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Lake Hartwell Fishing Report

Updated Fri, Sep 4, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

A 56,000-acre Savannah River giant shared by Georgia and South Carolina, famous for stripers and spotted bass.

1/5
Tough. Pick your battles.Post-front sun and slick water make them sulk.
Gauge
7.70 ft
Air / High
97 / 98 F
Wind
ENE 1 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 344108083090600, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.

Tap a marker for today's tip
Friday
4
September 2026

Today's Fishing Report

Generated this morning from live readings: gauge, weather model, sun and moon. A fresh report is published here every morning.

1/5Tough. Pick your battles.Post-front sun and slick water make them sulk.

Lake Hartwell stays in its summer rhythm: early magic, midday siesta, evening reprieve. The gauge reads 7.70 ft, 652.30 ft below pool, easing 0.10 over the week. Today brings clear skies, wind ENE around 1 mph, rising pressure near 1014 hPa and a high of 98. Water sits around 84 F for the season (estimated). With the last quarter, the solunar majors run 5:39 AM-7:39 AM and 5:39 PM-7:39 PM: plan around them and beat the heat.

The plan, species by species

Hybrid striped bassFair

Schooling at first light over main-lake humps and channel edges. Slabs, tail spinners and live shad once you mark bait. It is usually over by mid-morning.

Catfish (blue, channel)Fair

Anchor on 20-30 ft baited holes with punch bait or cut shad. They keep biting through the heat when everything else quits.

Largemouth bassSlow

Topwater at first light on points and seawalls, then slide out to 12-25 ft brush and points with a Carolina rig, deep crank or drop shot. The bite is dawn, dusk or deep.

CrappieSlow

Straight down on bridge pilings and deep brush at 15-25 ft. Minnows outfish jigs in hot water; move until the graph shows them stacked.

Tomorrow: Similar at 102 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Sep 5, 6:30 AMHow this report is made →

Water and weather

Live readings from CHAUGA RIVER ABOVE WESTMINSTER, SC.

Gauge height, last 30 days

USGS gauge 344108083090600. Conservation pool is 660 ft.

121.85333.85545.85pool 6607.70 ft08/0508/1508/2509/04

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp97 F
High / Low98 / 73 F
WindENE 1-5 mph
Pressure1014.0 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain13% cloud, 3%
Sunrise / Sunset07:08 / 19:55
MoonLast Quarter, 50%
Water temp (seasonal)~84 F est.

Bite planner

Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today. Tap a bar to see why.

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunset

Next 7 days

Tap a day for the detailed outlook.

Fri Sep 4 · Partly cloudy, 98/73 F, wind 5 mph, rain 3%

Fair or better. Calm and stable: plan around the solunar majors at dawn and dusk.

Species guide

The species that matter on Lake Hartwell: seasons, structure and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.

Largemouth bass illustration

Largemouth bass

Best: spring and fall

The headline act on most American reservoirs. Relates to cover: docks, brush, grass edges and points. Topwater at first light on points and seawalls, then slide out to 12-25 ft brush and points with a Carolina rig, deep crank or drop shot. The bite is dawn, dusk or deep.

Hybrid striped bass illustration

Hybrid striped bass

Best: Jun-Sep

Stocked white bass x striper cross. Open-water shad chasers; birds and busting bait give them away. Schooling at first light over main-lake humps and channel edges. Slabs, tail spinners and live shad once you mark bait. It is usually over by mid-morning.

Catfish (blue, channel) illustration

Catfish (blue, channel)

Good year-round

The most reliable bite on most southern waters. Blues run big; channels fill the cooler. Anchor on 20-30 ft baited holes with punch bait or cut shad. They keep biting through the heat when everything else quits.

Crappie illustration

Crappie

Best: Nov-Mar

Brush piles, bridge pilings and standing timber. The fish fry favorite. Straight down on bridge pilings and deep brush at 15-25 ft. Minnows outfish jigs in hot water; move until the graph shows them stacked.

When to come: the Lake Hartwell calendar

Activity by species and month, and how the water warms through the year. Tap any cell.

Species activity by month

1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted.

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Largemouth bass
Hybrid striped bass
Catfish (blue, channel)
Crappie
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 84 F (estimated, not a reading).

5060708090JanMarMayJulSepNovSep, ~84 F now

Angler reports

Real reports from real anglers, reviewed before publishing. The water log below tracks each day automatically.

No angler reports yet this weekBe the first: your report helps every angler who checks Lake Hartwell today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Sep 3

2/5 Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing. Hybrid striped bass led the card at good. High of 98 F, wind to 9 mph.

Wed, Sep 2

3/5 Fair. Fish early or late. Heat pins the bite to the dawn and dusk windows. Hybrid striped bass led the card at good. High of 97 F, wind to 5 mph.

Tue, Sep 1

3/5 Fair. Fish early or late. Heat pins the bite to the dawn and dusk windows. Hybrid striped bass led the card at good. High of 96 F, wind to 5 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
Only used to send you this water's report each week. No spam, ever.

Before you go

License

Georgia requires a valid fishing license for adults. Buy online from the state agency; one-day options exist for visitors.

Regulations

Georgia or South Carolina license covers the whole lake from a boat. Striped/hybrid bass: 10 combined per day. Black bass: 12-inch minimum (GA side rules on the water). Confirm current rules with both DNRs.

Access

Green Pond Landing (Anderson), Big Oaks, Long Point and Tugaloo State Park are the workhorse ramps. Lake Hartwell State Park (SC) adds camping and bank access.

About this water

56,000 acres on the Savannah/Tugaloo/Seneca rivers, GA/SC line. Corps of Engineers, impounded 1962. 960 miles of shoreline.

Fishing Lake Hartwell: the full guide

Two states, three rivers

Hartwell floods the junction of the Tugaloo and Seneca rivers to form the Savannah, spreading 56,000 clear-water acres along the Georgia-South Carolina line. It is a classic Southern highland reservoir: red-clay points, deep timber edges, herring in open water, and a fishery that revolves around that bait: stripers, hybrids and a spotted bass population that has taken over the lake's offshore brush.

The herring economy

Blueback herring drive everything. Spring means bass guarding herring spawns on clay points at dawn: topwater time. Summer pushes stripers and hybrids deep over the river channels: downlines at 40-80 ft with live herring is the guide-boat standard. Spotted bass roam the same water columns, crushing drop shots and underspins over brush at 25-40 ft.

A tournament workhorse

Hartwell hosts Bassmaster Classics and FLW championships regularly: protected creeks for beginners, endless offshore structure for the graph-watchers, and enough water (960 miles of shoreline) that even Classic week leaves fish unbothered. Winter fishing stays strong: bait balls in the creeks with everything underneath.

Common questions

Do I need two licenses on Hartwell?

No: either Georgia or South Carolina covers the whole lake when fishing from a boat. Bank fishing follows the state you stand in.

What are blueback herring and why do they matter?

An open-water baitfish that turned Hartwell into a pelagic fishery: stripers, hybrids and spotted bass all chase herring schools offshore instead of hugging the bank. Fish where the bait is, not where the shoreline looks good.

When is topwater season on Hartwell?

Late April through early June, at first light on clay points and blowthroughs, when bass pin spawning herring against the bank. Walking baits and flukes: be there at dawn.

Is fishing good at Lake Hartwell right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Tough. Pick your battles. Post-front sun and slick water make them sulk.

Nearby waters

Lake Keowee24 miChattooga River28 miLake Burton31 miLake Jocassee32 miLake Russell45 miLake Chatuge45 mi
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