I’m going to be on Hartwell the first weekend in March and was wondering where to find some striper action? I’ll be putting in at Portman Marina.
I will keep you posted on where they are. I do not fish much in Feb due to work schedule but will start hitting the water toward the end of the month.
Typically that time of year is a good time to hit the main creeks that feed into river channels and pull live herring on freelines.
How familiar are you with hartwell and do you have a map or chip, if so I can help you a little more.
You can try the Greenville Striper Kings web site but most times you get little or no response.
Just let me know when you will be here and I will tell you where to start
If you put in at Portman Marina you can head right up the Seneca River(go to the right out of the boat ramp and under the bridge(hyw 24 bridge) and this is the Seneca River which runs all the way up to Clemson. One of my favorite spots in March is 18 mile creek which is about a mile on the left after you go under I 85 bridge. Also Martin creek and the Coneross area has several areas that are good as well.
1999 Sea Pro 210cc
Suzuki 225 EFI
tprice
Thanks alot for your help. I do have a map and my boat has gps on board but I think the areas you said are a great place to start. I will let you know if I run into any.
Let me correct what I said about 18 mile ceek,it is on the RIGHT(not left) when going up Seneca River. You will pass under ht eI 85 bridges and when you come to some islands that are in the middle of the channel you have to stay right to get around them and 18 mile creek is the right past that on the right.
On up a little ways is Martin Creek and the Coneross area
1999 Sea Pro 210cc
Suzuki 225 EFI
Great info Price…
Im headed home next week from being onboard ship up here in Norfolk, granted Im closer to the southern end of Hartwell, coming from GA up Hwy 29, last time I was there they had the water down ALOT, whats the water level like now??
Hope to get a few trips in before I head back out to sea. (actaully I hope to sell my boat, and start looking for a bigger one, but thats a WHOLE other story)
Thanks for those tips!!
Justin,
Tprice’s suggestions are good. Those areas are known haunts for stripers in March. Let me add a few things that may also be of help.
March is a transition period for stripers in Hartwell- they’ moving from winter patterns in January/Febuary to spring patterns in April. What that means to the fisherman is you need to move with them. Start your morning pulling herring on the sunny side of the creek. Look for 55-60 degree water. If it’s muddy, get near the mud- it’s warmer there. Have your boat in 12-20 feet of water and pull your corner planer blades close to the banks and/or pitch lures at the bank as you pull the herring. Splay the others baits out toward the deep water with a wide spread. If the water is clear, drop the freelines back 60-80 feet behind the planer blades. If you’re got stained water, 30-45 feet should do it. Basically, you’re looking for fish cruising the bank for small shad. As always, look for birds. They’ll tell you the depth where the stripers are hitting bait- work that depth.
As soon as the sun gets up, pull offshore. Get the boat in 18-25 feet of water and pull the shallow planer blade in 10-12 feet of water. If it’s real bright, put a BB sized split-shot on your free-lines to drop them 3-5 feet down, assuming 60-foot drops to your baits and .7-.8 mph speed. If you’re pulling a long line, this is a good time to put it on a ballon, set it for 5-10 feet down. You’re targetting the same fish as you were in the morning, but they’ve moved offshore a bit to escape the bright light and feed on herring, if they can find them on the channel edge. This is the mid morning bite.
After lunch, move to the creek channel and pull lures- it’s a cover water game now. Most of the fish have pulled off the bank and are suspended. Get your lures down in a range from 12 to 25 feet and find the depth they are holding. A speed of 2-3 mph works well. Weave side to side in the channel, speed up/slow down. U-rigs work well for this, but I generally use downriggers just becau
tomb,
Great post. I was on my first Hartwell striper trip this past weekend. The coastal boat was sitting in the garage and I decided what the heck. Got some planer boards and off I went Sunday afternoon. Thought it may have been too nice and still but went anyway. Trolled some herring around up the Tugaloo with no bites. I really did not see much bait which surprised me. Spent some time on the river channel and up in the main creeks.
Couple questions:
- With TM and planer boards, how long a leader off the planer and what size weight to get it down. I was hoping to get it down around 20’. Trolling 1mph with 20-30lb mono and 30 lb braid.
- Also wanted tried two flat lines out the back but was unsure what weight.
- What size line are you guys using?
- Going to buy an umbrella rig.
- Finally, when do you use the TM vs the big motor to troll?
I know a lot about the bottom of that lake so I think once I figure out how to position the baits and what type areas I am looking for, I expect to be able to catch a few.
Tomb just gave you years of knowledge in one post, buy him a beer.
To answer your questions
1-I like to have my bait at least 20’ from my planer boards but sometimes I will vary that somewhat. Typically I use no weight when I pull lines behind planer boards but sometimes a small split shot will take it down lower. If I want the bait down 20’ or deeper I just use down lines with no planer board. I will normally put at least one on the front of my boat down that deep to see if the fish are deep.
2-Same with flat lines, very seldom will I use a weight and the balloons are great so the other boats can see your lines and it keeps the baits apart
3-most of my lines are 17lb cajun red and on the reels that I use braid on I use Power Pro that is 10lb diam and 30lb test(i think)
4- umbrella rigs work great but do not worry about loosing them, get one of the retrievers and when pulling the rig vary speed and keep the boat going in S patterns and this will get a lot of bites. You will loose one every now and then but that is just fishing.
5-TM is for live bait, big motor is for jigs/crank baits/umbrella rigs
Let us know if you need anymore help, I hope to get back on the water within the next couple of weeks.
March/April seem to be some of the best fishing times of the year for live bait/freelines
1999 Sea Pro 210cc
Suzuki 225 EFI
Tprice,
Thanks for the quick reply. I got the idea on then on the freeline esp when the fish move up shallower.
Right now most fish are 20-40’ maybe? Will free lines work now or do we need to get on down with down lines, u-rigs, etc?
Palmettores,
We usually figure a striper will come up 10-feet after a lively bait. If you’re finding fish hanging between 20 and 40 feet, they’re out of range of freelines. I would follow Tprices’ lead and put the downlines out, slowly moving amoung them. A little tip here- when you’re trying to tempt suspended fish you need to give the bait as much movement as possible- downsize your hooks and tie them on with a loop knot so the bait can shake his/her butt as much as possible.
See you on the pond,
TomB