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

December 19, 2005

Freshwater fishing trends

Mountains area
Lake Jocassee: Largemouth Bass: Good, casting Carolina-rigged worms in morning and late evening. Trout: Good, try drifting large minnows from surface to 80 to 100 feet and trolling with minnows. Fish at 80 to 115 feet with nightcrawlers and at 100 to 115 feet with Sutton, Doctor and Apex spoons. Smallmouth Bass: Fair. Try drifting large minnows and brown hair jigs around rocky points and rocky banks. Crappie: Slow. Try small minnows and jigs around brush piles. Catfish: Fair, using nightcrawlers or cut bait on bottom. Bream: Fair, using redworms around banks and brush.
Lake Keowee: Largemouth and Spotted Bass: Fair, try doodling with drop-shot rigs in 30 to 40 feet of water and using jigging spoons. Crappie: Fair. Try small minnows and jigs in 10 to 15 feet of water around brush piles and bridge pilings. Catfish: Good, using minnows, nightcrawlers and cut bait on the bottom. Bream: Slow. Try using redworms and crickets around brush piles, around stumps and around bridge pilings.
Lake Hartwell: Largemouth Bass: Fair to Good. Try casting crankbaits off points, and jigs around structure. Striped and Hybrid Bass: Good, using live herring or large shiners with down-rods in deep water around river channels. Crappie: Good. Try using small and medium minnows along with small crappie jigs in 15 to 20 of water over brush and structure. Catfish: Good, using cut herring, large shiners, nightcrawlers, shrimp and chicken livers on the bottom. Bream: Slow. Try using redworms and crickets under boat docks and bridges.

Piedmont area
Lake Russell: Largemouth Bass: Slow. Try channels and deep creeks using jigging spoons and deep-running crank baits. Also, try plastic worms along grass banks. Yellow Perch: Good. Try fishing deep with medium minnows and jigging spoons. Striped and Hybrid Bass: Good, early morning with bucktails, cut, live herring and jigs especially when water is running below dam. White Bass: Very Good, using bucktails, spinners and live bait below dam. Crappie: Excellent, using minnows and jigs around brush piles and bridge pilings in 14 to 15 feet of water. Also try fishing jigs along banks with cover. Catfish: Good, using cut bait and nightcrawlers on the bottom. Bream: Slow. Try using crickets and earthworms around bridge pilings.
Lake Thurmond: Largemouth Bass: Fair, casting deep-running Rebels, ShadRaps, plastic worms, CountDown lures. Striped and Hybrid Bass: Good, using Little Cleos, Berry Spoons, 1/2 ounce yellow and white RoadRunners with bucktails and KastMasters around the dam in 30 to 50 feet of water. Also, try large minnows and live herring. Crappie: Good, using small minnows and jigs around deep brush tops. Limits are being caught. Catfish: Good, using cut bait and nightcrawlers fishing on the bottom. Bream and Shellcrackers: Slow. Try using earthworms in 5 to 10 feet of water around brush-tops.
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: Excellent, below the dam casting smaller bucktails and spoons, improved. Crappie: Good, using small minnows and jigs around brush tops in 12 to 20 feet of water. Catfish: Good, fishing on the bottom with a variety of baits. Shellcrackers: Try using redworms and crickets on the bottom. Bream: Slow. Try using earthworms and crickets around the banks.

Midlands area
Lake Greenwood: Largemouth Bass: Fair. Try spinnerbaits, jigs, plastic worms and lizards around points and brush piles in 8 to 12 feet of water. Stripers: Good, behind the dam using Bombers, Charlie plugs, and Flukes. White Bass and White Perch: Good: Schools are scattered. Good results with Berry Spoons in 10 to 12 feet of water. Crappie: Good, using small to medium minnows and mini jigs over brush in 12 to 15 feet of water. Good catches of crappie along brush and bushes on the Reedy River. Catfish: Good, using redworms with a standard hook, line, sinker and cork in 6 to 8 feet of water. Bream: Fair, with redworms and crickets along shoreline structure and docks in 6 to 12 feet of water.
Lake Wateree: Largemouth Bass: Good, best caught with shad-like lures on points. Striped Bass: Good. Some schooling activity early morning and late afternoon. Fish 12 feet deep with live shad. White Bass: Slow. White Perch: Good, casting and jigging Twister-tail grubs and live minnows. Crappie: Excellent, best fishing with jigging around brush piles. Also in shallow water in the creeks, along edge old river channel and trolling Wow grubs, Sliders and live bait. Catfish: Good, using earthworms, nightcrawlers, shrimp, small pieces of cut bait and live shad. Bream and Shellcrackers: Slow, using crickets, worms and artificial lures fished around piers, structure and brush.
Lake Murray: Largemouth Bass: Fair, best fishing early in shallow water and late in deep water and some topwater schooling. Striped Bass: Good, schooling underway with best fishing from Shull Island up the lake. Try dragging free lines along banks. Early fishing is best with free lines and down fishing to 30 feet. Fishing with freelining live bait, Striper Delights. Casting bucktails with ice fly. Crappie: Good, using minnows and jigs around brush piles in 8 to 20 feet of water and casting toughie minnows and jigs. White Perch: Good, jigging with small spoons in 8 to 35 feet and using worms. Catfish: Excellent - Good, in creek runs 40 -44 feet deep using cut herring and nightcrawlers on the bottom. Bream: Slow. Try fishing redworms and crickets around grass wall and docks with brush. Try Beetlespins, white with red dot, when live bait does not produce. Shellcrackers: Fair, using redworms and baby nightcrawlers in 6 to 20 feet of water off points.

Santee Cooper system
Lake Marion: Largemouth Bass: Good, using artificial worms, and bucktails fishing along the banks and point early in the morning. Striped Bass: Excellent, using live shiner with down rods in 25 feet of water. White Perch: Slow, Try jigging off the bottom with Hopkins spoons. Crappie: Good, Try using small and medium minnows over deep brush piles, bridge pilings and piers. Catfish: Excellent, use live shiners, cut shad, and herring off bottom drifting in deep water and at night in shallow water. Bream and Shellcrackers: Good, using redworms, crickets and waxworms in 4 to 6 feet of water and fishing shallow.
Lake Moultrie: Largemouth Bass: Fair, cast spinnerbaits, plastic worms and lizards along docks and structure. Also cast Rattletraps and Rapala lures around Pinopolis Point and Old Hatchery. Striped Bass: Fair, casting and trolling. Crappie: Good, using small to medium minnows and Beetlespins around fish attraction areas and brush piles. Catfish: Good, using cut shad, herring, menhaden, mullet, live large shiners and nightcrawlers 35 to 50 feet deep on bottom. Bream: Fair. Try using crickets, redworms, and small minnows, around manmade fish attractors, crappie beds and around the dam around grates at powerhouse. Shellcrackers: Slow, try redworms and green worms 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 fishing regulations: http://www.dnr.sc.gov/regs/pdf/freshfishing.pdf