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

June 5, 2006

Freshwater Fishing Trends

Mountains Area
Lake Jocassee: Largemouth Bass: Good, casting crankbaits and dark green plastic worms up rivers. Topwater nightfishing should produce off points and secondary points. Trout: Good, fishing early morning around intake towers using cut bait or minnow 45 to 55 feet. 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 and dug worms, popping bugs around banks and brush, some bedding.

Lake Keowee: Largemouth Bass: Good, with topwater baits and soft jerkbaits early in the morning. Later in day using Carolina rigged worms on points 20 to 25 feet deep. 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 pockets.

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 small and medium minnows around bridge pilings and brush piles. Catfish: Good, using cut herring on the bottom. Bream: Good, using crickets around brush piles.

Piedmont Area
Lake Russell: Largemouth Bass: Fair. Try casting Carolina-rigged worms, jerkbaits 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, Rebels and Rapalas. Striped and Hybrid Bass: Good, fishing with large minnows and cut bait, and trolling with deep-running Rapalas and Rebels. Crappie: Good, using minnows over brush tops. Catfish: Good, using worms, cut bait and chicken livers on the bottom along banks. Bream: Good, using crickets, worms and popping bugs.

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 15 feet deep. Catfish: Good, using nightcrawlers on the bottom. Bream: Good, fishing with crickets and worms from the bank.

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, using minnows and mini jigs over brush in 20 feet of water. Catfish: Good, using cut bait on the bottom. Bream: Excellent, using crickets and worms along shore and docks and fishing from banks.

Lake Wateree: Largemouth Bass: Fair. Try casting worms and crankbaits on structure in deeper water. Striped bass: Excellent, using live shad fishing just off bottom in the river channel 15 to 25 feet and at Cedar Creek dam. White Bass: Fair. Try using shad-like baits in state park area, a little schooling up and down the lake. Crappie: Fair. Try using minnows and jigs, fishing deep brush. Catfish: Good, using live shad in 3 to 5 feet of water. Bream: Good, using crickets and worms around mayfly hatches. Shellcrackers: Fair. Try using crickets and worms.

Lake Murray: Largemouth Bass: Fair, casting topwater baits, such as floating worms and buzzbaits early and late or Carolina rigging lizards and worms on secondary points. Striped Bass: Good, try drifting shiners in 6 to 8 feet of water. Crappie: Fair, using jigs and minnows around bridge pilings. White Perch: Fair, jigging small tuffies, worms or spoons in 20 to 60 feet. Catfish: Great, using cut herring and nightcrawlers 5 to 15 feet deep. Bream: Good, using crickets and worms 6 to 8 feet of water.

Santee Cooper System
Lake Marion: Largemouth Bass: Fair, casting topwater baits, lizards and worms early. Striped Bass: Fair. Try casting bucktails to schooling fish or fishing cut bait off the bottom. White Perch: Slow. Try jigging off the bottom with Hopkins spoons. Crappie: Fair. Try using medium minnows around deep brush piles. Catfish: Good, fishing with cut bait off the bottom. Bream and Shellcracker: Good, using crickets and small minnows.

Lake Moultrie: Largemouth Bass: Slow. Try topwater lures and plastic worms early and late. Striped Bass: Fair, using topwater lures in early morning along the east dike. Crappie: Poor. Try minnows around fish attraction areas. Catfish: Good, using cut bait and nightcrawlers. Bream and Shellcrackers: Good, 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