** Archived Article - please check for current information. **

July 3, 2006

Freshwater Fishing Trends

Mountains Area

Lake Jocassee:Largemouth Bass: Good, casting crankbaits and Carolina rigged green or red worms up the rivers. Topwater night fishing should produce around points and secondary points. Trout: Good, fishing early morning around intake towers using cut bait or minnows 45 to 55 feet. Smallmouth Bass: Fair. Try drifting large minnows along red clay and rocky points. Crappie: Fair, using small minnows and jigs. Catfish: Fair, using nightcrawlers or cut bait on bottom, night is best. Bream: Excellent, using crickets, popping bugs and dug worms around banks and brush.

Lake Keowee: Largemouth Bass: Good, night fishing with buzzbaits and plastic worms in shallower water. Spotted Bass: Good, while night fishing for largemouth. Smaller fish but good numbers. Crappie: Fair, using minnows under bridges at night. Catfish: Good, using nightcrawlers and cut bait on the bottom. Bream: Fair, using worms and crickets shallow brush piles and stumps.

Lake Hartwell: Largemouth Bass: Good, casting topwater lures on humps and points and mid-day Carolina-rigging plastic worms. Striped and Hybrid Bass: Good, casting to schools and live herring fishing around islands and long points. Crappie: Good, using small and medium minnows around bridge pilings, docks and brush piles. Catfish: Good, using cut herring, nightcrawlers and chicken livers on the bottom. Bream: Excellent, using redworms and crickets around brush piles.

Piedmont Area

Lake Russell: Largemouth Bass: Fair, casting Carolina-rigged worms, jerkbaits and lizards. Striped and Hybrid Bass: Slow. Try bucktails, cut bait and jigs below the dam. White Bass: Slow. Try bucktails and spinners below the dam. Crappie: Slow. Try minnows and jigs around brush piles. Catfish: Good, fishing cut bait on the bottom. Bream: Good, fishing with red wigglers and nightcrawlers.

Lake Thurmond: Largemouth Bass: Good, casting plastic worms in the necks early morning and around points in the afternoon. Striped and Hybrid Bass: Good, fishing with large minnows and cut bait, and trolling with deep-running Rapalas and Rebels. Crappie: Good, using minnows over brush tops. Catfish: Good, using worms, cut bait and chicken livers on the bottom along banks. Bream and Shellcrackers: Good, using pink worms and jumbo redworms around the banks.

Lake Wylie: Largemouth Bass: Good, casting Carolina-rigged worms along shallow points and banks. Striped Bass: Good, below Wylie dam using bucktails, jigs and spoons when water is running. White Bass: Good, casting small spinners and jigs behind the dam. Crappie: Good, using jigs and minnows around piers about 15 feet deep. Catfish: Good, using nightcrawlers on the bottom. Bream: Good, fishing with crickets and worms from the bank.

Midlands Area

Lake Greenwood: Largemouth Bass: Good, casting topwater worms, plugs and buzzbaits around docks, some at night on magnum dark worms in brush piles. Striped Bass: Good, casting flukes and topwater plugs behind the dam. White Perch: Good, fishing deep with Berry spoons and Panther Martins. Crappie: Fair, using minnows and mini jigs over brush in 15-20 feet of water. Catfish: Good, using cut bait and nightcrawlers on the bottom. Bream: Excellent, using redworms and crickets along shore and docks.

Lake Wateree: Largemouth Bass: Fair, casting worms and crankbaits on structure in deeper water. Striped bass: Excellent, casting shad-like topwater lures and chuggers. Good schooling early and late mostly on lower end of lake. White Bass: Fair, using shad-like baits in state park area, increased schooling. Crappie: Fair, using minnows and jigs fishing deep brush. Best night fishing with lights. Catfish: Good, using live shad, small pieces of shrimp and cut bait close to bottom in major feeder creeks and below Cedar Creek Dam. Bream: Good, try worms and crickets fished around bedding bream.

Lake Murray: Largemouth Bass: Fair, casting topwater baits and Carolina-rigged worms early. Striped Bass: Good, using live herring on down-rods 40 to 70 feet deep. Casting bucktails and pencil poppers to schooling fish early and late. Crappie: Slow. Try jigs and minnows 10 feet and deeper around bridge pilings. White Perch: Fair, jigging small tuffies, worms or spoons 5 to 30 feet deep. Catfish: Good, using cut herring and nightcrawlers on bottom. Bream: Excellent, try fishing redworms and crickets in 1 to 10 feet of water. Shellcracker: Good, using redworms and blueworms in 1 to 10 feet of water.

Santee Cooper System

Lake Marion: Largemouth Bass: Fair, casting topwater baits, lizards and worms early and late afternoon. Striped Bass: Slow. Try casting bucktails to schooling fish or fishing cut bait or shiners off the bottom. White Perch: Fair, jigging off the bottom with Hopkins spoons. Crappie: Fair, using small and medium minnows around deep brush piles and piers. Try fishing at night. Catfish: Excellent, fishing with live herring and cut shad off the bottom in deep and slow water. Bream and Shellcrackers: Excellent, using crickets, redworms, wigglers and nightcrawlers in 1 to 10 feet of water.

Lake Moultrie: Largemouth Bass: Good, using topwater lures and plastic worms in shallows near Hatchery Area early and late. Best at night. Striped Bass: Fair, using live herring and trolling Stretch 20s between Navy Point and Bonneau. Crappie: Slow. Try minnows around fish attraction areas. Catfish: Good, using cut shad, herring, menhaden, live large shiners and nightcrawlers 40 to50 feet deep. Bream: Excellent, using crickets, green worm and redworms around public fish attractors. Shellcrackers: Good, try redworms and green worms along the banks and points.

REPORTERS: The S.C. Department of Natural Resources appreciates the cooperation of fishing trend reporters for South Carolina's major lakes: Jocassee - Jocassee Outdoor Center; Keowee - Fishing Hole; Hartwell - Lake Hartwell Fishing and Marine; Russell - Tony's Bait and Tackle; Thurmond - Bladon's; Wylie - Catawba Tackle; Greenwood - Sportsman's Friend; Wateree - Wateree Marina; Murray - Dooley's Sport Shop, Lake World; Marion - Randolph's Landing; and Moultrie - Atkins Boat Landing.

For South Carolina freshwater fish regulations: http://www.dnr.sc.gov/regs/pdf/freshfishing.pdf