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

May 22, 2006

Freshwater Fishing Trends

Mountains Area
Lake Jocassee: Largemouth Bass: Good, casting crankbaits and dark green plastic worms up rivers. Trout: Good, fishing nightcrawlers and minnows 40 to 55 feet deep or trolling with Sutton or Doctor spoons early in morning. Good, at night using large minnows and cut bait. 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 around banks and brush.

Lake Keowee: Largemouth Bass: Good, casting to schools in early morning with soft jerkbaits like Super Flukes. 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 pocket 4 to 5 feet deep.

Lake Hartwell: Largemouth Bass: Good, casting topwater lures on humps and points. Striped and Hybrid Bass: Good, casting to schools with Super Flukes humps and points.  Crappie: Good, using medium and small minnows in about 10 feet of water. Catfish: Good, using cut herring on the bottom. Bream: Excellent, using crickets and worms 5 to 8 feet deep.

Piedmont Area
Lake Russell: Largemouth Bass: Fair casting Carolina-rigged worms and lizards. Yellow Perch: Fair. Try fishing minnows deep. Striped and Hybrid Bass: Good. Try using 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, crankbaits to the banks. Striped and Hybrid Bass: Good, casting jigs and trolling and fishing big minnows. Crappie: Excellent, around docks using jigs and minnows. Catfish: Good, using worms on the bottom. Bream: Fair. Try crickets and worms 3 to 8 feet deep around brush.

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. Crappie: Good, using jigs and minnows around piers about 10 to 15 feet deep. Catfish: Good, using nightcrawlers on the bottom. Shellcrackers: Fair. Try using redworms and crickets on the bottom. Bream: Good, using earthworms and crickets around the banks.

Midlands Area
Lake Greenwood: Largemouth Bass: Good, casting topwater worms, plugs and buzzbaits. Striped Bass: Good, casting flukes and topwater plugs behind the dam. White Perch: Good, using berryspoons in 12 to 15 feet of water. Also some schooling activity reported. Crappie: Fair. Try using minnows and mini jigs over brush in deeper water. Catfish: Good, using cut bait and worms on the bottom. Bream: Good, using crickets and worms along shore and docks and fishing from banks.

Lake Wateree: Largemouth Bass: Fair. Try casting spinnerbaits worms and crankbaits on structure in deeper water. Striped bass: Excellent, using bucktails, cut bait and live shad fish moving downriver from Cedar Creek dam. White Bass: Good, using small live shad and jigs. Crappie: Excellent, using minnows and grubs around piers and in shallows, also trolling and drifting with jigs. Catfish: Good, using live minnows or worms in the creeks. Bream: Fair, using crickets and earthworms in warmer areas of coves.

Lake Murray: Largemouth Bass: Excellent, using spinnerbaits, number 5 or 7 Shad Raps or Carolina-rigged worms around rocky points and grass. Striped Bass: Good, try drifting shiners in 6 to 8 feet of water. Crappie: Fair, using jigs and minnows in 20 feet of water 12-15 feet deep. White Perch: Fair, jigging small tuffies, worms or spoons 20 to 60 feet. Catfish: Good using cut herring and nightcrawlers on the bottom. Bream: Good, using crickets and worms shallow around docks and bushes.

Santee Cooper System
Lake Marion: Largemouth Bass: Slow. Try lizards and worms in the shallows. Striped Bass: Slow. Try casting bucktails to fish schooling in creeks or cut bait off the bottom. White Perch: Slow. Try jigging off the bottom with Hopkins spoons. Crappie: Fair, using medium minnows around deep brush piles ledges. Catfish: Good, using cut shad in the shallows. Bream and Shellcrackers: Excellent, using crickets, red worms, wigglers and nightcrawlers.

Lake Moultrie: Largemouth Bass: Fair. Try topwater lures and plastic worms early and late. Striped Bass: Fair, using live herring from anchor and casting light spoons to schooling fish. Crappie: Fair. 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: Fair. Try using crickets around fish attraction areas.

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