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 Lake Clarks Hill Fishing Report

 
 

info@havefunfishing.com

 

Chek weather for lake allatoona fishing

Our DVD, Rods, Reels and Lures for Bass is now on sale for only $25.00 including shipping. Send a check payable to Southern Fishing Schools Inc. to: Southern Fishing Schools Inc., 106 Hickory Ridge Drive, Cumming Georgia. Please allow 14 days for delivery.
 


Meet Ken Sturdivant Saturday's at
Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World in Lawrenceville Georgia.


See samples of the New Lowrance HDS Structure Scan Down Scan at this address: http://havefunfishing.com/fishingreports/lowrance.htm

“SONAR WITH KEN STURDIVANT”

Ken Sturdivant, Lowrance Professional Fishing Staff will be conducting FREE! Sonar Seminars at Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World in Lawrenceville Georgia. Seminars are the last Saturday of each month. All seminars are subject to change without notice.

Now we have the new book

"BASS FISHING CLARK'S HILL LAKE'

This book has 52 week's of fishing reports and we have added over 30 bass fishing locations year round. This book is $39.00 total. Send us an e mail for a sample to: info@havefunfishing.com.

All the books are $39.00 total. Check or money orders ONLY, NO CREDIT CARDS. Make the payment to: SOUTHERN FISHING SCHOOLS INC, 106 HICKORY RIDGE DRIVE, CUMMING GEORGIA 30040. Please allow 14 days for delivery.


February 9, 2012

CLARKS HILL IS DOWN 7.89 FEET, 52 DEGREES & STAINED

Bass fishing is fair. Start the day with the shakey head and a green pumpkin Zoom trick worm and use a very light head. Also cranking the number five and seven Shad Raps along with the DT10 in hot mustard will work. Stay in the channel and crank the ledges and you go along. The bass will be holding to the cover as expected with the low water. A limit of bass should be easy enough to get. Worm fishing is the best bet. Shallow crank bait fishing is good early and late in the day or any time the light is low. Increased water clarity will move fish deeper or under docks on a clear day. Deep Net Boy football jigs and shakey head finesse worms will produce on deeper fish. Jerk baits also come into play with increased water clarity and a little wind. The crank bait bite is in 3 to 6 foot of water, and can be found shallow on flat clay bottom with chunk rock and other hard bottom. South to West points, cuts, and flats should be targeted. Flat sided baits like a Little John or lipless baits can be good choices. A No. 7 Shad Rap will work well. The water color is right for natural shad, craw, and pearl colored baits. The bass have moved into shallow water to start their bedding ritual for the year. February is the month that most of the largest bass are caught.
See our web site for Rods, Reels and Lures for Bass DVD on sale.
 


Try the new Wave Away Screen Cleaner

www.waveaway.com

and put Ken Sturdivant in the referral box.


Learn how to use the Lowrance Structure Scan and Down Scan technology with Southern Fishing “On the Water” fishing schools.


Georgia lake levels are from www.lakelevels.info/?StateID=GA


The book, "BASS FISHING CLARKS HILL LAKE" is on sale now. Get 52 weeks of bass fishing reports and over 40 bass fishing locations for this popular lake. Send Ken an e mail for a sample.


if you would like to have a free set up sheet for your sonar, send me an e mail to kensturdivant@earthlink.net and ask for the “Sonar Setup Quick List”.


We have these books for sale: “BASS FISHING ON WEST POINT LAKE”, “BASS FISHING LAKE RUSSELL”, “BASS FISHING WEST POINT LAKE” and “BASS FISHING LAKE HARTWELL”. These books are written by Tim White and Ken Sturdivant and each one has over 65 locations exclusively for bass and covers every week of the year. Each book $39.00. If you would like a sample of any book, send us an e mail to kensturdivant@earthlink.net. Our mailing address is: Southern Fishing Schools Inc. 106 Hickory Ridge, Cumming Georgia 30040.

We teach “ON THE WATER SCHOOLS”: “Rods, Reels and Lures for Bass or Maps and Depth Finders. Call 770 889 2654 for details.


Clarks Hill (J. Strom Thurmond) is Georgia’s largest reservoir at 71,535 acres. This Corps of Engineers (COE) reservoir is located 30 miles northeast of Augusta on the Savannah River. The numerous creeks feeding the lake, over 1,200 miles of shoreline, and large areas of open water provide a wide range of fishing opportunities. Navigation charts can be obtained from the Clarks Hill COE office (800 533 3478). Striped and hybrid bass are stocked each year to help control forage fish populations and provide great action for big fish. Clarks Hill consistently ranks near the top in Georgia for crappie fishing. Although hydrilla and blue back herring that are present in the lake impact largemouth bass behavior, there are plenty of bass to fill your cooler once you are on the right pattern. Shellcracker in the spring is a local favorite. A 2008 creel survey will focus on the impact of pump back operations at upstream Russell Dam on fishing in Clarks Hill Lake.
Crappie fishing was excellent last year and looks the same for 2008. Crappie will average ¾ pounds with the bigger slabs going 1 ½ to 2 ½ pounds Fishing, Soap, Grays and Newford Creeks and Little River near Raysville are great spots for spring crappie. There are several fish attractors in the lake and they will come into full play when the spring spawning frenzy ends. Fish attractors are a great place to take kids fishing. In addition to crappie, they hold good numbers of shellcrackers, bluegill, largemouth bass and catfish. Late summer and fall are a great time to fish under the bridges for feisty paper mouths. Try the backs of creeks such as Big, Hart, Dry Fork, Knoblick and Cherokee for winter and pre spawn action.
The COE resumed reverse flow generation at Russell Dam in September 2002. Fishing success for striped and hybrid bass below this dam, located in the uppermost section of Clarks Hill Lake, is expected to decrease, particularly at night due to increased flow and water temperature from reverse flow generation. A wet 2005 resulted in little pumping and minimal impact on fish behavior and fishing. A dryer 2006 and 2007 resulted in substantially more pumping. Strong year classes in recent years are producing good numbers of fish. Average weights should range from 3 pounds for hybrids to 7 pounds for stripers. Winter and early spring angling areas include Big Creek, the Little River near Germany Creek upstream to Holiday Park, Soap Creek from the confluence with the Savannah River to U.S. Highway 378, the north bank of the reservoir above the dam, and major creeks near Bussey Point. Drifting live blue back herring usually provides the best results. A light to moderate breeze makes for good drift fishing. Otherwise, use your trolling motor to control speed and direction. Planer boards work great to get several baits away from the boat while trolling. Other techniques that work well are slowly trolling red fins, Norman lures or rooster tails 80 100 feet behind the boat, and jigging spoons near drop offs, ledges or humps in 20 30 feet of water. By summer and into the fall the hot spots for line sides will be in the mouths of major feeder creeks and rivers. Again, blue back herring is the best bait. You can catch your own herring with a cast net or buy them at local bait shops. Dead or cut blue backs, shad and large minnows on the bottom work great. Surface action for schooling fish occurs predominately during late summer and fall. Bucktails, Gotcha shad and pencil poppers work well on schooling fish. Results from a recent largemouth bass tagging project indicate a high release rate (63 percent) of caught bass. The high release rate combined with strong year classes has resulted in numerous small bass. Anglers are encouraged to take some of their catch home, particularly bass in the 12 15 inch size range. Harvesting these fish will allow their “brothers and sisters” to grow faster, providing for more 3 pounds + bass in the future. Bass in Clarks Hill tend to orient away from the banks more than in many other Georgia lakes due to the presence of hydrilla and blue back herring. Best bets in the fall and winter are Grays, Lloyds and Rousseau creeks in the Little River arm and Soap, Murray and Fishing creeks in the main Savannah River arm. Jigging spoons in creek channels, or where bait fish “bunch up,” is a great mid winter tactic. During spring and summer concentrate your efforts near Bussey Point, and in Cliatt, Cherokee and Big Creeks. The flats around the confluence of the Savannah and Broad Rivers are usually productive all year. Be sure to fish over hydrilla beds, particularly in the fall, for some great surface action. Look around Bussey Point, Cherokee Creek and Ft. Gordon for the best concentration of hydrilla. Shellcrackers are big (many in the ½ to ¾ lb. range) and easy to catch. Try crickets, worms, grubs, spinners, flies or wasp larvae. The best areas are Keg, Lloyd, Grays, Cliatt, Soap, Big and Fishing Creeks. Hot spots for catfish are Little River near Holiday Park, Germany, Big and Hart creeks and the Broad River. Several 40 pounds + flathead catfish have been caught in recent years. WRD sampling efforts indicate there will be plenty of white perch in the lake for the next couple of years. White perch, a relative of the white bass and striped bass, are tons of fun on lightweight tackle and make an excellent meal. Look for white perch in 20 60 feet of water near ledges, drop offs and standing timber with small jigs, spoons, or minnows working best. A population of chain pickerel (known as jackfish) has been steadily increasing since the arrival of hydrilla in 1995. These weed loving fish are concentrated around Bussey Point, and in creeks on the lower end of the lake including Cherokee, Grays, Cliatt, Keg, Mosley and Shriver. A variety of weedless lures and surface plugs work best. A wobbling spoon with trailing pork rind, plastic lizards and hollow faced chugger type surface plugs are some good bets for jackfish.


We have these books for sale: “BASS FISHING ON WEST POINT LAKE”, “BASS FISHING LAKE RUSSELL”, “BASS FISHING WEST POINT LAKE” and “BASS FISHING LAKE HARTWELL”. These books are written by Tim White and Ken Sturdivant and each one has over 65 locations exclusively for bass and covers every week of the year. Each book $39.00. If you would like a sample of any book, send us an e mail to kensturdivant@earthlink.net  Our mailing address is: Southern Fishing Schools Inc. 106 Hickory Ridge, Cumming Georgia 30040.