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

July 17, 2006

Freshwater Fishing Trends

Mountains Area

Lake Jocassee:Largemouth Bass: Fair, casting crankbaits and Carolina-rigged green or red worms up rivers. Topwater night fishing is producing around points. Trout: Good, early morning and night around intake towers using cut bait or minnows 30 to 60 feet deep. Also trolling with medium-sized Sutton and Doctor spoons in early morning. Smallmouth Bass: Fair, casting jigs or smaller plastic worms or grubs on rocky points and rocky banks. Crappie: Slow, try using small minnows and jigs. Catfish: Fair, using nightcrawlers or chicken livers or cut bait on bottom, Night fishing has produced results. Bream: Excellent, using crickets, popping bugs and dug worms around banks and brush.

Lake Keowee: Largemouth Bass: Good, using Zara Spooks early in the morning, also using Carolina-rigged worms on the points. Spotted Bass: Good, night fishing for largemouth. Crappie: Fair, using minnows under bridges at night. Catfish: Good, using nightcrawlers and cut bait on bottom. Bream: Fair, using worms and crickets near shallow brush piles and stumps.

Lake Hartwell: Largemouth Bass: Good, casting topwater lures on points early and Carolina-rigging green pumpkin worms mid-day. Striped and Hybrid Bass: Good, fishing with live herring in lower end of lake around 30-feet deep. Casting to schools with Super Flukes. Crappie: Good, using minnows around bridges, docks and brush piles. Catfish: Good, using cut herring and live green worms on bottom in shallow coves. Bream: Good, using crickets around brush piles.

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

Lake Thurmond: Largemouth Bass: Good, casting plastic worms in necks early morning and around points late afternoon. Striped and Hybrid Bass: Good, fishing with large minnows and cut bait. Trolling with deep-running Rapalas and Rebels. Crappie: Good, using minnows around bridges, piers and brush tops. Catfish: Good, using worms and cut bait along banks. Bream: Good, using crickets, worms and popping bugs.

Lake Wylie: Largemouth Bass: Good, jigging Hopkins spoons during the day in deep waters. In the evening, try 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.

Lake Greenwood: Largemouth Bass: Good, casting topwater worms, plugs and buzzbaits around docks. Striped Bass: Good, catches being made in the lake early in the morning by the dam, preferably using blue herring but also shad. White Perch: Good, fishing deep with Berry spoons and Panther Martins. Crappie: Fair, try fishing in 25 feet of water using minnows and mini jigs. Catfish: Good, using cut bait and worms on the bottom. Bream: Good, using crickets and worms along shore and docks and fishing from banks.

Midlands Area

Lake Wateree: Largemouth Bass: Fair, casting worms and crankbaits on structure in deeper water. Striped bass: Good, schooling on the lower end of the lake, early and late in the day, using top water chuggers, live shad when the fish go deeper. White Bass: Fair, use small shad-like lures. Crappie: Slow, try fishing over deep brush piles using minnows and jigs. Catfish: Good, using worms, shad and cut bait in deeper dropoffs, 10 to 15 feet of water. Bream: Fair. A few bream are bedding now, catch them on crickets and worms and artificial bait that looks like mayflies. Shellcrackers: Slow. Try crickets and worms.

Lake Murray: Largemouth Bass: Good, using topwater lures early in the morning and floating worms, jerkbaits and buzzbaits along the banks. Try fishing Texas rigged and Carolina rigged worms midday around stumps and rocky points. Striped Bass: Good, try cut herring in 60 to 80 feet of water. Crappie: Good, using jigs and small tuffies trolling in creek runs and fishing brush piles in 10 to 20 foot of water. White Perch: Good, jigging Flex-it spoons and redworms in 15 to 20 feet of water. Catfish: Excellent, using cut herring and nightcrawlers on bottom. Bream: Excellent. Try fishing redworms and crickets in 1 to 10 feet of water. Also casting beetle spins in white with red dot colors and yellow with black stripes and crickets. Shellcrackers: Fair, using redworms and blue worms 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: Slow. Try medium minnows around deep brush piles. Catfish: Good, fishing with cut bait off the bottom. Bream and Shellcracker: Good, using crickets in early evening.

Lake Moultrie: Largemouth Bass: Fair, casting spinnerbaits, plastic worms and lizards along docks and structure. Striped Bass: Good, fishing live herring 30 to 40 feet deep using down-rods. Some schooling activity on the lake reported. Night fishing has been the most productive. Crappie: Slow. Try small to medium sized minnows around fish attraction areas. Catfish: Good, using cut shad, herring, menhaden, live large shiners and nightcrawlers 40 to 50 feet deep. Night fishing has been the most productive. Bream: Excellent, using crickets, green worms and redworms around public fish attractors. Fish are in 8 to 25 feet of water on beds. 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