Fish Deep for Stripers and Hybrids
Capt. Preston Harden
July 22, 2014
Lake Hartwell - Freshwater Fishing Report
Lake Hartwell fishing forecast for August 2014
Water Level: One Foot below Full Pool
Water Temperature: 84°
Fish deep. Fish the lower Lake. Have good electronics. These three statements sum up August fishing. Everything goes deep in August. Stripers and hybrids can be over 100 feet deep and feeding well in August. If you plan on releasing fish from deep water, bring the fish up slowly so they can adjust to less water pressure. If you pull them up fast, their swim bladder swells and they cannot get back down. Sometimes in August, stripers get lethargic and reeling the bait up and down through the fish will provoke a strike. Power reeling a big jig and swim bait sometimes works better than a live Herring.
Fish the lower Lake in August. This is a big area. I call the lower Lake anything from Andersonville Island to the dam. A good topo map and GPS is as important as a good sonar. I use a Navionics chip installed in my Lowrance to guide me looking for fish in the deep channels and creeks off the main River channel.
Some bass also migrate down the Lake in August. Have a top water plug ready to cast to anything chasing bait in the surface. Bass will hang 10 to 20 feet deep around long points, humps, and Shoals. There are many brush piles placed around these places. When you find one of these brush piles on your sonar, mark it on your GPS for future trips. Come back and throw a top water plug over the brush pile from a distance and then lower a drop shot around the brush.
Sometimes the best bite in August is when water is being pulled through the dam. This can be in the middle of the day. Check the generation schedule by calling 706-376-3500.
Picture is of Erica Hix from Anderson S.C. with another July striper caught on a lively Blueback Herring.
Capt. Preston Harden
706-255-5622
www.bucktailguideservice.com
Lake Hartwell, GA
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