Lake Thurmond Fishing Guides and Conditions, South Carolina

About the Lake Thurmond

J. Strom Thurmond Lake, which most anglers on both sides of the river still call Clarks Hill, is one of the largest Corps reservoirs in the Southeast, sitting on the Savannah River below Russell Lake. It is big, comparatively lightly developed for its size, and has enough creek arms and coves that it absorbs pressure well. Leave a busy ramp on a Saturday and you can be alone inside twenty minutes.

Striped and hybrid striped bass have been the signature fishery here for decades. Cool-month fishing with live bait on planer boards over open water is the classic method, and the fish move a long way, so finding bait is finding fish. Largemouth are the other main target, holding on points, brush and the substantial standing timber that remains in parts of the lake.

Crappie fishing is very good and heavily fished in spring, and the bream fishing around the shallow bays in early summer is the kind of thing that makes for a genuinely enjoyable family day rather than a technical exercise.

Thurmond is operated as part of a chain with Russell above it and Augusta below, so what happens here is partly decided upstream. Water moved down from Russell can put current through the upper lake and change the fishing overnight, which is worth remembering when a day that should have been good is not.

The gauge below reports both elevation and water temperature. Thurmond runs a meaningful winter drawdown, and because so much of the shoreline is gently sloping, a few feet off full pool exposes a great deal of cover and moves the fish out. The temperature reading is the other half of the picture, particularly for deciding whether the stripers are still shallow or have gone deep for the summer.

Access

Corps of Engineers parks: many free ramps around both the Georgia and South Carolina shores.
Hickory Knob State Park: ramps, lodge and golf on the South Carolina side.
Mistletoe State Park, Georgia: ramps and camping on the lower lake.
Modoc and Plum Branch: ramps near the gauge and the mid-lake.
Little River arm: a large arm with its own character and quieter water.
Thurmond Dam area: deep water and the winter striper fishing.
Note: the lake is very large. Plan your launch around the arm you want.

Seasons

Winter: stripers on planer boards over open water, and crappie holding deep on brush.
Spring: the crappie spawn, the bass spawn, and the busiest ramps of the year.
Summer: stripers deep, bream in the shallow bays, and early starts for everything else.
Fall: bait scatters then reconcentrates, and the striper fishing steadily improves.