8-27-2025 Fishing Report

I’ve run a couple of really good night trips lately with some really nice catches under the moonlight. These trips are available at Hartwell and Clarks Hill. There has also been a good trolling bite with downriggers or leadcore. The key to trolling is speed and depth control. In the summer on blue back herring lakes like Hartwell, Clarks Hill and Murray we troll at 2.7 to 3MPH mostly. Herring are a very fast bait and you want to draw a reaction strike. You always want your baits to run well above the fish. If I’m marking most of the fish at 40 feet for instance. I’m running my baits at 28 to 32 feet. A striper wants to run up from below and ambush his prey. It spooks them if a bait is pulled at the same depth they are. In nature, baitfish don’t charge into schools of stripers.