Bass Fishing Spots at Clarks Hill, Georgia

Georgia's largest lake sprawls across the South Carolina border like a giant hand, its many bays and coves providing some of the best bass fishing in either state. Clarks Hill Lake -- also known as Strom Thurmond Reservoir -- encompasses approximately 71,000 acres of water, enough to keep even the most dedicated angler busy for a lifetime. Like most great bass lakes, Clarks Hill sees a lot of fishing pressure, which means that anglers willing to find new spots and try new presentations are often the most successful.

  1. Spring Spawn Hot Spots

    • A lot of different factors determine when and where the abundant largemouth and spotted bass populations of Clarks Hill Lake spawn in springtime, but sometime between March and May, hefty adult bass enter shallow waters in droves to reproduce. Shallow flats at the north and south ends of the lake are routinely productive spawning spots, but relatively shallow water throughout the lake has potential, particularly in coves and near creek mouths. Try casting near bits of cover like weed beds, brush piles and stumps. After spawning, bass tend to head to drop-offs near spawning sites, so focus your efforts on deeper water in late spring. Bass caught from spawning beds should be released immediately to allow them to complete their reproductive cycle.

    Dog Days of Summer

    • When the water warms up in summer, bass in Clarks Hill Lake often inhabit deep water where temperatures are more comfortable, but they also stay close to more shallow areas where they can hunt. Deep offshore areas near Cliatt Creek, Bussey Point, Cherokee Creek and Big Creek are among the top summer spots. In the cooler, low-light hours of morning and evening you can often find big largemouths hunting near shallow weed beds and timber. Points are often key to summer fishing, as these structures allow bass easy mobility between deep and shallow water. Bass sometimes spend large portions of summer pursuing shad and other baitfish in open water, making their location hard to predict. Mobility and a willingness to move around a lot can be essential to successful bass fishing in summer. If a spot isn't producing bites, it's best to move on.

    Bass Action in Fall and Winter

    • The upper and lower ends of Clarks Hill Lake are generally the most productive spots in fall and winter. The lower lake is home to large beds of hydrilla, an invasive plant that provides excellent cover for bass, and anglers can often find endless bites in the fall by casting topwater lures around hydrilla beds. The upper end is dominated by submerged woody cover, which is perfect for casting spinnerbaits. A few key spots include the mouths of Grays, Lloyds and Rousseau creeks in the lower lake and Fishing and Soap creeks in the upper lake. When all else fails, the vast flats around the confluence of the Broad and Savannah rivers are a safe bet at just about any time of year.

    Good to Know Before You Go

    • Dozens of access points provide a place to launch a boat or cast from shore around Clarks Hill Lake. On the Georgia side of the border, Elijah Creek and Mistletoe state parks both include boat launch facilities and lots of open shoreline access. Sunken brush piles, Christmas trees and similar structure have been placed in the water as fish attractors near the shore of both parks in roughly 8 to 15 feet of water. Maps showing their location are available at the parks. Be aware that Clarks Hill Lake is a man-made reservoir, and its levels can fluctuate wildly from year to year and even day to day. Formerly great fishing spots can disappear, and new ones are created all the time. A current Georgia fishing license is required to fish from shore in the Georgia side of the lake. Anglers with a boat may fish with either a Georgia or South Carolina license.