SCDNR News Release

Archived Article - please check for current information.

Aug 28 , 2006

Freshwater Fishing Trends

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

Mountains Area
Lake Jocassee:

Largemouth Bass: Fair, casting crankbaits and Carolina-rigged green or red worms up the rivers. Topwater night fishing should produce around points and secondary points.
Trout: Fair, fishing early morning and at night around intake towers using cut bait or minnows 70 to 80 feet deep.
Smallmouth Bass: Fair. Casting Yozuri plugs deep and drifting minnows around rocky points.
Crappie: Poor. Try small minnows and jigs around brush piles. Catfish: Good. Try nightcrawlers or cut bait on bottom.
Bream: Excellent, fishing with redworms and popping bugs around banks and brush. Bream fishing has improved.

Lake Keowee:

Largemouth Bass: Good, casting Carolina-rigged worms, crankbaits and jerk baits to the banks around brush. Most productive time to catch fish is early morning and at night.
Crappie: Fair, using small minnows and jigs in 20 to 25 feet of water around brush piles and bridge pilings.
Catfish: Good, using minnows, nightcrawlers and cut bait on the bottom.
Bream: Good, using redworms and crickets around brush piles, stumps and bridge pilings.

Lake Hartwell:

Largemouth Bass: Good, crankbaits, topwater lures and flukes fishing off points. Best catches reported at dawn and dusk.
Striped and Hybrid Bass: Good, using live herring with down-rods in deep water around river channels 15 to 30 feet deep.
Crappie: Poor, some catches at 25 feet with minnows.
Catfish: Good, using cut herring, large shiners, nightcrawlers, shrimp and chicken livers on the bottom.
Bream: Good. Try using redworms and crickets under boat docks and bridges.

Piedmont Area
Lake Russell:

Largemouth Bass: Fair, try shallow creeks, flats, and rocky points with medium-running crankbaits and plastic worms. Better at night.
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: Good, using bucktails, spinners and live bait below dam.
Crappie: Fair, using minnows and jigs around brush piles and bridge pilings at 5 to 7 feet.
Catfish: Good, using cut bait and nightcrawlers on the bottom and around the riprap at bridges.
Bream: Good. Try using crickets and earthworms around bridge pilings and structure.

Lake Thurmond:

Largemouth Bass: Good, casting plastic worms. Also, try Little Cleos, spinnerbaits and top water plugs. Good catches with deep-running Rebels and ShadRaps.
Striped and Hybrid Bass: Good, using Cleos, Berry Spoons, 1/2 ounce yellow and white RoadRunners with bucktails and KastMasters. Good catches around the dam in 30 - 50 feet of water. Also, try large minnows and live herring.
Crappie: Fair, mostly using small minnows and greenish mini-jigs and Wobbly-eye jigs around deep brush tops.
Catfish: Good, using cut bait and nightcrawlers fishing on the bottom, particularly around structures like riprap and bridge pilings.
Bream and Shellcrackers: Good, using earthworms and crickets around banks and brush.

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 bucktails and spoons.
Crappie: Good, using small minnows and jigs around docks, piers and brush tops in 15 to 20 of water.
Catfish: Good, fishing on the bottom with a variety of baits.
Shellcrackers: Good, using redworms and crickets on the bottom.
Bream: Good, using earthworms and crickets around the banks.

Midlands Area
Lake Greenwood:

Largemouth Bass: Good, using plastic worms and lizards around points and in brush piles in 8 to 12 feet of water. Floating worms and topwater lures early in the morning are producing some fish along banks.
Stripers: Good, behind the dam using Bombers, Charlie plugs, and Flukes.
Crappie: Good, using small to medium minnows, mini jigs and slider jigs around brush in 15 to 20 feet of water. Good catches below the dam using minnows.
Catfish: Good. Try using redworms in 6 to 8 feet of water.
Bream: Excellent, with redworms and crickets along shoreline structure and docks in 4 to 6 feet of water.

Lake Wateree:

Largemouth Bass: Good, casting to the bank with deep-running crankbaits and plastic. A few bass have been caught on buzzbaits late in the afternoon.
Striped Bass: Fair, using cut bait in the lower end of the lake, 40 to 50 feet of water, near the dam.
White Bass: Slow: Try shad-like baits off points and around Cedar Creek dam.
Crappie: Good, in river channels and creek mouths trolling Wow grubs, Sliders, Kalin's grubs. Also jigging around brush piles.
Catfish: Good, using earthworms, nightcrawlers, shrimp, small pieces of cut bait and live shad.
Bream and Shellcrackers: Good, using crickets, worms and artificial lures fished around piers, structure and brush.

Lake Murray:

Largemouth Bass: Fair, using topwater lures early in the morning and floating worms, jerk baits and buzz baits along the banks. Try fishing Texas-rigged and Carolina-rigged worms midday around stumps and rocky points.
Striped Bass: Good, using downrods and free lining live and cut herring at depths of 50 to 60 feet. Fish are schooling very early, daylight, good catches with topwater plugs, pencil poppers and striper delights.
Crappie: Good, using jigs and small tuffies trolling in creek runs and medium minnows fishing brush piles at depths of 10 to 20 feet.
White Perch: Good, jigging Flex-it spoons and fishing red worms in 15 to 20 feet of water.
Catfish: Excellent, using cut herring and nightcrawlers on bottom.
Bream: Good. Try fishing redworms, baby night crawlers and crickets in 6 to 20 feet of water. Also casting beetle spins in colors white with red dots and yellow with black stripes.
Shellcrackers: Fair, using redworms and blue worms in 6 to 20 feet of water.
Lake Murray water temperature is 84-degrees.

Santee Cooper System
Lake Marion:

Largemouth Bass: Fair, using artificial worms, and topwater Rebels fishing along the banks and point early in the morning.
Striped Bass: Fair, using shad and live herring with down rods in 25 feet of water.
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: Excellent, using cut shad, herring and live shiners off bottom in deep water and at night in shallow water.
Bream and Shellcrackers: Excellent, using redworms and crickets in 4 to 6 feet of water and fishing shallow in river channel.

Lake Moultrie:

Largemouth Bass: Good, casting, spinnerbaits, plastic worms and lizards along docks and structure.
Striped Bass: Good, Jigging and with down-rods in 30 feet of water with live herring near the powerhouse. Night fishing has been the most productive.
Crappie: Slow, using crickets and small to medium minnows around fish attraction areas and brush piles.
Catfish: Excellent, shallow 9 to 15 feet using cut herring, stink bait, chicken livers and shiners 9 to 20 feet deep near the bottom along dike edges and around the dam.
Bream: Good, using crickets and redworms, nightcrawlers around fish attraction areas and banks.
Shellcrackers: Poor, using crickets and redworms along the banks in river runs and along 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

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

Aug 28 , 2006

Freshwater Fishing Trends

Archived Article - please check for current information.