Post by 31Airborne on May 7, 2023 11:56:25 GMT -5
My best friend and I resumed our bucket list agenda this spring after putting our fall trip on hold (medical stuff - it happens when you get to be old doods like us). Didn't take us long to select Hartwell for a revisit. There's so much to see on this lake I believe we'll have to make a dozen or so trips to get it all in.
Our plan was to beat the weekend crowds by coming in on SUN, leaving on SAT. This worked to perfection. We saw one jet ski all week (and that was on FRI) and only a handful of 'toons throughout the week. We had the lake to ourselves for the most part. There was an ABA event (200+ boats) going out of the main lake area but we didn't see very many of them. Our plan to stay in the Tugaloo arm and continue the work we began last year pretty much isolated us from the rest of the crowd.
MON thru WED was windy. I mean wicked windy. The challenge was Hartwell is known for being very active when the wind blows like this. We adjusted accordingly - baits, angles, boat position - to make the most of what we'd been given. It took a while but we finally got into a repeatable pattern mid-morning on MON. We drew strikes on the jig, c-rig, and swimbaits on secondary points and adjacent transition areas, holding in 4-8' of water. Nothing of any size but there were enuff bites to entertain us. On TUES we trailered to one of the creeks on the lower end of the Tugaloo (closer to the confluence w/ the Seneca arm). We had a decent stretch of main lake with just enuff wind to help. Our plan was to work this over a little deeper, hoping to find the better fish. It worked. We found lots of fish willing to eat a jig, c-rig, and shaky head in 8-12' of water. We also got into a solid top water bite (walking baits) until the wind kicked into high gear. Oddly, we had only a couple of peanuts on the spinner bait (and we threw it a lot). WED was the aha moment for us. We found the magic depth and set-up, relying heavily on what we'd seen and learned the prior two days. We started on a main lake point adjacent to the main lake channel. We had enuff wind to help, mostly blowing across the structure we were fishing. It started early - maybe on the third or fourth cast - when we tie into a magnum spotted bass (shaky head). We saw them suspended on 10-12' of water over 25', near a pod of bait. The first spot weighed 3-7. We quickly followed w/ another spot on the same presentation. This one weighed 3-14. As my buddy worked the suspended fish I worked the shoreline and first break w/ a spook. Had a chunky 3-7 LM swallow (literally) my bait off of a rocky point. The rest of the day was spent hopping from main lake point to main lake point, working both the bottom and suspended fish. No more big ones but we did catch a lot of 1.5 - 2.5 lb fish.
THUR was the perfect weather day. The sun was up and the winds laid down to where we could throw a few more baits at them. At first we worried that the lack of gale force wind would kill the bite. Nope. So long as we stayed in that magic range (15-25') we got bit. Hard and often. The calmer winds allowed us to target the suspended fish w/ a drop shot. This produced a couple more magnum spotted bass. It also allowed us to thoroughly work over brush piles (one of the things Hartwell is known for). I watched my buddy pull three fish from one pile in a matter of 15 minutes, all of them solid fish. As he worked the pile, I worked the adjacent main lake point, landing a couple more solid fish. We spent the day targeting the points we couldn't get to in the previous day's winds. Every point held fish. Some points had many fish on them and yielded multiple bites. We also had the opportunity to work over a number of shoals (Hartwell's trademark structure). At first glance you think these areas are wide flats; places where the depth changes very gradually. If you zoom in on your charts, you often find that the shoals are long, complex points. Some of these extend a quarter mile or more from the shoreline. Many of these are marked w/ specific buoys. But not all of them. I was able to find a number of such points by keeping the chart function up on my electronix (split screen w/ side scan). I used side scan to locate brush and other enhancements, and to mark fish. The calmer water allowed me to do this in detail. It paid off.
On FRI we motored down to the confluence to see some of the more renown community holes. The wind picked up a bit the first part of morning and made it tuff to hold the boat in position (even with spot lock), but as it calmed, we were able to connect on fish. It took us a bit, but we finally dialed it in. The fish were still on points but they had moved up a bit. It was feast or famine this day. Any given spot gave up multiple fish or none. We stopped at one particular point that gave up fish on three consecutive casts, including a chunky 3-6 spot. We spent the day working our way back up the Tugaloo, targeting points w/ similar set-ups. The rec boat traffic began to build around noon so we called it a day.
To give you a feel for the progress we made, here's what the daily bags looked like (we had a lil side bet thing going -
)
- MON - 5 for 7.5 lbs
- TUES - 5 for 8.4 lbs
- WED - 5 for 14.4 lbs
- THUR - 5 for 12.1 lbs
- FRI - 5 for 11.3 lbs
We made steady progress in finding and staying on the better fish as the week progressed. We also were able to identify very specific structure to target in order to find the better fish.
Observations: 1) WTs ranged from 61 morning to 67+. We had a couple of really cool mornings the first of the week. Water didn't warm up much in the gale force winds we had. 2) When I tell you water clarity was 17.6' I mean it was 17.6'. I got hung up on one cast and went in to retrieve it. As I looked down at whatever was snagging me I could see the bottom. 17.6' on my HB. This was the clearest water I'd ever fished. 3) Main lake structure was better than secondary. Points with long tapers were key. Points with long tapers that touched a channel swing were money. 4) Wind blowing across structure was better than wind blowing in on it. 5) Suspended spotted bass are often more aggressive than those holding on the bottom or tight to cover. You [easily] target these fish by using your electronix. You don't even need the new live scope stuff. You can do this w/ ol' school 3D down scan. 6) Zara spooks aren't just for early in the morning or late in the day. Nor are they only for shade. Spotted bass, especially those suspended in open water, will gladly come up and crush your top water bait on sunny days. 7) I can't stress enuff the importance of the chart function. Being able to see and interpret how bass are relating to structure is key to developing a pattern. This isn't a Hartwell thing. It works everywhere. 8) Plastix accounted for most of our fish. In order of importance (measured by number of fish caught): shaky head, c-rig, drop shot. The better fish came on the spook and the shaky head. No surprise on colors - greens. 9) Even tho' the WTs indicated the bass might still be in the spawn stage, we didn't see a single bedding fish. Nor did we see anyone bed fishing. WTs had been significantly warmer in the weeks before we got there. I'm pretty sure the lake is all post-spawn. 10) They may all be classified as black basses, but the sub species of bass have different feeding, hiding, and moving behaviors. It's kinda important to understand these differences. The SM doods are shaking their heads at this - they've known this for years. Getting to know spotted bass behavior is probably a good thing to get out in front of. With the lakes in VA getting overrun by the little bastages, it's certainly in our collective best interest to figure them out. The only way to do this is thru TOW. 11) Fishing a brand new lake can be intimidating. We get comfortable with our home lakes/rivers because we have enuff TOW on them to usually find fish. Being able to take what you think you know and put it together on a strange place is the shizz. At least for me it is. It doesn't always work out like it did this past week, but when it does, it is quite rewarding.
Lavonia (GA), Anderson (SC), and the surrounding area didn't disappoint. This is a beautiful part of our country. If you like to fish and you're interested in a new challenge, I strongly endorse a trip to Hartwell. My caution: don't try to see the whole thing in one trip. Break it up into digestible bites. Lake facilities are top notch, even the hidden community public launches. If Hartwell is on your radar, gimme a shout. Happy to help you plan your trip.
peace, B
Our plan was to beat the weekend crowds by coming in on SUN, leaving on SAT. This worked to perfection. We saw one jet ski all week (and that was on FRI) and only a handful of 'toons throughout the week. We had the lake to ourselves for the most part. There was an ABA event (200+ boats) going out of the main lake area but we didn't see very many of them. Our plan to stay in the Tugaloo arm and continue the work we began last year pretty much isolated us from the rest of the crowd.
MON thru WED was windy. I mean wicked windy. The challenge was Hartwell is known for being very active when the wind blows like this. We adjusted accordingly - baits, angles, boat position - to make the most of what we'd been given. It took a while but we finally got into a repeatable pattern mid-morning on MON. We drew strikes on the jig, c-rig, and swimbaits on secondary points and adjacent transition areas, holding in 4-8' of water. Nothing of any size but there were enuff bites to entertain us. On TUES we trailered to one of the creeks on the lower end of the Tugaloo (closer to the confluence w/ the Seneca arm). We had a decent stretch of main lake with just enuff wind to help. Our plan was to work this over a little deeper, hoping to find the better fish. It worked. We found lots of fish willing to eat a jig, c-rig, and shaky head in 8-12' of water. We also got into a solid top water bite (walking baits) until the wind kicked into high gear. Oddly, we had only a couple of peanuts on the spinner bait (and we threw it a lot). WED was the aha moment for us. We found the magic depth and set-up, relying heavily on what we'd seen and learned the prior two days. We started on a main lake point adjacent to the main lake channel. We had enuff wind to help, mostly blowing across the structure we were fishing. It started early - maybe on the third or fourth cast - when we tie into a magnum spotted bass (shaky head). We saw them suspended on 10-12' of water over 25', near a pod of bait. The first spot weighed 3-7. We quickly followed w/ another spot on the same presentation. This one weighed 3-14. As my buddy worked the suspended fish I worked the shoreline and first break w/ a spook. Had a chunky 3-7 LM swallow (literally) my bait off of a rocky point. The rest of the day was spent hopping from main lake point to main lake point, working both the bottom and suspended fish. No more big ones but we did catch a lot of 1.5 - 2.5 lb fish.
THUR was the perfect weather day. The sun was up and the winds laid down to where we could throw a few more baits at them. At first we worried that the lack of gale force wind would kill the bite. Nope. So long as we stayed in that magic range (15-25') we got bit. Hard and often. The calmer winds allowed us to target the suspended fish w/ a drop shot. This produced a couple more magnum spotted bass. It also allowed us to thoroughly work over brush piles (one of the things Hartwell is known for). I watched my buddy pull three fish from one pile in a matter of 15 minutes, all of them solid fish. As he worked the pile, I worked the adjacent main lake point, landing a couple more solid fish. We spent the day targeting the points we couldn't get to in the previous day's winds. Every point held fish. Some points had many fish on them and yielded multiple bites. We also had the opportunity to work over a number of shoals (Hartwell's trademark structure). At first glance you think these areas are wide flats; places where the depth changes very gradually. If you zoom in on your charts, you often find that the shoals are long, complex points. Some of these extend a quarter mile or more from the shoreline. Many of these are marked w/ specific buoys. But not all of them. I was able to find a number of such points by keeping the chart function up on my electronix (split screen w/ side scan). I used side scan to locate brush and other enhancements, and to mark fish. The calmer water allowed me to do this in detail. It paid off.
On FRI we motored down to the confluence to see some of the more renown community holes. The wind picked up a bit the first part of morning and made it tuff to hold the boat in position (even with spot lock), but as it calmed, we were able to connect on fish. It took us a bit, but we finally dialed it in. The fish were still on points but they had moved up a bit. It was feast or famine this day. Any given spot gave up multiple fish or none. We stopped at one particular point that gave up fish on three consecutive casts, including a chunky 3-6 spot. We spent the day working our way back up the Tugaloo, targeting points w/ similar set-ups. The rec boat traffic began to build around noon so we called it a day.
To give you a feel for the progress we made, here's what the daily bags looked like (we had a lil side bet thing going -
)- MON - 5 for 7.5 lbs
- TUES - 5 for 8.4 lbs
- WED - 5 for 14.4 lbs
- THUR - 5 for 12.1 lbs
- FRI - 5 for 11.3 lbs
We made steady progress in finding and staying on the better fish as the week progressed. We also were able to identify very specific structure to target in order to find the better fish.
Observations: 1) WTs ranged from 61 morning to 67+. We had a couple of really cool mornings the first of the week. Water didn't warm up much in the gale force winds we had. 2) When I tell you water clarity was 17.6' I mean it was 17.6'. I got hung up on one cast and went in to retrieve it. As I looked down at whatever was snagging me I could see the bottom. 17.6' on my HB. This was the clearest water I'd ever fished. 3) Main lake structure was better than secondary. Points with long tapers were key. Points with long tapers that touched a channel swing were money. 4) Wind blowing across structure was better than wind blowing in on it. 5) Suspended spotted bass are often more aggressive than those holding on the bottom or tight to cover. You [easily] target these fish by using your electronix. You don't even need the new live scope stuff. You can do this w/ ol' school 3D down scan. 6) Zara spooks aren't just for early in the morning or late in the day. Nor are they only for shade. Spotted bass, especially those suspended in open water, will gladly come up and crush your top water bait on sunny days. 7) I can't stress enuff the importance of the chart function. Being able to see and interpret how bass are relating to structure is key to developing a pattern. This isn't a Hartwell thing. It works everywhere. 8) Plastix accounted for most of our fish. In order of importance (measured by number of fish caught): shaky head, c-rig, drop shot. The better fish came on the spook and the shaky head. No surprise on colors - greens. 9) Even tho' the WTs indicated the bass might still be in the spawn stage, we didn't see a single bedding fish. Nor did we see anyone bed fishing. WTs had been significantly warmer in the weeks before we got there. I'm pretty sure the lake is all post-spawn. 10) They may all be classified as black basses, but the sub species of bass have different feeding, hiding, and moving behaviors. It's kinda important to understand these differences. The SM doods are shaking their heads at this - they've known this for years. Getting to know spotted bass behavior is probably a good thing to get out in front of. With the lakes in VA getting overrun by the little bastages, it's certainly in our collective best interest to figure them out. The only way to do this is thru TOW. 11) Fishing a brand new lake can be intimidating. We get comfortable with our home lakes/rivers because we have enuff TOW on them to usually find fish. Being able to take what you think you know and put it together on a strange place is the shizz. At least for me it is. It doesn't always work out like it did this past week, but when it does, it is quite rewarding.
Lavonia (GA), Anderson (SC), and the surrounding area didn't disappoint. This is a beautiful part of our country. If you like to fish and you're interested in a new challenge, I strongly endorse a trip to Hartwell. My caution: don't try to see the whole thing in one trip. Break it up into digestible bites. Lake facilities are top notch, even the hidden community public launches. If Hartwell is on your radar, gimme a shout. Happy to help you plan your trip.
peace, B