sure you have enough room to reach the rods around the transom and have a reliable trolling motor. I use a Minn-kota Auto-Pilot and would not have anything else. The pro's use walk-thru aluminum boats with full enclosures. But I have seen some ol'timers fishing out of 12-14' jon boats.

[DRDUCK]

That's what I been fishing out of is my 1980 Monarch 14' since my 225 is in the shop getting a rebuild on my big boat. Makes it a little rough in the wind.

[FreeLiner]

Yep, I bet it is hell trying to cook in that thing! I met a guy from around Tigerville that had a 22' cabin cruiser with a generator, fridge and crapper. He would stay out for days. Used to fish the Cumberland River a good bit too.

[FreeLiner]

These fish were the second and third stripers I had ever caught. My brother took me out the day before and I reeled in a 1 lb fish and let it go. The fish on the left was the first fish of the day, caught on a free line. Weighed 46lb 7oz. Beat his largest fish by 13lbs. The fish on the right was caught about an hour later. 21lbs. Let that one go. I have been "hooked" ever since.



Took my kids out this past summer and caught a 10lb striper, I thought they were going to fall out of the boat.

[Dook]

Good Stuff!

Live bait or Artificial, it's all about gettin after em.

[JABIII]

Very, very nice... Have hogs will trade...

[FreeLiner]

Live bait of the salted herring kind. Haven't had a good run on schoolies for a while but those two are pressing the issue regardless. JAB, don't count out Russel or Clarks Hill, they can be very productive. The large fish was caught in the same vicinity two weeks before a short run state record a couple of years ago.

[mudflat]

Murray is kind of dead but Hartwell is tearing them Stripers up. Catching them off of umbrella rigs. This is what I have been told by one of the best striper fishers in SC. I want some fish to eat so Hartwell don't seem like to good of a place to go, was told they are loaded with PCB's

[Sashimi]

They finally lifted the moratorium on the river dividing the two states (Palmetto and Peach)... this spring/summer should be MUY fun with screaming drags!

[GBelly]

when I lived on Hartwell (across from Dead Valley), I never got after the Stripers. Now we did catch our share of cats between Lake Isaqueena and 123.

also, drank alot of beer and high waked the rowing team constantly.

living on Hartwell while in college and owning a boat was simply fun.

after growing up on Moultrie, moving to the clay banks of an upstate lake was a change.

Now Keowee was where the fishing went on. Night bass fishing and cat snagging set priority over most other things on a weekend night.

I miss the atmoshere and the fun up there....

[DRDUCK]

Those are some REAL NICE fish. Never fished Hartwell been on Murray over 20. Jab!!!, get after um.