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

March 27, 2006

Freshwater Fishing Trends

Mountains Area
Lake Jocassee: Largemouth Bass: Good with vertical jigging with plastic worms 10-30 feet deep and trolling crankbaits. Trout: Good, trolling from 60 feet to surface with Doctor, Sutton, Bad Creek, Lucky Jak’s spoons or drifting with large minnows 30 to 60 feet. Smallmouth Bass: Fair to good, drifting large minnows along red clay and rocky points. Crappie: Slow. Try using small minnows. Catfish: Fair, using night crawlers or cut bait on bottom. Bream: Slow. Try worms or crickets.

Lake Keowee: Largemouth Bass: Good, casting crankbaits and spinnerbaits. Crappie: Excellent. Try small minnows and jigs in 5 to 10 feet of water around brush piles and bridge pilings. Catfish: Fair. Try using nightcrawlers and cut bait on bottom. Bream: Fair. Try using red worms around brush piles.

Lake Hartwell: Largemouth Bass: Good, casting super flukes or floating worms up in the creeks. Striped and Hybrid Bass: Good, free-lining live blueback herring up in the creeks. Crappie: Fair, using medium minnows in about 10 feet of water. Catfish: Good, using cut herring in 2 to 3 feet of water. Bream: Slow. Try earthworms deep around brush.

Piedmont Area
Lake Russell: Largemouth Bass: Good casting jerk baits, crankbaits, worms, lizards and spinnerbaits. Yellow Perch: Fair. Try fishing minnows deep. Striped and Hybrid Bass: Fair, using umbrella rigs and live herring with down-rods in deep water around river channels 15 to 20 feet deep. White Bass: Poor. Try bucktails, spinners and live bait below dam. Crappie: Fair. Try using minnows and jigs around brush piles and bridges. Catfish: Fair, using cut bait on the bottom. Bream: Slow. Try fishing deep with earthworms.

Lake Thurmond: Largemouth Bass: Good, try shallow creeks with medium running crankbaits and plastic worms. Also try deep-running plugs. Striped and Hybrid Bass: Good using jigs and Cleos. Crappie: Excellent, around docks using jigs and minnows. Catfish: Fair, using worms on the bottom. Bream: Fair, using earthworms around the banks.

Lake Wylie: Largemouth Bass: Good, casting bass jigs and medium running crankbaits. White Bass: Good, casting small spinners and jigs. Crappie: Excellent, using jigs and minnows 3-20 feet deep over brush. Catfish: Good, using nightcrawlers on the bottom. Shellcrackers: Fair. Try using redworms and crickets on the bottom. Bream: Fair. Try red worms near the bottom. Also try nightcrawlers.

Midlands Area
Lake Greenwood: Largemouth Bass: Excellent, casting crankbaits to the banks. Stripers: Good, using live bait, herring or shad 15 to 20 feet deep. White Perch: Good, using berryspoons in 12 to 15 week of water. Look for diving birds. Crappie: Excellent, using minnows, small jigs in 2 to 6 feet of water. Catfish: Good, using cut bait and worms on the bottom. Bream: Improving. Try using cricket and redworms along shore and brush piles.

Lake Wateree: Largemouth Bass: Good, casting spinnerbaits in the backs of creeks in bushes, while water is high. Striped bass: Good, using live bait in the river channel fishing 15 feet deep in upper half of lake. White Bass: Slow: Try shad-like baits off points. Crappie: Fair, using live bait 13 to 15 feet deep right off the bottom along the river channel and slow trolling Wow jigs deep at edge of old river bed. Catfish: Good, live shad, minnows or worms in the creeks. Bream: Slow. Try crickets and worms deep.

Lake Murray: Largemouth Bass: Good, casting small crankbaits, jigs and Carolina and Texas rig worms along the banks and around docks. Striped Bass: Good, try dragging free lines along banks also using topwater plugs and drifting shiners. Crappie: Good, using jigs and small tuffies around bridge pilings and brush piles. White Perch: Good, using live minnows near the bottom. Catfish: Good using cut herring and nightcrawlers on the bottom. Bream: Fair. Try fishing worms and crickets deep.

Santee Cooper System
Lake Marion: Largemouth Bass: Fair. Try using topwater lures. Striped Bass: Fair. Try casting bucktails to schooling fish or fishing live small blueback herring, shad or shiners. White Perch: Slow. Try jigging off the bottom with Hopkins spoons. Crappie: Good, using small and medium minnows over deep brush piles, bridge pilings and piers. Catfish: Good, using cut shad off the bottom in deep water. Bream and Shellcrackers: Fair. Try red-worms, wigglers and nightcrawlers.

Lake Moultrie: Largemouth Bass: Good, using plastic worms and crankbaits in shallow water in coves 2-4 feet deep. Striped Bass: Fair. Try trolling lures or fishing live herring if available. Crappie: Slow. Try minnows around fish attraction areas. Catfish: Good, using cut bait 20 to 35 deep. Bream: Fair. Try using crickets, redworms, and small minnows, around manmade fish attractors. Shellcrackers: Slow, try redworms 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.

- Written by Brett Witt -

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