WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 19, 2026 · CLARKS HILL (J. STROM THURMOND LAKE)
Early topwater on humps and points, then drop deep to brush and jigs when the sun climbs.
WATER 88°FAIR 77°FWIND 4 MPH WSWSEASON SUMMERPOOL -3.2 FT
Summer heat is peaking at 88 degrees, which means bass have pulled out to deeper structure away from shallow flats and creek backs. Most of the quality fish are schooling around main-lake humps and points in 15 to 25 feet of water, feeding on herring. The lake is 3 feet low, which compresses every depth closer to the surface than the map shows. Clear water means you can fish both the surface and the deep stuff on the same spot, hitting suspended schoolers on top early, then dropping down to brush underneath as the sun heats the shallows. The pressure is falling ahead of some weather, which should fire up the fish for the next 12 to 18 hours.
The day's game plan
EARLY MORNING · 6:54 AM to 8:30 AM
Main-lake humps and points, 15 to 25 feet, especially ones with brush or rock on top
White or chartreuse walking topwater plug, 4 to 5 inches, cast tight to the high spot and work it steady with a rhythmic walk. Start with the Chrome/white or black pattern first light.
Schooling bass chase herring to the surface in low light. The cold water temps at sunrise make them aggressive. You have a narrow window before the sun flattens the bite, so cover water fast and hit as many humps on your rotation as you can in the first couple of hours.
MORNING · 8:30 AM to 11:00 AM
Same humps and points, but shift to the brushpiles and deeper edges. Stay in 18 to 25 feet if the brush is there.
Zoom Super Fluke in natural shad color or smoke, 4 to 4.5 inches on a 1/4-oz jighead, cast to the brush and let it fall and glide through the water column with slack line. Work it with twitches and pauses rather than a steady retrieve.
Once the sun is up and the topwater bite dies, the schoolers drop and suspend around brush and bottom structure. A fluke imitates herring, and the fall-and-glide mimics wounded baitfish. The suspended fish will take it on the drop or on the pause.
MIDDAY · 11:00 AM to 2:30 PM
Deep brushpiles on main-lake humps and long points running toward the river channel, 20 to 25 feet. Prioritize spots with sonar contact or a known brush location.
1/2-oz football jig with a dark trailer (black, plum, or peanut butter), dragged on bottom. Work it slowly with short hops, letting it rest for 2 to 3 seconds between pops. If you have a jig color that matches the bottom, that's even better.
The heat is intense at midday, so bass are locked on deep structure away from the warm shallows. A football jig stays in the strike zone longer and covers more bottom contour than a fluke. The slower, bottom-contact approach puts the bait right in front of lethargic fish that won't chase but will eat if it's right there.
LATE AFTERNOON · 2:30 PM to 5:30 PM
Same deep humps and points. Secondary points inside creeks near deep water are starting to hold a few fish as shadows grow.
1/2-oz football jig with dark trailer, same drag-and-hop as midday. If the schools are marked on sonar, drop a spoon straight down. A 1/2 to 3/4-oz flutter spoon in silver or chrome fished vertically works on stacked schoolers after they've quit topwater.
The fish are still deep, but as the sun angle changes and shadows lengthen, they can start to move slightly shallower on the secondary structure. The flutter spoon targets the remaining schoolers that are still bunched before they disperse for the evening. If schoolers are no longer visible, stick with the jig drag.
EVENING · 5:30 PM to 7:30 PM
Shallow structure near deep water: inside secondary points, shallow docks, rock banks, and timber along creeks in 8 to 15 feet. Anywhere with shade and current breaks.
Zoom Horny Toad or similar soft toad, 4 inches, on a 3/16-oz weedless jighead, cast tight to cover and work it with small twitches. Keep the rod tip lower and let the toad's legs do the work.
As the sun drops and shade expands, bass that were deep all day slide up into shallower pockets and along shaded banks to feed before dark. The toad imitates a frog or crawfish, which are natural prey in shallow water. This window can be quick but productive if you have good shade cover to work.
DUSK · 7:30 PM to 8:45 PM
Shallow cover in creeks and backwater pockets, 4 to 10 feet, focus on overhanging trees, docks, and grass edges where there is still some ambient light.
Buzzbait in white or black, 1/2-oz, burned across the surface with the rod tip up. Keep the blade thumping steadily and cover water fast to trigger a reaction strike.
The low light of dusk extends the feeding window into shallow water. Bass will chase a buzzbait on the surface when they feel safe in the fading light. This is a covering-water game, not a precision game. Hit as many pieces of cover as you can before dark.
NIGHT · 8:45 PM to sunrise
If fishing after dark, stay on main-lake points and humps in 15 to 25 feet, or work docks with lights in 8 to 12 feet if you have them marked. Otherwise, this period is not productive without lights or prior sonar intel.
If you stay out, a fluke or small jig worked on the sonar marks you found during the day. A crawfish-pattern creature bait or dark crayfish jig can draw night-feeding fish near structure. Otherwise, shut it down and head home.
Summer nights are low-light feeding periods for bass, but without lights or a clear pre-fished location marked, you are fishing blind. If you have spotted brush and schools with sonar during the day, you can return after dark and work it. Otherwise, the risk-reward does not favor fishing blind in deep water at night.
Where to fish
- Main-Lake Humps (15 to 25 feet) — 15 to 25 feet · Elevated bottom with hard composition (rock, clay) and brush piles on top or nearby. Should have access to deeper water (20-30 feet channel) on one side.
These are the summer home for schooling herring-eating bass. In peak heat, bass stack on humps during the day to access structure and baitfish while staying in cooler, oxygen-rich water. A hump with brush or rock is always better than a bare hump. - Long Main-Lake Points Running Toward River Channel — 18 to 25 feet on the break, 6 to 12 feet on the shallow crown · Points with gradual or sharp drop-offs, especially ones with rock, clay banks, or planted brush on the shallow end. The channel edge (25-30 feet) is the deep break.
Points funnel herring and bass movement between shallow flats and deep channels. In summer, bass hold on the break and feed on schooling baitfish. Points with brush are hotspots for suspended schoolers. - Secondary Creek Points and Docks (8 to 15 feet, shade-oriented) — 8 to 15 feet on the structure, 4 to 8 feet in pockets · Secondary points inside creek arms with nearby brush, docks with deep water access, overhanging trees, timber, and shade lines.
As heat peaks and shade develops, secondary structure inside creeks concentrates feeding fish. These spots hold a day-long bite if you have shade and deep water escape. Docks with brushpiles are especially productive during the hot hours.
What to throw
- Walking Topwater Plug — 4 to 5 in · White/chartreuse or white/black · n/a (Early morning in low light over schooling bass)
Cast to the hump or point, work with a steady rhythmic walk, allow the plug to push water and create a wake. Vary the cadence if strikes miss. - Zoom Super Fluke — 4 to 4.5 in · Natural shad or smoke · 1/4 oz on jighead (Morning through midday as schools suspend)
Cast to brush or open water near structure, let it fall on slack line with slight twitches, pause for 2 to 3 seconds, twitch again. Fish the fall as much as the retrieve. - Football Jig — 1/2 oz · Black, plum, or peanut butter · 1/2 oz (Midday when deep bass are locked on bottom structure)
Drag on the bottom with short hops, 2 to 3 feet apart. Let it rest for 2 seconds between hops. Work the jig slowly and methodically around brush and bottom transitions. - Flutter Spoon — 1/2 to 3/4 oz · Silver or chrome · 1/2 to 3/4 oz (Late morning through late afternoon when schoolers are stacked vertically on humps)
Drop vertically or cast and flutter down on slack line. Work it with lift-drop rhythm or let it free-fall on target. Fish it straight down on schools marked on sonar. - Buzzbait — n/a · White or black · 1/2 oz (Dusk in shallow cover as light fades)
Burn it across the surface with the rod tip up and the blade thumping steadily. Cast near cover and maintain a fast, steady retrieve. Trigger strikes happen on the initial cast.
How to work it
- Schooling Bass Detection and Rotation — Early morning through late afternoon, especially in the first 2 hours after sunrise when topwater activity is highest · Main-lake humps and points in 15 to 25 feet of water
Run main-lake humps and points on your usual rotation route, glassing the water for surface action, bird activity, and baitfish dimples. Mark successful spots with GPS. Once you identify a hump with active schoolers, work it hard for 15 to 20 minutes, then move to the next marked spot. - Sonar-Based Deep Structure Fishing — Morning through midday when visibility on sonar is clearest and schools are most concentrated · Deep brushpiles on main-lake humps and long points, 18 to 25 feet
Use forward-facing sonar or side sonar to locate brushpiles and stacked bass on humps. Identify the exact GPS coordinate and mark it. Approach from the deep side so you can cast shallow or vertically down to the marked fish. Let the sonar guide your casts to where fish are actually showing. - Shade-Based Shallow Transition Fishing — Late afternoon into early evening as the sun angle drops and shadows lengthen · Secondary points, creek mouths, and shallow pockets near deep water access, 8 to 15 feet in expanding shade
As afternoon transitions to evening, run secondary points and inside creek pockets where shade from banks and trees is expanding. Work the shade line with a soft toad or jig, focusing on the boundary between sun and shadow. Fish the shadow side of cover first, then work outward.
Pro tips
- Use your GPS to mark every productive hump and point from the early-morning topwater bite, then return to them later with jigs and spoons. The same structure that holds schoolers at dawn holds deep bass all day—you just have to fish it differently.
- The falling pressure ahead of tonight's weather should keep the bite active through the evening window. Don't leave early. The dusk bite into dark can be your best feeding window of the day if you have shade cover to work.
- At 88 degrees, brush is everything. A humpy point with zero brush will outfish a bare hump all day, but a hump with a single brushpile will outfish both. Let sonar or past experience guide you to the brush, because a lot of anglers waste time on empty structure.
If conditions change
If the pressure drops faster and a front rolls in with wind, the school bite will fire even harder early, but expect the bite to shut down hard midday once the wind front hits. Shorten your window early and move to thicker shade cover on secondary structure by late morning. If clouds roll in before noon, the midday bite can stay shallower and last longer, so stay on the transitional depths (12-18 feet) longer. If the water clouds up from any upstream runoff, shift from natural fluke colors to chartreuse or brighter patterns, and stay on the main lake where water clarity is best. If the wind dies and the water gets glassy, the topwater bite may fizzle faster, so move to sonar-located brushpiles and focus on precision casts rather than covering water.
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