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

Oct 9, 2006

Freshwater Fishing Trends

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

Mountains Area
Lake Jocassee:

• Largemouth Bass: Good, slow retrieves with plastic worms, casting Carolina-rigged worms, topwater lures, crankbaits and spinnerbaits. Good catches in the early morning.
• Trout: Fair, trolling with Apex lures, Sutton spoons and Yozuri baits from 50 to 80 feet deep.
• Smallmouth Bass: Fair, 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: Good, using crickets and redworms around banks and brush.

Lake Keowee:

• Largemouth Bass: Good, using topwater lures like the Sammy 100's, Zara Spooks, buzzbaits and floating worms early in the morning. Also try doodling and drop shotting Carolina-rigged worms in green or red colors jigging spoons in 25 to 40 feet of water in the mouths of creeks and off rocky points after the mid-morning.
• Crappie: Fair, using small minnows and jigs in 10 to 20 feet of water around brush piles and bridge pilings.
• Catfish: Good, using jumbo minnows, nightcrawlers and cut bait on the bottom.
• Bream: Excellent, using redworms and crickets around brush piles and around stumps. Also, try fishing around bridge pilings.

Lake Hartwell:

• Largemouth Bass: Fair, using 5 to 6-inch lizards, crankbaits, spinnerbaits, topwater lures, and Trick worms fishing off points.
• Striped and Hybrid Bass: Good, try live herring with down-rods in deep water around the dam in 60 to 100 feet deep. Trolling activity has increased, try depths of 40 to 60 foot of water. Schooling activity on the lake has increased.
• Crappie: Fair, using small minnows, grubs and small jigs. Fish are moving into deeper water around brush piles.
• Catfish: Good, using cut herring, large shiners nightcrawlers, shrimp and chicken livers on the bottom.
• Bream: Good, using redworms and crickets under boat docks and bridges.

Piedmont Area
Lake Russell:

• Largemouth Bass: Good, Try buzzbaits around bush in creeks and shallow running crankbaits.
• Yellow Perch: Fair, fishing minnows deep.
• Striped and Hybrid Bass: Good, night fishing and early morning with 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: Good, using minnows and 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 around bridge pilings.

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. Yozuri plugs and Challenger plugs.
• Striped and Hybrid Bass: Fair, using Cleos, Berry Spoons and white RoadRunners with bucktails and KastMasters. Good catches 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.
• Catfish: Good, using cut bait and nightcrawlers fishing on the bottom.
• Bream and Shellcrackers: Excellent, using Louisiana pink worms and jumbo redworms 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: Fair, below the dam casting small bucktails and spoons.
• Crappie: Good, using small minnows and jigs around brush tops in 20 to 25 feet of water. Best time to catch crappies is at night.
• Catfish: Good, using various baits on the bottom. Excellent night fishing results.
• Shellcracker: Good, using redworms and crickets on the bottom.

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.
• White Bass and White Perch: Fair. Schools are scattered over lake, popping Striper Bug lures used behind popping cork, producing good catches. Good results jigging with Berry Spoons in 10 to 12 feet of water.
• Crappie: Fair, 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. Night fishing for crappie is the best.
• Catfish: Good, using cut bait and nightcrawlers on the bottom.
• Bream: Fair, using redworms and crickets along shore and docks.   

Lake Wateree:

• Largemouth Bass: Good, casting to deep banks with deep-running crankbaits and plastic worms.
• Striped Bass: Fair, using cut bait in the lower end of the lake, 40 to 50 feet of water, near the dam. Stripers schooling in the lower half of the lake early and late, mostly smaller fish. Some fish being caught below Wateree Dam with topwater lures.
• White Bass: Slow. Some being caught in striper schools.
• White Perch: Good using various baits including jigs, grubs and live minnows.
• Crappie: Fair, try trolling with Wow grubs or Slider grubs. Fish are at the mouths of major feeder creeks suspended in the water column 10 feet deep.
• Catfish: Good, live redworms, nightcrawlers, using live shad, small pieces of shrimp and cut bait close to bottom in major feeder creeks.
• Bream: Fair, using crickets and redworms.

Lake Murray:

• Largemouth Bass: Good, fishing Flukes off of points and using top-water lures early in the morning and floating worms and jerk baits along banks. Try short Carolina-rigged worms midday around stumps and other structure in 8 to 20 feet of water.
• Striped Bass: Good, using live bait on downrods and free-lining at depths of 40 to 70 feet. Fish are schooling very early, around daybreak, with good catches on top-water plugs, like pencil poppers and striper delights.
• Crappie: Fair, using jigs and small tuffies trolling the creek runs and in the upper part of the lake around the confluence of the little and big Saluda rivers. Try medium minnows fishing brush piles at depths of 10 to 20 feet.
• White Perch: Good, jigging Flex-it spoons and casting little cleos.
• Catfish: Fair, using cut herring and nightcrawlers on bottom.
• Bream: Fair. Try fishing redworms, baby nightcrawlers and crickets in 3 to 15 feet of water.
• Shellcrackers: Fair, using redworms and baby nightcrawlers in 6 to 20 feet of water.

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: Fair, Try using small and medium minnows over deep brush piles, bridge pilings and piers.
• Catfish: Excellent, fishing with live herring and cut shad off the bottom in deep water.
• Bream and Shellcrackers: Excellent, using redworms and crickets in 4 to 8 feet of water.
  

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 and also trolling stretch 25's when live bait does not produce fish in 30 feet of water. Night fishing has been the most productive.
• Crappie: Fair, using small to medium minnows and Beetlespins around fish attraction areas and brush piles.
• Catfish: Excellent, using cut shad, herring, menhaden, live large shiners and nightcrawlers 30 to 35 feet deep.
• Bream: Fair, using crickets, redworms, and small minnows, around manmade fish attractors and around the dam.
• Shellcrackers: Fair, 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.

For South Carolina freshwater fish regulations: http://www.dnr.sc.gov/regs/pdf/freshfishing.pdf