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

July 10, 2006

Freshwater Fishing Trends

Mountains Area

Lake Jocassee: Fair, slow retrieves with plastic worms, casting Carolina-rigged worms, topwater lures and spinnerbaits. Trout: Fair, trolling with Apex lures, Sutton spoons and Yozuri baits from 40 to 60 feet deep. Night fishing producing good catches of trout in depths of 50 feet and up. Smallmouth Bass, Fair, drifting live bait or brown hair jigs on rocky points and rocky banks. Crappie: Fair, try small minnows and jigs around brush piles. Catfish: Good, using nightcrawlers or cut bait on bottom at night. Bream: Excellent, using popping bugs and crickets around banks and brush.

Lake Keowee: Largemouth Bass: Excellent, using topwater lures like buzzbaits, floating worms and Carolina-rigged worms in 15 to 25 feet of water in the mouths of creeks and off rocky points. Also try fishing topwater lures in the early morning hours. Striped and Hybrid Bass: try live and cut herring and jumbo minnows. Crappie: Good, using small minnows and jigs in 10 to 15 feet of water around brush piles and bridge pilings. Fish are moving into deeper water. Also try night fishing around bridge pilings using lanterns. Catfish: Good, using jumbo minnows, nightcrawlers and cut bait on the bottom. Recent catches of 20-pound fish have been reported. Bream: Good, using redworms and crickets around brush piles and around stumps. Limits reported caught. Water temperature 80 degrees and clear.

Lake Hartwell: Largemouth Bass: Good, using 5 to 6-inch lizards, crankbaits, spinnerbaits and topwater lures. Striped and Hybrid Bass: Good, try cut herring and large minnows using down-rods all over the lake. Some activity trolling in deep water with bucktails and flukes using lead core line in 30 feet of water. Crappie: Fair, using small minnows, grubs and small jigs. Fish are moving into deeper water. Catfish: Good, using cut herring, nightcrawlers and chicken livers on the bottom. Bream: Excellent, using redworms and crickets around brush piles.

Lake Russell: Largemouth Bass: Good, casting shallow crankbaits along rocky points and in the back of creeks. Yellow Perch: Fair, fishing minnows deep. Striped and Hybrid Bass: Good, night fishing productive using bucktails, cut and live herring and jigs especially when water is running below dam. White Bass: Fair, using bucktails, spinners and live bait below dam. Crappie: Fair, using minnows and jigs around brush piles and bridges. Also try fishing jigs along banks with cover. Catfish: Good, using cut bait and nightcrawlers on the bottom. Bream: Good, using red wigglers, pinks, crickets and nightcrawlers.

Lake Thurmond: Largemouth Bass: Good, casting plastic worms. Also try Little Cleos and spinnerbaits. Striped and Hybrid Bass: Good, using Cleos, Berry Spoons and KastMasters. Also try live and cut herring. Crappie: Good, using small minnows and jigs around brush tops. Catfish: Good, using cut bait and nightcrawlers around bridges and rocky points. Shellcracker: Good, try redworms on the bottom. Bream: Good, using crickets and redworms around the banks.

Lake Wylie: Largemouth Bass: Good, casting plastic lizards, floating worms and topwater lures in the back of creeks. Striped and Hybrid Bass: Good, using spoons and bucktails. Crappie: Good, using small minnows and chartreuse jigs around rip-rap and brush tops. Crappie are moving into deeper water. Night fishing for crappie has been productive in the last week. Catfish: Good, using nightcrawlers on the bottom. Shellcracker: Excellent, using redworms and crickets on the bottom. Bream: Excellent, using earthworms, redworms and crickets around the banks.

Lake Greenwood: Largemouth Bass: Fair, casting floating worms, topwater plugs and plastic worms in shallow water around docks and structure. Also try plastic worms off rocky points with a slow retrieve, bumping the bottom. Stripers: Good, behind the dam using Bombers, Charlie plugs and bucktails. White Bass and White Perch: Good. The most productive way to catch these fish is casting a popping cork , trailing it with 18 inches of leader with a medium size popping bug tied on to the leader. Crappie: Good, using small to medium minnows and mini jigs over brush in 12 to 15 feet of water. Night fishing is the most productive time to catch crappie. Catfish: Excellent, using cut bait and nightcrawlers on the bottom. Bream: Good, using redworms and crickets along shore and docks. Limits reported caught.

Midlands Area

Lake Wateree: Largemouth Bass: Excellent, using buzzbaits, crankbaits, Carolina rigged worms and spinnerbaits. Fish have moved into deep water in shady areas. Striped Bass: Good, using live shad with down-rods in 15 to 25 feet of water. White Bass: Slow, try shad-like baits in river channel drops. Crappie: Good, try Wow grubs and Slider worms using 1/8 ounce heads in various colors in all major feeder creeks in 10 to 12 feet of water and deeper. Catfish: Good, using live shad and cut bait close to bottom in 10 to 20 feet of water and deeper down the lake. Also try Cedar Creek dam area. Bream: Excellent, using crickets and redworms.
 
Lake Murray: Largemouth Bass: Excellent, 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 on the bottom and down-rods in 25 to 30 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, casting beetle spins in white with red dot colors and yellow with black stripes. Also try fishing redworms and crickets in 1 to 10 feet of water. Shellcrackers: Good, using redworms and blue worms in 1 to 10 feet of water.

Santee Cooper System

Lake Marion: Largemouth Bass: Good, using artificial worms, topwater lures, crankbaits and spinnerbaits fishing along the banks and point. Striped Bass: Fair, using shad and live or cut herring. Free-lining live shiners has also been productive. White Perch: Slow. Try jigging off the bottom with Hopkins spoons. Crappie: Good, using small and medium minnows around deep brush piles and piers. Try fishing at night. Catfish: Excellent, fishing with live herring and cut shad off the bottom in deep and slow water. Bream and Shellcrackers: Good, using crickets, redworms, wigglers and nightcrawlers in 1 to 10 feet of water.

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