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Thurmond Lake Fishing Report

Updated Fri, Oct 23, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

The Corps' 71,100-acre Clarks Hill lake on the Savannah River, shared by Georgia and South Carolina and still reopening ramps after Hurricane Helene.

4/5
Good. Solid day ahead.Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.
Lake level
319.23 ft
Air / High
65 / 73 F
Wind
NE 7 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 02193900, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.

Satellite view
Friday
23
October 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.

4/5Good. Solid day ahead.Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.

Thurmond Lake offers the kind of conditions this water was made for. The gauge reads 319.23 ft, easing 0.53 over the week. Today brings clear skies, wind NE around 7 mph, falling pressure near 1023 hPa and a high of 73. Water sits around 74 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 10:04 AM-12:04 PM and 10:32 PM-12:32 AM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

Largemouth bassExcellent

The main feeding season after the spawn: work moving baits along weed edges, points and wood, and follow up with a soft plastic where a fish swirls.

Striped bassExcellent

Use electronics to find shad schools in open water, and watch for birds working over bait.

Catfish (blue, channel)Excellent

Spawning season from late May into summer: Iowa DNR suggests drifting bait under a float along riprap and snags where males guard nests in cavities.

WalleyeExcellent

Summer pattern: nightcrawlers and leeches on rigs or jigs near bottom, trolled crankbaits to find scattered fish, and the shallows after dark in clear lakes.

Yellow perchExcellent

Michigan DNR gives 66-70°F as the water perch prefer, so this band is the heart of the open-water season: drift or slowly work weed edges and flats with small baits near the bottom until a school turns up.

CrappieGood

Early in this band crappie are spawning in protected coves; afterward they move to docks, brush piles and standing timber near deeper water.

White bassGood

Summer and early fall schooling season over open water; follow the shad, and try live bait on the bottom at night.

Tomorrow: Similar at 71 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Oct 24, 6:30 AMHow this report is made →

Before you go

Georgia requires a fishing licence from age 16, from $15.00 for residents. What a Georgia licence costs and where to buy it →

Chasing largemouth bass here? Check the size and bag limits with GA DNR before you keep anything. The season dates for Georgia, read off the agency, are on the Georgia seasons page.

Water and weather

Live readings from THURMOND LAKE NEAR PLUM BRANCH, SC.

Water level, last 30 days

USGS gauge 02193900.

319.56320.18320.80319.23 ft09/2310/0310/1310/23

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp65 F
High / Low73 / 46 F
WindNE 7-16 mph
Pressure1022.8 hPa, falling
Sky / Rain0% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset07:40 / 18:45
MoonWaxing Gibbous, 91%
Water temp (gauge)71 F USGS
Water temp (seasonal)~74 F est.

Bite planner

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

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunsetPRIMEPRIME

Which day to fish Thurmond Lake this week

The best day on Thurmond Lake this week looks like Monday Oct 26, at 5 out of 5, against 4 today.

Best day this week: Monday, Oct 26 — excellent at 5/5, falling pressure, usually the best window of a week.

Today, Oct 23 — Good

Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.

Solunar majors
10:04 AM-12:04 PM and 10:32 PM-12:32 AM
Minor period
4:25 AM-5:25 AM
Sun
07:40 to 18:45
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Partly cloudy, 9 mph
Rain chance
0%

Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out: how the score is built.

Species guide

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

Largemouth bass illustration

Largemouth bass

Best: the spring pre-spawn and the fall feed

A warm-water sunfish of lakes, reservoirs, ponds and slow river backwaters that holds tight to cover: weeds, logs, rock ledges and docks. In Texas, TPWD surveys rank it "by far" the freshwater fish anglers most want to catch. The main feeding season after the spawn: work moving baits along weed edges, points and wood, and follow up with a soft plastic where a fish swirls.

Striped bass illustration

Striped bass

Best: spring and fall inland; on the coast, during the seasonal migrations

The largest of the temperate basses, a sea-run fish of the Atlantic and Gulf coasts that now also lives in reservoirs across much of the country after hatchery stocking. Inland, it follows schools of shad and herring through open water. Use electronics to find shad schools in open water, and watch for birds working over bait.

Catfish (blue, channel) illustration

Catfish (blue, channel)

Year-round, best at dusk and after dark

Three big catfish share most of the country's rivers and reservoirs: the channel catfish, the most widespread; the blue catfish, the largest; and the flathead, which hunts live fish. All feed mostly on or near the bottom. Spawning season from late May into summer: Iowa DNR suggests drifting bait under a float along riprap and snags where males guard nests in cavities.

Crappie illustration

Crappie

Best: the spring spawn; summer around docks, brush and the thermocline

Two slab-sided panfish, the white crappie and the black crappie, that gather around submerged timber, brush piles, docks and bridge pilings in lakes, reservoirs and slow river backwaters. Texas Parks and Wildlife counts crappie as the state's most popular panfish. Early in this band crappie are spawning in protected coves; afterward they move to docks, brush piles and standing timber near deeper water.

White bass illustration

White bass

Best: the spring run up the tributaries, then summer surface schools

A silvery temperate bass of rivers and large reservoirs, also called sand bass, that schools in open water after shad and runs up tributaries to spawn in early spring. Summer and early fall schooling season over open water; follow the shad, and try live bait on the bottom at night.

Walleye illustration

Walleye

Best: spring and late fall, around dawn, dusk and night

A cool-water perch of large lakes, reservoirs and rivers whose reflective eyes are built for low light, so it feeds most at night and in murky water. The Missouri Department of Conservation ranks it among the continent's most important freshwater game fish. Summer pattern: nightcrawlers and leeches on rigs or jigs near bottom, trolled crankbaits to find scattered fish, and the shallows after dark in clear lakes.

Yellow perch illustration

Yellow perch

Caught all year, including under the ice through winter

Yellow perch are schooling panfish of the Great Lakes and northern lakes, and Michigan DNR calls them the game fish most often caught in that state. Michigan DNR gives 66-70°F as the water perch prefer, so this band is the heart of the open-water season: drift or slowly work weed edges and flats with small baits near the bottom until a school turns up.

When to come: the Thurmond Lake 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
Striped bass
Catfish (blue, channel)
Crappie
White bass
Walleye
Yellow perch
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 74 F (estimated, not a reading).

5060708090JanMarMayJulSepNovOct, ~74 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 Thurmond Lake today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Oct 22

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Largemouth bass led the card at excellent. High of 76 F, wind to 5 mph.

Wed, Oct 21

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Striped bass led the card at excellent. High of 76 F, wind to 6 mph.

Tue, Oct 20

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Largemouth bass led the card at excellent. High of 76 F, wind to 7 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
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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, valid on the whole lake and tailwaters under the reciprocal agreement; Georgia license holders need Georgia trout privileges to fish for trout. Border-water limits (Georgia eRegulations, updated Aug 27, 2026): striped/hybrid bass 10 combined, only 3 over 26 in.; black bass 10, largemouth 12-in. minimum; walleye/sauger 8; trout 5. Below the dam: striped, hybrid and white bass 2, 27-in. minimum. Tournaments over ten boats may need a Corps special event permit.

Access

Open Corps ramps as of Sept 25, 2026 include Amity, Bussey Point, Chamberlain Ferry, Clarks Hill Park, Dordon Creek, Double Branches, Gill Point, Keg Creek, Lake Springs, Leathersville, LeRoy's Ferry, Modoc and Parksville; check the Corps' boat ramp list before towing.

About this water

A 71,100-acre Corps of Engineers lake on the Savannah River between Georgia and South Carolina, built 1946–1954, with nearly 1,200 miles of shoreline.

Fishing Thurmond Lake: the full guide

The project

The Corps of Engineers built J. Strom Thurmond Dam and Lake at Clarks Hill between 1946 and 1954, 22 miles above Augusta, and calls it its largest project east of the Mississippi. At a full pool of 330 feet above sea level the lake covers 71,100 acres with nearly 1,200 miles of shoreline, reaching 40 miles up the Savannah River and 26 miles up the Little River.

Fish and habitat work

The Corps lists largemouth bass, bream, crappie, catfish, perch, striped bass, white bass and hybrid bass. It maintains fish attractors, plants aquatic vegetation and fells trees into the water along the shoreline, and navigation maps sold at local stores and marinas mark the attractors. Fishing docks are at the Below Dam South Carolina Day Use Park, Modoc Boat Ramp, Lake Springs Day Use Park, Petersburg Campground and Amity Day Use Park.

Border-water rules

Under the Georgia–South Carolina agreement, a license from either state is valid on the whole lake, from the bank or a boat, and the Corps adds the tailwaters. The shared limits set striped and hybrid bass at 10 combined with only 3 over 26 inches, black bass at 10 with a 12-inch minimum for largemouth, walleye and sauger at 8, and trout at 5; crappie and bream rules differ between the states. Below Thurmond Dam the limit for striped, hybrid and white bass drops to two fish of at least 27 inches.

Hurricane Helene closures

After Hurricane Helene the Corps closed all Thurmond day-use parks, campgrounds, ramps and trails until further notice unless listed as open. Its update of September 25, 2026 shows ramps open at Amity, Bussey Point, Chamberlain Ferry, Clarks Hill Park, Dordon Creek, Double Branches, Gill Point, Keg Creek, Lake Springs, Leathersville, LeRoy's Ferry, Modoc, Parksville, the double-lane Morrahs ramp and the old Scotts Ferry ramp, while Calhoun Falls, Mt. Pleasant, Murry Creek, the single-lane Morrahs ramp and the double Scotts Ferry ramp remained closed.

Common questions

Which license do I need on Thurmond Lake?

Either state's. The Corps says residents of both states may fish anywhere on the lake or its tailwaters with a license from either one, and nonresidents may buy a nonresident license from either state.

What is the striper limit on Clarks Hill?

Ten striped bass, hybrids or a mix of both, with no more than three longer than 26 inches. Below the dam the limit is two fish of at least 27 inches.

Are the ramps open after Hurricane Helene?

Many are. The Corps' September 25, 2026 list shows most Corps ramps open, but Calhoun Falls, Mt. Pleasant, Murry Creek and some lanes at Morrahs and Scotts Ferry were still closed.

Is fishing good at Thurmond Lake right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.

Nearby waters

Clarks Hill Lake12 miLake Russell35 miLake Greenwood42 miLake Murray55 miLake Oconee64 miLake Sinclair67 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

River and reservoir readings
USGS 02193900 — THURMOND LAKE NEAR PLUM BRANCH, SC
Read from the USGS Water Data API (api.waterdata.usgs.gov). Latest value timestamped 2026-10-23 at 14:45 UTC.
Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 33.6600, -82.2000 in this water's own timezone. A model, not an observation.
Moon and solunar windows
Calculated on this site
Astronomical calculation from these coordinates and the date, not a third-party feed. How much weight it deserves.
Pages checked
The facts in the written guide were checked against these pages, from the agencies and operators that manage the water, on October 5, 2026. Anything we could not verify was taken out.
The written guide on this page
Pablo Ruiz Quintero
How this page was made. The daily report is computed by our scoring engine from live readings; nobody types it. The written text was drafted with AI assistance from the official pages listed above, and its facts were checked against those pages by automated verification on October 5, 2026; anything that could not be verified was taken out. Pablo Ruiz Quintero sets every guideline, the data-verification system and the minimum standards a page must meet to be published, reviews page structure and approves what goes live; the responsibility is his, and the AI carries out the work. We work this way because it is how one person can keep every page current with named sources. Errors are published in the verification log; the full policy is in the editorial policy.

Readings refresh on a 30-minute window. The full method, with every figure and its source, is on how our reports are made. Something wrong here? Tell us and it goes in the log with the date.