Fishes Lake Thurmond
Reservoir · Savannah River · South Carolina
Lake Thurmond Fishing Guides
Clarks Hill to most of the people who fish it: a very large Savannah River lake below Russell, with a long striper history and quiet water once you leave the ramps.
Gauge location. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Guides on the Lake Thurmond
Claimed profiles take booking requests. Unclaimed profiles are built from public records so the river is never empty; the guide can claim or remove one any time.
Order on this page: premium and outfitter plans first (labelled Premium placement), then claimed free profiles, then unclaimed — one published price, no bidding for position. How placement works
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.
This water needs a real photo
The photo at the top of this page is not Lake Thurmond.
It is a regional stand-in, honestly captioned but generic — we will not put a name to a river we cannot prove. Send us a photograph you took here and it replaces the stand-in, with your credit on it.
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Pool right now
318.34ft
- 24 hours-0.11 ft ↓ falling
- Water temperature67 F
- For the dateLow for the date
Reading taken 1h ago at USGS 02193900, THURMOND LAKE NEAR PLUM BRANCH, SC. Elevation is the surface of the lake above the survey datum, not depth. Source.
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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.
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Questions
What species can you catch on the Lake Thurmond?
Anglers target Black Crappie, Bluegill, Channel Catfish, Largemouth Bass, Spotted Bass, Striped Bass on the Lake Thurmond in South Carolina.
Are there fishing guides on the Lake Thurmond?
GuidedFloats lists 1 guide and outfitters on the Lake Thurmond. Claimed profiles accept booking requests; unclaimed profiles are built from public records and link to the business.
Where can you access the Lake Thurmond?
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.
When is the best time to fish the Lake Thurmond?
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.
Where are the fishing regulations for the Lake Thurmond?
Regulations change by season and section. Read the current rules on the South Carolina agency site: https://www.dnr.sc.gov/regs/fishing.html