[Guest]

I target big cats almost exclusively. I am used to fishing Santee, but I feel that there are definitely a handful of large cats in Hartwell. If I were to go to one place and have the best chances of a cat up to 50lbs or more, where would I go??? Don't give me any foolish talk about VW cats at the dam!:cowboy:

 

[deerhntr22]

I dont think that there is a "particular" spot you can go to catch a BIG fish, but there are so many reports on Hartwell..full of details and posts that with a little TIME and RESEARCH, you will have a pretty good idea of the types of things to look for...

Best way to catch a BIG fish, is to put bait on a line, and sling it in the water....

 

[Patmansc]

Kyle, as big as Hartwell is, I'm certain that there are more than a "handful" of large cats there. Hartwell is huge, and full of structure and cover. There are places to drift (finding them, tho, can sometimes be a challenge) and tons of places to anchor.

As always, the best way to find these places is to spend time on the water. Most of the better Hartwell catmen are very protective (understandably so) of their favorite spots. With all due respect, as a newcomer to the site, don't expect too many to step forward and provide you with information that may have taken them years to develop.

Best advice that I can provide you is to get the Fishing Hot Spots maps (2) of Hartwell, locate the type of structure that you prefer fishing, take your knowledge of the cyclical nature of catfish, get some herring and/or shad, and put your time in on the water.

Best of luck.

 

[WylieCat]

Catfish King 1382, tell us where exactly you catch your big fish on Santee and perhaps we can give you some insight into similar areas to look for on Hartwell.

:handshake:

BTW, do you CPR your big fish or are you looking for eaters?

 

[Guest]

Catfish King 1382, tell us where exactly you catch your big fish on Santee and perhaps we can give you some insight into similar areas to look for on Hartwell.

:handshake:

BTW, do you CPR your big fish or are you looking for eaters?

In Hartwell, I let all fish go since there is a eating advisory and I just want to err on the side of caution.

Santee-I have a spot on the Cooper River where I consistently hook up with only monsters...I can't figure out why. I have brought a few up but the majority have broken off...One straightened my hook out and one wrapped around my anchor rope and broke off as we were bringing in the anchor...Go to the trussel below the dam and fish the right side. If you go there often you will see a nook in the bank and you should know what I am talking about.

Diversion canal-I have one spot called the umbrella tree on the left side going to Marion...look for the umbrella tree, you can't miss it. Also, if you anchor 50 yards up from the tree on the right side, you should have good luck-look at your depthfinder and you'll see why. The red bank on the left side just before you get into Moultrie is a proven spot for me. Also, the little white house on the Marion side....If you go to the rock pile on the Moultrie side, anchor up, walk the bait with the current and you could be pleasantly surprised.

Hope this helps.

 

[Guest]

Kyle, as big as Hartwell is, I'm certain that there are more than a "handful" of large cats there. Hartwell is huge, and full of structure and cover. There are places to drift (finding them, tho, can sometimes be a challenge) and tons of places to anchor.

As always, the best way to find these places is to spend time on the water. Most of the better Hartwell catmen are very protective (understandably so) of their favorite spots. With all due respect, as a newcomer to the site, don't expect too many to step forward and provide you with information that may have taken them years to develop.

Best advice that I can provide you is to get the Fishing Hot Spots maps (2) of Hartwell, locate the type of structure that you prefer fishing, take your knowledge of the cyclical nature of catfish, get some herring and/or shad, and put your time in on the water.

Best of luck.

I have never had luck anchoring in the lake, just the rivers. I do a lot of drifting in Hartwell, but I just started fishing it two weeks ago...What should I look for when anchoring up??

 

[Patmansc]

Kyle, to be honest I don't fish Hartwell much as I have found it to be extremely frustrating! I like to drift fish, and have found only one area (twelve mile) where I can drift with fewer hang-ups. I have never fished the lake, just in rivers feeding the lake, and within those focus on mouths of coves and on points where I can find drop-offs. As you know, channels/blues move in and out of structure searching for food, so I look for areas where baitfish can be found. If you're hunting for flats, look for cover.

 

[Guest]

I have never tried Twelve Mile but I have heard good things about that section. I usually launch out of Lake Hartwell State Park because the officers routinely drive by and check the landing. Are there any good, secure landings out that way in which DNR officers or cops routinely patrol?

 

[jmoorecatfishkiller]

i have been targeting big cats on hartwell for 2 years now, mainly because my work really slowed down and i cant afford to go to santee like i used to. i have had great luck on blues and flats from 10 to 30 lbs, but cant seem to break over 30 yet. i like drifting 3 to 1 over anchoring, but in this lake that
thats not your best bet. i spent days and days drifting santee style with every kind of cutbait imaginable.
i caught fish, but not consistantly. biggest drift fish was an 18 lb blue caught on 3 small threadfin hooked thru the eyes together. i finally started anchoring and started doing way better. i do drift exclusively for
small channels for fun, ussually we catch 30 to 60 per trip if theres a little breeze, great for taking kids
or new fisherman.all i can say on a 50 pounder is i hope you are luckier than me,lol. i hope this helps

o yeah, if u dont already, start a detailed fishing journal. in a few years it will be the best tool you have

 

[Guest]

You are right about the journal. I have five years of journaling down...only problem is it's Santee fishing. Do you anchor on ledges and humps, in the channel, or the cove flats?

 

[jmoorecatfishkiller]

ive had my best luck on points on the inside of the channel bend. ill pull the front of my boat up on top of the ledge and drop anchor. then i back up until my lowrance shows it dropping off and i drop the second anchor and pull tight between the anchors. i put out rods all the way around, and i never know which rod its going to be. its always different, this way i cover all the depths possible. ive also done great
where two rivers or creeks come together. theres not as many bigguns here as were used to at santee,
but if you fish hard you can pick up a few along. i drift flats for the small channels, preferably where
several points stick out towards the flat. for big fish i fish 30 feet or less usually. i know alot of guys
wont tell anything, but i want to help when i can, and its a big lake. if it was not for a few old guys giving me pointers when i asked, i might still be scratching my head. do you live around hartwell somewhere?

 

[jmoorecatfishkiller]

forgot to mention, you can see one of my morning catches this spring in the june fishin & huntin
guide magazine on page 31. i dont normally keep any fish, but the church was having a big fish fry so we kept a few. by the way, hartwell fish taste awesome! we have always ate fish from hartwell and it seems to be fine.i think a guy on here is on page 8, i think he gos by b74,huge blue

 

[Guest]

I do. I live in Seneca. Funny, though, because I know Santee very well and it's five hours away. Hartwell is nothing like Santee-Hartwell Lake is 56000 acres and the SC system is 170000acres...But, I still believe there are whoppers in Hartwell. I have been fishing Santee for 10 years now and I can see a decline in bigguns down there. Just don't catch them as big as we did when I first started going down there. Have you tried Monticello? A lot of folks say that lake will produce the next state record cats-and I believe there is a good chance of that happening.

 

[jmoorecatfishkiller]

there are definitely big ones in hartwell,u just dont catch them everyday. i live in westminster and i have a pic on my phone of a flat that weighed 66lbs after it dried awhile, it was caught last spring in hartwell. i have not tried monti yet, but i cant wait too. when i do i want to go with chris simpson.
his website is awesome.

south carolina catfish guide service Fightin Da Blues

 

[Guest]

66 lbs! that is a good cat! monti's great-deep and full of ledges and humps. make sure to leave a report when you go to monti. do you know what part of hartwell it was caught in? i am used to fishing the Tugalo river section and I think there could be one of those that size swimmin around...Dreaming is what keeps me going!

 

[jmoorecatfishkiller]

lower seneca river. almost at the big water. caught while trolling crankbaits for hybrids and stripers. how long have u lived here and fished hartwell?

 

[Guest]

I have lived here my entire life, but only started cattin at Hartwell a couple weeks ago...With the economic times, I have virtually eliminated trips to Santee to stay closer to home and save money. I used to go to Santee 3-5 times a year.

 

[jmoorecatfishkiller]

same here. if it wasnt for the bad economy i wouldnt have fished hartwell near as hard.
i build houses and do hardwood flooring so its been slower than normal for a year or two

 

[JimmyJonny]

I'm gonna have to agree with Pat on this one... ( Oh, and btw Pat, thank you for your post )

Ya gotta understand that Hartwell is a hard lake to fish. There are big fish but they don't come easy. I've been on this lake for abut 11 years and my biggest fish out of it is only 40#. The biggest I've seen was caught from a friend mine Captain Jim/CJim that was over 50#. I released that fish,,, he didn't like it, but I did it anyway ; )~

We protect our fish and guard our spots the best we can. We do this because of the difficulty of the lake and pressure it gets. I fish a boat with a trolling motor therefore I'm not about to give out to much because everyone and their brother will be there...making it even harder on me.

There is no one place on the lake that holds all big fish. The only section of the lake I haven't fished is the Tugaloo run because its to far, and the Keowee river because of the current ( I'm getting ready to pound that area ),,, I have caught fish over 20# everywhere I went ( not every time of course ).

As far as where to go atm, I honestly don't know. I've been out towards Broyles and Asbury Island area chasing Striper and cats but I don't like it out that way because its full of vegetation on the bottom.

A example is last weekend when I entered a tournament. I only run a trolling motor but decided to support the tourney and give up my $$ and go. Trey says it's a bunch of good guys so I'm willing to try, even when the odds are so against me. Well in the end, Deerhunter22 and I got one fish under 10# and didn't even put him up to weight. We still beat a few boats so I cant complain. My point is...I didn't even know where to go get them atm with my boat....but then again, I could only go within a mile of the landing.

My advice is to stick around and stay involved. There is a lot of good folks around here. Many may not give out spots, and that's totally understandable, but we can talk about methods and baits or even just show your catches. But for now ya gotta understand that, here is two new guys, who are asking from info right off the bat. And to be honest, I'm cautious of people who don't even put up a avatar pic of themselves.

I've fished with a lot of folks on here. Some it took over a year of me watching before I would even think about it. I've never regretted fishing with anyone.

Things are gonna change....... Mcdo and I got my motor on but I have a problem to fix still. When I'm done and can afford to put gas in it, LOL, I'm gonna be hunting for spots. Anyone is welcome to fish with me and scout but the first one that tells where I go wont fish with me anymore. Not tryin to be a ass but I'm getting it out and in the open now so there is no surprises on how I feel.

I look forward to talking to you guys and hopefully meeting up....I'm really big on that. I know my post may have attitude to it but "most" will say I'm fun to fish with....in the least, I'm as hard core as any.

As far as posts go, I slowed down a lot and will continue to do so. By far I posted more detailed info on Hartwell since I've been here than anyone else has. Your welcome to go back and look at reports.

If I was to head out the door now with a running motor and fish, I would be looking for the flatheads at night. I would look for ledges, points, and rip rap up the creeks, even in as little as 6' of water. But then again CJim and I pulled in a flathead 2 days ago that was 30' off the bank. The water below was 60'...that tells ya that they can and will be anywhere. As much as ya might like drifting, it isn't a productive method for consistent catches. You just cant pull in one after another like Santee. Anchoring is by far the best. I use herring, threadfins, bass , bream, perch, crappie, gizzard shad, and even mullet I catch in Fla when I have them. All work but one week they love one bait, then the next week it can change,,,and it does. So mixing it up is the key.

G'luck guys...looking foward to seeing ya'll around.

-Jim-

 

[weathermantrey]

Jimmy,

I didn't know you were their this past weekend. I guess there was so many boats it gets kind of hard to keep up with everyone. Anyways, glad you could make it out.

To the poster,

When you find a spot where 50lbers are at, let me know. Because I've been fishing the lake hard for 15 years and never landed a cat over 50lbs. lol

As far as where to find big cats. There's not really any one thing I can tell you. You can catch a good blue just about anywhere. Flatheads are generally around cover, but sometimes you can fish awesome looking cover and never catch one. Then sometimes the smallest little bit of stucture while consistently hold fish. The best advice I'd give you is go back in the archives and read all of the old reports on Hartwell.