Low Water, Scattered Fish Dominate Clarks Hill Chatter

After a two-stop tear through Texas the Bassmaster Elite Series sets up camp this week on the Georgia-South Carolina border with its sights set on Clarks Hill. This visit marks the fourth consecutive year BASS's best have come to 'The Hill', and it seems like every year the lake fishes differently than the last.

In 2005 the circuit showed up in March and the lake's largemouth population was largely in the pre-spawn mode waiting for warmer weather. A year later they timed it just right and caught Clarks' bass in their traditional post-spawn blueback herring feast.

Last year the Elites showed up in mid-April. The fish were in post-spawn mode, but not far enough removed from their postpartum doldrums to start grouping up for the Clarks Hill herring buffet. BassFans remember Mike McClelland won that event by tossing a jig in water less than 4-feet deep

Give credit to BASS for trying to hit Clarks Hill at just the right time. This event kicks off 2 weeks later than last year's derby here, and if this were 2007 the bass would probably be gorging so hard on bluebacks you could scoop them up in a net. But in spite of BASS's scheduling efforts, Clarks Hill has thrown yet another curveball to the field.

More notes about how the lake is fishing and who's catching them are below, but first, more about the lake itself.

BassFan Lake Profile

> Lake name: J. Strom Thurmond Reservoir (Clarks Hill)
> Type of water: Lowland reservoir
> Surface acres: Approximately 70,000 (1,200 miles of shoreline)
> Primary structure/cover: Points, channels, ditches, hydrilla
> Primary forage: Shad, blueback herring
> Average depth: Fairly flat and tapering (sharp breaks are rare), averages 30 to 40 feet
> Species: Largemouths (that act like spots)
> Minimum length: 12 inches
> Reputation: A numbers lake with tons of 2 1/2- to 3-pound fish. Quality stringers can be caught in key areas.
> Weather: A line of thunderstorms accompanied by a cold front pushed through the area Monday night. Weather is expected to stay stable throughout the week with the exception of Saturday, when a 30% chance of thunderstorms is predicted. Daytime highs are expected to hover around the 80-degree mark through Sunday.
> Water temp: 69 degrees
> Water visibility/color: Clear in the main lake, but high winds over the past few days have caused the creeks, coves and pockets to stain.
> Water level: Approximately 8 feet below full pool
> Fish in: All depths
> Fish phase: All phases, but mostly post-spawn
> Primary patterns: Moving baits like spinnerbaits, cranks, big topwaters, soft-plastic jerkbaits, and swimbaits, plus jigs and some plastics
> Winning weight: 65 pounds (4 days)
> Cut weight (Top 12 after 3 days): 45 pounds
> Check weight (Top 50 after 2 days): 21 pounds
> Fishing quality (1=poor, 5=great): 2 for Clarks Hill
> Biggest factor: The blueback herring spawn – will the herring group up sometime during the event?
> Biggest decision: Spend time looking for hard-to-find schools of herring, or grind it out for post-spawn bites? Also, whether or not to invest time into sight-fishing.
> Wildcard: Big bed-fish – it's mostly small males in the 2-pound range left on beds, but the prevailing mentality among the field is that there could be a few bigger bites to be had sight-fishing - especially the first couple days.

Blueback Blues

The largemouth bass that inhabit Clarks Hill are notorious for not following what are considered the 'normal' seasonal patterns that their relatives in other parts of the country adhere to. The big reason for that is the presence of blueback herring, which are the preferred forage species of the Clarks Hill green fish.

"Every year right after the largemouth spawn, the blueback herring move up on long, tapering points and start their own spawn," said South Carolina pro and Clarks Hill local Jason Williamson.

"When that happens, you can throw everything out the window that you know about post-spawn fishing," he added. "Just find those schools of herring and that's where you'll find the bass. The post-spawn bass fatten up on those herring before they move offshore for the summer."

Sounds simple enough, but all the reports from the field say the bluebacks have yet to start bunching up in numbers significant enough to get the Clarks Hill bass out of their post-spawn funk and into feeding mode. The reason for that: water temperature.

"The magic number for those herring to start really grouping up is about 72 degrees," Williamson said. "We were seeing temps right around 70 earlier in the week, but we had a cold front move through and now it's back down to around 68 or 69.

"We're supposed to have some sun later in the week and that should really help. Does it (stink) right now? Yes. But could it get wide open before this tournament is over? Definitely. When it happens it's going to be like somebody just flipped a switch. Don't be surprised to see weights steadily get heavier every day."

A Whole New Lake

As if the lower-than-normal water temperature wasn't enough to stump the Elite Series competitors, they're also contending with a body of water that's about 8 feet lower than when they fished it last year.

"All the stuff I fished last year is out of the water now," said 2007 Clarks Hill champion Mike McClelland. "That structure just isn't available to fish anymore.

"The lake is pretty much in the same phase as it was last year," he said. "We're stuck in between that time when the fish are on beds and when they start feeding on those herring. If the water was up we'd probably be looking at an identical tournament as we had last year.

"But what makes it interesting is that you're going to have to find all new stuff to fish. Nobody's going to be able to rely on how they caught them last year."

McClelland Confident, Still Looking

Overall, McClelland said he hasn't had a phenomenal practice, but his performance here in years past has his confidence up where it needs to be.

"When you come to a place where you've won before, your confidence is usually high regardless of how you're practice is going," he said. "I've gotten some good bites and I feel good about the way things are going."

He won last year by using a jig to target post-spawn bass on shallow points where he believes they were waiting on the herring to show up. With that in mind, he spent most of his practice searching for areas similar to the cover that propelled him to a win in 2007.

"I've found some spots that I think those fish will pull up on, but I've also fished some areas where I expected to get bit and didn't," he said. "It's a really weird deal when you throw those herring into the equation. You can pattern the types of places where the herring and the bass will pull up, but you have to be at the right place at the right time to really catch them. Hopefully I show up at the right time."

Williamson Hopeful

Williamson predicted Clarks will fish small this time around, but he noted that before this event is over, the fishing could "bust wide open.

"Right now the fish are in a funk," he said. "They're in between the points and the pockets just kind of in limbo, waiting for those herring to move up. They're ready to go crazy, but the water temps just aren't enough to get everything moving.

"The first 2 days of the tournament should be interesting," he added. "The first couple days you'll probably have to scrap and just take what the lake gives you, but as we get closer to the weekend things should start picking up."

But he was quick to note that the herring bite isn't completely absent, just tough to find.

"There are a few select points where those herring are moved up, but the only way to find those is to take a topwater bait and just go point, to point, to point until you get bit. As for me, my practice has been tough. I haven't found what I would call a solid school yet."

He added: "You can wacky worm and catch five pretty easy, but they're all 14-inches long. We'll see some heavier bags before it's all over, though. Somebody will figure it out."

Note from the Field

What follows are additional notes from a few anglers about their practice.

Scott Rook - "I caught a good stringer yesterday, but it was one here and one there. I can't really find any good concentrations of fish. I did find another way to catch some smaller fish up to 2 pounds, but that's not going to get it. Until the blueback get going it's going to be funky around here."

Derek Remitz - "I'm just kind of plugging away doing what I usually do. My practice is going okay, but overall it's a little slow. I never really know what I'm on until the first day of the tournament is over. It's about what I expected, though. You have to fish slow and grind it out, and I'm comfortable with that. Don't believe what all these guys are saying, though. It's better than they let on."

John Crews - "There's a few patterns to be had, but the winning pattern will definitely focus around those herring. The thing is it's like trying to find a needle in a haystack looking for that bite right now. I can catch an easy limit, but catching a few better fish is going to be the key. If you can get a couple 4 or 5 pound bites a day that's all it'll take."

Top 10 To Watch

With the above in mind and more, here's BassFan's recommendation for the Top 10 to watch in this tournament.

1. Mike McClelland – He's leading the AOY race and although his winning cover from last year is bone dry, he's been able to find some similar stuff in practice. He knows what it takes to win on this lake when the fish are tight-lipped.

2. Casey Ashley –The Elite Series sophomore finished 8th here last year, and his knowledge of the fishery is extensive. He made a Top 12 at Falcon, then tripped with a 107th-place showing at Amistad. He'll be looking to get back on track at Clarks.

3. Derek Remitz – He notched a 5th-place finish here last year and his lowest finish in 2008 is 33rd at Toho. He's obviously got some consistency working, and he's due to make a Top 12 cut. Add to that the fact that he's one of the few pros who didn't break out the tiny violin when asked about his practice and that makes him one to watch.

4. Jason Williamson – Another 2nd-year pro who cut his teeth on Clarks Hill. He's fresh off two consecutive Top 12 showings in Texas, and he's looking to make Clarks Hill his third.

5. Mark Davis – Davis finished 27th at Amistad, and that's hardly a poor showing. But when you consider that was by far his worst finish of this young 2008 campaign, you get an appreciation for just how solid he's been thus far. Look for him to keep on rolling in Georgia.

6. Skeet Reese – He's yet to make a Top 12 cut this season, but he's quietly been hording AOY points by stringing together a handful of Top 20 finishes. He scored with a 6th-place showing here last year, and you have to expect the 2007 AOY will show up in the Top 12 sooner rather than later. Clarks could be the place he puts it together.

7. Kevin VanDam – It's like VanDam has a breaker box in his head that can't bear the load of mediocre finishes. And once that breaker trips - KVD goes off. Only twice since 2001 has he gone three straight events without breaking into the Top 30, and both of those streaks were in 2003. He's off to a very un-VanDam-like Texas campaign where he suffered through finishes of 56th and 45th, and he logged his worth finish of 2007 (55th) at this very lake. He'll have comeback on the brain.

8. Steve Kennedy – Kennedy started off the year with two Top 20 finishes, then tanked in Texas where he failed to make a check. You can't keep this Alabama boy down for long, though. Look for him to right the ship at The Hill.

9. Jason Quinn – He knows this lake well and he's put together finishes of 3rd and 15th here the last 2 trips. His knowledge of the lake could be enough to overcome the finicky bite.

10. Davy Hite – He won here in 2006, but stumbled badly with an 84th-place showing last year. He's only made one check this year and that was at Falcon. You can bet that he's hoping to make Clarks Hill the turning point in what's been a rough year for him so far. Not to mention he knows this lake just as well, if not better than everybody else in the field.

Notable

> BassFan Big Stick John Murray has never managed to put together the Clarks Hill puzzle, and he said things are going pretty slow for him again this year. To find out why, click here to go on tour with BassFan Big Sticks.

Others to Watch

> John Crews - He always seems to find a way to catch them here.

> Aaron Martens - He notched a Top 12 here last year and is money when it come to fooling finicky fish.

> Kevin Short - Finished 9th here in 2007 and is coming off a 3rd-place showing at Amistad. If there's a crankbait bite to be had (and there probably is) he could show up big.

Launch/Weigh-In Info

Daily weigh-ins and launches will take place at Wildwood Park in Appling, Ga. Launches will begin at 6:30 a.m. ET and weigh-ins will begin at 3 p.m.

Weather Forecast

Here's the weather forecast for the tournament days. For more weather information, including satellite and radar imagery, visit OutdoorsFanWeather.com.

> Thur., May 1 - Clear - 79°/56°
- Wind: From the S at 15 mph

> Fri., May 2 - Partly Cloudy - 81°/58°
- Wind: From the S at 15 mph

> Sat., May 3 - 30% chance of thunderstorms - 79°/54°
- Wind: From the SSW at 5 mph

> Sun., May 4 - Partly Cloudy - 81°/52°
- Wind: From the NNW at 4 mph