Clarks Hill Lake

Clarks Hill (known as J. Strom Thurmond in S.C.) is Georgia's largest reservoir at 71,535 acres.  This U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 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.

 USACOE website- fish attractor coordinates list

Contact Information

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers:  ph. 1-800-533-3478

Prospects and Fishing Tips

Best Bets

LARGEMOUTH BASS, REDEAR SUNFISH, CRAPPIE, HYBRIDS & CATFISH

Largemouth bass
Prospect	Tagging project results indicate a high release rate. This combined with strong year classes resulted in numerous small bass available. Anglers are encouraged to harvest catches. In doing so, more 3-plus pounders will be available in the future. Good shad spawns are helping to put some weight on bass.
Technique	Crank, spinner, and jerk baits work year-round. Try top water plugs in the spring and fall. In mid-winter, jigging spoons in creek channels or where bait fish "bunch up" is a great tactic.
Target	Bass tend to congregate away from the banks after the spawn. In the fall and winter, target Grays, Lloyds and Rousseau creeks in the Little River arm and Soap, Murray and Fishing creeks in the main Savannah River arm. For great fall surface action, fish over hydrilla beds. In the spring and summer, target Bussey Point, and Cliatt, Cherokee and Big creeks. Year-round productivity rests in the flats around the confluence of the Savannah and Broad rivers.

Hybrid Bass
Prospect	Strong year classes in recent years are producing good numbers. The average hybrid bass will be 3 pounds. Hybrids are eating well following good shad spawns and fighting hard.
Technique	Best technique: drifting live blueback herring using your trolling motor to control speed and direction. Jigging spoons near drop-offs, ledges or humps in 20-30 feet of water. By summer and into fall, dead or cut bluebacks, shad and large minnows on the bottom work well. For schooling fish in late summer and fall, bucktails, Gotcha shad and pencil-poppers work well.
Target	During winter and early spring, target Big Creek, the Little River near Germany Creek upstream of Holiday Park, Soap Creek, the north bank of the reservoir above the dam and major creeks near Bussey Point. Hot spots for summer and fall: the mouths of major feeder creeks and rivers.

Striped Bass
Prospect	Strong year classes in recent years are producing good numbers. The average striped bass will be 7 pounds. A 2009 fish kill affected the striper population, but fish over 20 pounds are recovering, including reports of fish up to 35 pounds.
Technique	Best technique: drifting live blueback herring using your trolling motor to control speed and direction. Planer boards are great for covering a broad area with the added capability of putting the bait where the boat cannot go. Other techniques: Slowly troll redfins, Norman lures or roostertails 80-100 feet behind the boat; jigging spoons near drop-offs, ledges or humps in 20-30 feet of water. By summer and into fall, dead or cut bluebacks, shad and large minnows on the bottom work well. For schooling fish in late summer and fall, bucktails, Gotcha shad and pencil-poppers work well.
Target	During winter and early spring, target Big Creek, the Little River near Germany Creek upstream of Holiday Park, Soap Creek, the north bank of the reservoir just above the dam and major creeks near Bussey Point. Hot spots for summer and fall: the mouths of major feeder creeks and rivers.

Catfish
Prospect	In recent years, several 40-plus pound flathead catfish have been caught. Numerous channel catfish up to 6 pounds will be caught.
Technique	Chicken livers, cut bluebacks, shrimp and worms work best.
Target	Little River near Holiday Park, Keg, Germany, Big and Hart Creeks and the Broad River.

Bream
Prospect	Redear sunfish and bluegill are available. You don't want to miss the shellcracker spawn in late April and early May. Sunfish are generally large, ranging between 1/2 to 3/4 pound, and easy to catch.
Technique	Crickets, worms, grubs, spinners, flies or wasp larvae.
Target	Target Keg, Lloyd, Grays, Cliatt, Soap, Big and Fishing Creeks. Fish attractos also are excellent spots, holding good numbers of sunfish and bluegill.

Crappie
Prospect	Fishing for crappie will include catches that average 1/2 pound with bigger catches weighing 2 pounds and up.
Technique	Small jigs with or without minnows. Bring an assortment of colors to determine what they are hitting on.
Target	In spring, target Soap, Grays, Pistol and Newford creeks and Little River near Raysville. During late summer and fall, fish under bridges. For pre-spawn action in the winter, try the backs of creeks such as Big, Hart, Dry Fork, Knoblick and Cherokee.

Pickerel
Prospect	The chain pickerel (a.k.a. jackfish) population has been steadily increasing since 1995.
Technique	Best bets: variety of weedless lures and surface plugs. Also, a wobbling spoon with trailing pork rid, plastic lizards and hollow-faced chugger type surface plugs are good best.
Target	Cliatt, Grays, Cherokee, and Keg creeks.

Other Species
Prospect	Sampling efforts indicate plenty of white perch. Tons of fun on lightweight tackle. Makes an excellent meal.
Technique	Small jigs, spoons or minnows work best.
Target	Look in 20-60 feet of water near ledges, drop-offs and standing timber.

Additional Information

Additional Information: The lake is down 15 feet at the start of 2013. Be on the lookout for shallow sandbars and timber just below the lake's surface. Follow channel markers in the Savannah and Little River arms of the lake. Georgia state parks on the lake (Mistletoe and Elijah Clark) participate in the fishing tackle loaner program. Check with the park offices if you require additional fishing gear. Mistletoe State Park offers canoe and/or john boat rentals. More informatin on these and other Georgia State Parks can be found at: http://gastateparks.org/ Mistletoe and Elijah Clark state parks sunk Christmas trees along their banks in 8 to 15 feet of water in 2011. A map of these fish attractor locations are available to park visitors. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Georgia WRD Fisheries staff fell pine and sweetgum trees into the lake in Little River near Holiday Park and Big, Hart, Germanny, Fishing, Pistol, and Newford creeks in 2010. Try these new bank fish attractors for great bass, crappie, and sunfish action as the lake rises this winter and spring

Best Fishing Times Key

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