Hartwell 03/23

Went to conaross creek saturday. Long lined above the bridge for hour and a half with zero results. Changed to casting and finally caught two females around brush and docks. Just not much action at all. Seemed to be a slow day for the several i spoke to. Consensus was the fish were deeper this weekend. A couple that did find limits said 20-30' on brush. I just dont know why they wouldnt be shallow. Slightly stained water and 57 degrees. Plan to try again this coming saturday. Anyone on here try Hartwell over the weekend? With shallow fish on the Hill and Gwood, doesnt make sense to me why more arent shallow at hartwell.

I tried Hartwell over the weekend and same thing we only caught 8 keepers longlining in 5 to 10 FOW, caught 60 the week before in 5 to 10 FOW. Not sure what was going on this weekend. Water was 4 degrees warmer. Everyone i talked to that had luck were shooting docks.

Thanks, that dock pattern has been strong for several months for sure. Not many that spider rig or long line on hartwell. Most are dock fishers. I guess i need to work on that stuff a little more. I still plan to start off longlining saturday morning tho! Im stubborn like that . :biggrin

For me, Hartwell doesn’t set up well for long lining. Long lining seems to work best in large flats that are 25 ft or less, like the back of major creeks if you can find them. Stained water usually a plus too. Have tried areas like Eastanolle, 18 mile, Choestoea,!etc but again my track record on Hartwell sends me to other lakes. I know there are nice crappie in Hartwell. Most come from single polers and docks I believe like the other fella said.

Well that definitely makes sense! Maybe we will try the Hill this weekend instead. I prefer to cast but i dont know enough crappie spots on hartwell to try it. I have bass fished it my whole life instead.

4 out of 8 trips to Hartwell so far this year we have caught limits. All I do is Long Line, there are many good spots on the lake you just have to spend some time and find them.