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

June 19, 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: Slow. Try small minnows and jigs. Catfish: Good, using nightcrawlers or frozen herring at night. Bream: Good, using crickets and dug worms, popping bugs around banks and brush, some bedding.

Lake Keowee: Largemouth Bass: Good, casting Carolina-rigged worms, crankbaits and jerkbaits to the banks around brush.  Crappie: Excellent. Try small minnows and jigs in 5 to 10 feet of water around brush piles and bridge pilings. Catfish: Good, using nightcrawlers and cut bait on the bottom. Bream: Fair. Try using worms and crickets in sandy pockets.

Lake Hartwell: Largemouth Bass: Good, casting topwater lures over humps and points. Striped and Hybrid Bass: Good, casting to schools with Super Flukes over humps and points. Crappie: Good, using small and medium minnows around bridge pilings and brush piles. Catfish: Good, using nightcrawlers and cut bait on the bottom. Bream: Good, using 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, Rebels and Rapalas. 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 bass jigs and medium-running crankbaits along points close to the bottom. Striped Bass: Good, using spoons and bucktails behind Lake Wylie dam. 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 worms in brush piles. Stripers: Good, behind the dam using Bombers, Charlie plugs, and flukes. White Perch: Good, using berryspoons in 12 to 15 feet of water. Also some schooling activity reported. Crappie: Fair, using minnows and mini jigs over brush in 15 to 20 feet of water. Catfish: Good, using cut bait and worms on the bottom. Bream: Excellent, using crickets and worms along shore and docks and fishing from banks.

Lake Wateree: Largemouth Bass: Fair. Try casting worms and crankbaits on structure in deeper water. Striped bass: Excellent, casting shad-like topwater lures and chuggers. White Bass: Fair, using shad-like baits in state park area. Crappie: Fair. Try using minnows and jigs, fishing deep brush. Catfish: Good, using live shad in 3 to 5 feet of water. Bream: Good, using crickets and worms around mayfly hatches. Shellcrackers: Fair. Try using crickets and worms.

Lake Murray: Largemouth Bass: Fair, casting topwater baits and Carolina-rigged worms early. Striped Bass: Good, using live herring on down-rods 30 -60 feet deep and some free-lining. Schooling early morning. Crappie: Slow. Try jigs and minnows in10 feet and deeper around bridge pilings. White Perch: Fair, jigging small tuffies, worms or spoons in 20 to 60 feet. Catfish: Great, using cut herring and nightcrawlers 5 to 15 feet deep. Bream: Good, using crickets and worms 6 to 8 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. Try using medium minnows around deep brush piles. Catfish: Good, fishing with cut bait off the bottom. Bream and Shellcracker: Good, using crickets and small minnows.

Lake Moultrie: Largemouth Bass: Slow. Try topwater lures and plastic worms early and late. Striped Bass: Fair, using topwater lures in early morning along the east dike. Crappie: Slow. Try minnows around fish attraction areas. Catfish: Good, using cut bait, chicken livers and nightcrawlers along dike edges 18 to 20 feet deep and near power plant. Bream & Shellcracker: Good, using crickets around public fish attractors.

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