Catch Clarks Hill’s late spawners with these tips

It's not too late to catch bedding bass on Clarks Hill.

Bass guarding fry are also biting

If you think you missed the bass spawn at Clarks Hill, you’re still in luck. Some late spawners are still biting, and as long as you’re willing to do a little moving around and use a handful of lures, you’ll catch your share of them.

“We’ve got plenty of late spawners that are hanging out in the shallows, on main lake points in the morning, and all around the island shoals. And it’s not just late spawners – we’ve also got a lot of fish that are guarding fry, especially on the lower part of the lake,” said Morris Dowdy of Aiken.

One thing Dowdy warned against is spending too much time on fish that you can see, but that aren’t biting.

“You make a few casts to those fish you can see, and if they don’t at least make a strike, move on because there are plenty of fish willing to bite. Some will have lockjaw at different times throughout the day, and when they are like that, you can waste a lot of time. It’s always tough to leave fish that you can see, but after a few casts, you need to move on because plenty are willing to bite,” he said.

Dowdy said he has spoken to a lot of anglers that believe all the bass have finished the spawning cycle and have moved out to deeper water, but he said that’s simply not the case.

“The majority of the bass have moved out to deeper water, but enough are still shallow that it’s worth it to go after them. They are more spread out, but when you find them, it’s worth it,” he said.

For lures, Dowdy said you can’t go wrong with topwater lures like Spooks and Sammys.

“Nothing beats a white fluke though. I’ll make about a dozen casts around points or in shallows where I see bass. If that doesn’t produce, I move on. You’ll get some short strikes, especially from the fish that are guarding fry. They seem to swipe at lures even if they aren’t hungry, just to try chasing them away from the fry. With those fish, the fluke can be deadly, just letting it sink into their holes, and barely twitch them,” he said.

About Brian Cope 2726 Articles
Brian Cope is the editor of Carolina Sportsman. He has won numerous awards for his writing, photography, and videography. He is a retired Air Force combat communications technician, and has a B.A. in English Literature from the University of South Carolina. You can reach him at brianc@sportsmannetwork.com.

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