NewcomersGuide_2017_SpringSummer_-web

BY JAY JACOBS
AS A NATIVE AUGUSTAN, I FEEL
VERY FORTUNATE TO HAVE GROWN
UP IN AN AREA THAT AFFORDS
ANGLERS A RICH AND DIVERSE
ARRAY OF WATERS AND SPECIES.
To categorize these waters simply,
there are three distinct choices of
places to fish: the lake, the river, and a
multitude of private and public ponds.
Our lake (referred to as Clarks Hill by
Georgians and Thurmond Lake by
South Carolinians) is a 71,535 acre
reservoir created in 1954 twenty-two
miles north of Augusta. This fishery
has played host to numerous B.A.S.S.
tournaments and has a healthy
population of Striped Bass, Crappie,
Bream, Catfish and many more species
in addition to the Largemouth.
Below the reservoir’s J. Strom Thurmond
dam is the Savannah River. This diverse
waterway, on the geological fall line,
marks the state borders of South
Carolina and Georgia. There are surfaced
boat landings below the dam in both
states and further down river at North
Augusta and New Savannah Bluff Lock
and Dam. These open water areas are
great places to catch Bass, Bream, Perch,
Striped Bass, and Hybrids. The middle
stretch of the river around I-20 is a rocky
shoals area with a small category 2
section of whitewater and a wide
selection of Bass including
Largemouth, Smallmouth, Red Eye,
Shoal, and the Bartram, a subspecies
of the Red Eye found only in the
Savannah and Saluda Rivers.
For the less adventurous angler the
Merryland Brickyard Ponds have a
selection of 21 public ponds- complete
with bait shop and some advice on
which pond is best suited for catching
a particular species. These ponds,
which are conveniently located just
outside downtown are also “pay-tofish”
so no state license is necessary.
COMMUNITY
So whether you are fly fishing
Smallmouth at the Shoals, trolling
Winter Striped Bass on the lake, or
spending a lazy summer afternoon
with a cane pole at the Brick Ponds,
I hope you enjoy and explore all that
fishing in Augusta has to offer.
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