Lake Hartwell is a reservoir bordering Georgia and South Carolina on the Savannah, Tugaloo, and Seneca Rivers. The lake is created by Hartwell Dam located on the Savannah River seven miles below the point at which the Tugaloo and Seneca Rivers join to form the Savannah. Extending 49 miles up the Tugaloo and 45 miles up the Seneca at normal pool elevation, The lake comprises nearly 56,000 acres of water with a shoreline of 962 miles . The entire Hartwell “Project” contains 76,450 acres of land and water. I-85 bisects Hartwell Lake and makes the area easily accessible to visitors.

Lake Hartwell is named for the American Revolutionary War figure Nancy Hart.

2008 Bassmaster Classic

Lake Hartwell hosted the 2008 Bassmaster Classic from Friday, February 22 to Sunday, February 24, 2008. The Feb. 22 edition of Mike and Mike in the Morning was hosted on the shores of Lake Hartwell at Portman Shoals Marina, located about 3 miles from I-85 at SC exit 14.

2007-2009 Drought

In the year of 2008, due to severe drought in the southeastern United States, the lake dropped to over 22 feet below its normal water level at its lowest in December 2008. This revealed old highways that were typically underwater, exposed islands that are usually topped with buoys to warn boaters, and left some boat shells sitting on dry land.

As of the first of October 2009, the lake is back up to just over 657 feet, 3 ft lower than full pool of 660 ft. This rebound in lake level is due to releases from the lake being suspended for a month ending April 10, 2009 in an effort to return Lake Hartwell to normal elevations.

Fishing

Since its construction, Hartwell Reservoir has provided good fishing habitat for many species. Bream, catfish, smallmouth bass, walleye, and largemouth bass are naturally occurring species in the lake, with quality fishing available for those species. The most popular fishing on Lake Hartwell, however, has become pursuing striped bass. Striped Bass, also known as rock fish, where discovered to be able to survive in freshwater after the construction of a dam on the Santee-Cooper system in lower South Carolina trapped many striped bass in fresh water. Striped bass were eventually introduced to the three lower Savannah River System lakes: Hartwell, Russel, and Thurmond. The species has done well, but due to the need for moving water to successfully hatch eggs, must continually be stocked in the lakes. These fish provide anglers with a fishing challenge more likened to saltwater fishing, with anglers tending to use larger boats, conventional reels, and oftentimes trolling techniques. State record fish have come from all three of the lakes holding "stripers" on the Savannah River system. 60+ lb. fish have been caught on Lake Hartwell, with 20 lb. fish being common. The majority of striped bass caught on the lake will range from 5 to 12 pounds.

Boating

There are many lake houses and docks on Lake Hartwell. Boating, water skiing, and fishing are popular activities on Lake Hartwell.

References

External links

• U.S. Army Corps of Engineers map

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