Posted by Striper Seeker on December 30, 2001 at 08:02:35:
In Reply to: Hartwell? posted by Grant High on December 29, 2001 at 21:44:04:
Grant,
I had planned a trip there Saturday but ended up going to Clarks Hill instead. What I saw on the Hill will definitely apply to Hartwell as well. The hybrids and stripers are definitely in the major creeks and tribs now. They are hanging among and under considerable bait schools and actively feeding. Start graphing at the mouth and you should find them no more than half way to the back. We had success on downline and freeline but my balloon rigs didn't produce because they kept the bait up too shallow. The good news is that the high winds appear to be past us for a while, and it should benefit all of us. Don't worry too much about water temperature. It was 51 where I launched but only 47 and stained where we found the largest concentration of stripers. The key is don't stop and fish until you mark bait and/or fish. They are ganged up right now so keep looking until you like what you see (or until you get really lucky and a flock of gulls points you to feeding fish...that happened yesterday early while it was overcast!)
Good luck and God bless!
William