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October 16 , 2006

Freshwater Fishing Trends

Mountains Area - Piedmont Area - Midlands Area - Santee Cooper System

Mountains Area
Lake Jocassee:

• Largemouth Bass: Fair to Good, casting Carolina-rigged worms, and topwater plugs with slow retrieve. Also in early morning drifting minnows off shallow points.
  
• Trout: Slow, trolling early in the day in 70 to 90 feet water with Sutton, Doctor and Apex spoons. Also try drifting large minnows and nightcrawlers early in the morning in 75 to 100 feet of water.
• Smallmouth Bass: Fair. Try drifting large minnows and brown hair jigs around rocky points and rocky banks.
• Crappie: Slow. Try small minnows and jigs around brush piles.
• Catfish: Fair, using nightcrawlers or cut bait on bottom.
• Bream: Good, using crickets and redworms around banks and brush.

Lake Keowee:

• Largemouth Bass: Good, casting Carolina-rigged worms, crankbaits and jerk baits to the banks around brush and using top-water plugs. Most productive time to catch fish is early morning and throughout daylight hours.
• Crappie: Fair, using small minnows and jigs in 10 to 15 feet of water around brush piles and bridge pilings.
• Catfish: Excellent, using jumbo minnows, nightcrawlers and cut bait on the bottom.
• Bream: Excellent, using redworms and crickets around brush piles and around stumps. Also, try fishing around bridge pilings.

Lake Hartwell:

• Largemouth Bass: Good, using spinnerbaits, bucktails and Roadrunners. Striped and Hybrid Bass: Fair, in lower end of lake with live herring, jigs and jerkbaits around 30-feet deep. Also casting to schools with Super Flukes.
• Crappie: Fair, using small and medium minnows along with small crappie jigs. Fish are being caught in 15 to 30 feet of water over structure.
• Catfish: Good, using cut herring, large shiners, nightcrawlers, shrimp and chicken livers on the bottom.
• Bream: Good, using redworms and crickets under boat docks and bridges.

Piedmont Area
Lake Russell:

• Largemouth Bass: Good, casting lizards, spinnerbaits Carolina-rigged worms, and buzzbaits.
• Yellow Perch: Fair, fishing medium minnows deep and jigging spoons.
• Striped and Hybrid Bass: Good, early morning with bucktails, cut and live herring and jigs especially when water is running below dam. Night fishing has been the most productive.
• White Bass: Fair, using bucktails, spinners and live bait below the dam.
• Crappie: Good, using minnows and jigs around brush piles and bridges.
• Catfish: Good, fishing cut bait on the bottom.
• Bream: Good, fishing with red wigglers and nightcrawlers.

Lake Thurmond:

• Largemouth Bass: Good, casting Carolina-rigged worms along shallow points and banks. Topwater plugs good late afternoon and early morning. Fish deep water at midday with and spoons and spinnerbaits.
• Striped Bass: Good, below Wylie dam using bucktails, jigs and spoons when water is running.
• White Bass: Fair, casting small spinners and jigs behind the dam.
• Crappie: Good, using jigs and minnows around piers about 10 to 15 feet of water.
• Catfish: Good, using nightcrawlers on the bottom.
• Bream: Good, fishing with crickets and worms from the bank.

Lake Wylie:

• Largemouth Bass: Good, casting Carolina-rigged worms along shallow points and banks. Topwater plugs good late afternoon and early morning. Fish deep water at midday with and spoons and spinnerbaits.
• Striped Bass: Good, below Wylie dam using bucktails, jigs and spoons when water is running.
• White Bass: Fair, casting small spinners and jigs behind the dam.
• Crappie: Good, using jigs and minnows around piers about 10 to 15 feet of water.
• Catfish: Good, using nightcrawlers on the bottom.
• Bream: Good, fishing with crickets and worms from the bank.

Midlands Area
Lake Greenwood:

• Largemouth Bass: Fair, casting topwater plugs, floating worms, jerkbaits, crankbaits and buzzbaits, around docks in 10 feet of water or less.
• Stripers: Good, using live bait, herring or shad 20 to 25 feet deep.
• White Perch: Good, use spinners and topwater plugs where fish are schooling.
• Crappie: Fair, using small to medium minnows and mini jigs over brush in 12 to 15 feet of water. Night fishing is the most productive.
• Catfish: Good, using cut bait and nightcrawlers on the bottom.
• Bream: Fair, using redworms and crickets along shore and docks. 

Lake Wateree:

• Largemouth Bass: Good, using buzzbaits and spinners in new grass along the banks.
• Striped bass: Good, casting Topwater lures and Zara Spooks. Fish with down-rods in about 12 to 14 feet of water with live bait.
• White Bass: Fair, using shad-like baits in state park area, increased schooling.
• Crappie: Good, down-rigging minnows and jigs trolling in creeks in about 11 feet of water.
• Catfish: Good, using live shad, small pieces of shrimp and cut bait close to bottom in 10 to 20 feet of water and deeper down the lake. Night fishing has been productive along underwater bars off points.
• Bream: Excellent, using crickets and redworms.

Lake Murray:

• Largemouth Bass: Good, fishing Flukes off of points and using top-water lures early in the morning and floating worms and jerk baits along banks. Try short  Carolina-rigged worms midday around stumps and other structure in 8 to 20 feet of water. A 9-lb. bass was caught on floating worm in shallow water, 2 to 4 ft.
• Striped Bass: Good, using live bait on downrods and free-lining at depths of 40 to 70 feet. Fish are schooling very early, around daybreak, with good catches on top-water plugs, like pencil poppers and striper delights.
• Crappie: Fair, using jigs and small tuffies trolling the creek runs and in the upper part of the lake around the confluence of the little and big Saluda rivers. Try medium minnows fishing brush piles at depths of 10 to 20 feet.
• White Perch: Good, jigging Flex-it spoons and casting little cleos.
• Catfish: Fair, using cut herring and nightcrawlers on bottom.
• Bream: Fair. Try fishing redworms, baby nightcrawlers and crickets in 3 to 15 feet of water.
• Shellcrackers: Fair, using redworms and baby nightcrawlers in 6 to 20 feet of water. 

Santee Cooper System            
Lake Marion:

• Largemouth Bass: Fair, casting topwater lures, lizards and worms early morning and late afternoon.
• Striped Bass: Good, casting bucktails to schooling fish or fishing live small blueback herring or shiners 14 to 15 feet deep. Good catches reported where schooling.
• White Perch: Fair, jigging off the bottom with Hopkins spoons.
• Crappie: Fair, Try using small and medium minnows over deep brush piles, bridge pilings and piers.
• Catfish: Excellent, fishing with cut bait off the bottom.
• Bream and Shellcrackers: Excellent, using crickets, red-worms and nightcrawlers.
  

Lake Moultrie:

• Largemouth Bass: Fair, using topwater lures and plastic worms in shallows near Hatchery Area early and late afternoon.
• Striped Bass: Good, using live herring and trolling Stretch 25s between Navy Point and Bonneau. Also jigging with Flex-it spoons 35 to 40 feet deep.
• Crappie: Slow. Try minnows around fish attraction areas.
• Catfish: Good, using cut bait, shiners and nightcrawlers along dike edges 15 to 40 feet deep and near Power Plant. Good catches anytime of the day.
• Bream: Excellent, using crickets, redworms, and small minnows, around manmade fish attractors and around the dam.
• Shellcrackers: Fair, try redworms and green worms along the banks along river runs 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