SC, GA DNR’s Stock Hartwell Lake With 458,000+ Fish
It should be good fishing this summer on Hartwell Lake.
About 458,000 striped bass were recently stocked in Lake Hartwell by the S.C. Department of Natural Resources, including a stocking at Twin Lakes Recreation Area near the Pickens County/Anderson County line.
Ross Self (left), DNR freshwater fisheries chief, and state Rep. Davey Hiott of Pickens get ready to put the first bucket of striped bass fingerlings into Lake Hartwell.
The S.C. Department of Natural Resources (DNR) used specially equipped fish hauling trucks to stock about 458,000 striped bass fingerlings in Lake Hartwell during a two-day period, including stockings at Broyles Landing in Anderson County, at Twin Lakes, and at Twelve Mile Landing in Pickens County.
The fish were produced at the Dennis Wildlife Center Fish Hatchery in Bonneau, and these fingerlings will grow to a catchable size by spring 2016.
The Georgia Department of Natural Resources, in partnership with South Carolina DNR, recently stocked the Tugaloo River arm of Lake Hartwell with 240,247 striped bass, with the potential of more fish to come.
The Georgia and South Carolina natural resources agencies have also stocked hybrid bass in Lake Hartwell, with Georgia contributing 169,747 hybrid bass and South Carolina stocking 230,000 fish thus far this season.
“Striped and hybrid bass are schooling fish, and this can result in fast action when you’re fishing for them,” said Dan Rankin, DNR regional fisheries biologist based in Clemson. “They are really aggressive fighters, so it can be an exciting fish to catch. And it’s not uncommon to catch striped bass larger than 20 pounds and hybrid bass in the 3- to 10-pound range.”