Freshwater Fishing

Don’t ‘spare’ the rod

Jim Mills has been plying his trade for more than 40 years, meticulously handcrafting one-of-a-kind fly rods from graphite and bamboo, using only the best materials available to create what many of his customers describe as works of art. […]

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Lake of the Month: Clarks Hill

At almost 71,000 acres, Clarks Hill Reservoir, the largest manmade body of water east of the Mississippi River, is still surprisingly undeveloped compared to many of the other impoundments across South Carolina.

Clarks Hill, or Lake Thurmond if you prefer, was built between 1946 and 1954, just a few years before Lake Hartwell and some 30 years before Lake Russell, the other two impoundments upstream on the Savannah River system.

As a fishery, Clarks Hill has a reputation as a better-than-average destination for a number of species. Professional bass tours frequently make stops there, and a growing number of crappie and catfish tournament circuits are also becoming regular visitors. One of the more sought-after species, at least as far as recreational anglers are concerned, are striped bass. Stripers and their test-tube cousins, hybrid striped bass, were first introduced into Clarks Hill during the late 1960s. The fishery was to their liking, and the lake produced a state-record striper in 1993 that wasn’t topped for eight years. […]

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Guide has been ‘drumming up’ business for Clarks Hill striper, hybrid anglers

Fishing for striped bass and hybrids on Clarks Hill Lake has been on fire. My son, Justin Marsh, booked a trip with Andrew Tubbs of William Sasser Guide Service, and we really stuck it to the fish.

Tubbs was fishing in 60 to 70 feet of water near the dam. The lake has an aeration system that really helps boost the fishing potential of the lake by increasing the oxygen content of the water so stripers and hybrids not only survive, but thrive.
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