SCDNR - Freshwater Fishing Trends

Freshwater Fishing Trends - March 15, 2010 Mountains Area - Piedmont Area - Midlands Area - Santee Cooper System - South Carolina freshwater fish regulations (PDF) - Purchase a fishing license - Boat Ramp Locations - State Fish Consumption Advisories

Fishing trends courtesy www.SCFishingReport.com. Check the site for recent updates and detailed reports.

Mountains Area
Lake Jocassee:

Trout: Good. Captain Steve Pietrykowski reports that the bite remains strong and should continue to improve into the summer. Fish can be caught a variety of ways from the surface down to 45 feet. Some anglers are having success trolling spoons and drifting live bait.
Black Bass: Slow. Captain Pat Bennett reports that fishing remains tough. A few fish can be found in the backs of creek and rivers feeding on shad, but more fish can be found on main lake points. Try fishing a white jig or a finesse worm.

Lake Keowee:

Largemouth and Spotted Bass: Slow to fair. Captain Chris "Fishboy" Schuber reports that the bite is a little slow. He is fishing watermelon seed colored shakey head worms and Carolina rigged worms in 15-45 feet of water near main lake points and picking up a few fish. Look for bait on your graph and then be sure to present your lure slowly.

Lake Hartwell:

Catfish: Fair. Captain Bill Plumley reports that the bite for channels and flathead catfish remains slow, but blue catfish continue to feed pretty well. Cut herring and gizzard shad will both catch fish.
Striped and Hybrid Bass: Fair. Captain Bill Plumley reports that striper fishing is slowly improving as temperatures warm. Umbrella rigs remain the best method, as water temperatures are generally still below 50 degrees, but he is also starting to pick up some fish on cut bait.
Largemouth Bass: Fair. Guide Brad Fowler says that even before temperatures warmed fish were moving shallower all over the lake, probably because of high water levels and muddier than usual conditions. Bait is moving and so fish are not locked into certain areas yet, but they should start to stage for the spawn soon. For shallow fish crankbaits, jerkbaits and rattle traps will all catch fish, and for the fish that remain deeper football jigs and blade baits are good bets.
Crappie: Slow. Captain Bill Plumley reports that crappie fishing continue to be slow, but for now try fishing live minnows over tree tops in 25-30 feet of water.

Piedmont Area
Lake Russell:

Largemouth and Spotted Bass: Slow. Guide Wendell Wilson reports that cold temperatures and relatively muddy water have conspired to make for a tough late winter on Lake Russell, and major shad kills which allowed fish to gorge and then stop feeding haven’t helped. Before the snow last Tuesday water temperatures were only 42 degrees, and so water temperatures have quite a hole to crawl out of just to get back towards normal. However, warmer temperatures should improve fishing in the next few days and a variety of species should resume feeding.

Lake Thurmond:

Striped and Hybrid Bass: Good. The Clark’s Hill Herring Hut reports that stripers and hybrids are now being caught on both ends of the lake. Fish are being caught 30 feet down over 60 feet of water on live herring in the lower lake, and beside the dam on the South Carolina side (near the Welcome Center) striper are being caught off the bank by cut bait fishermen.
Crappie: Good. Guide Rod Wall reports that crappie fishing on Clarks Hill is getting stronger and stronger. Long-line trolling and tight-lining will both catch fish right now. All combinations of minnows and jigs will take fish.
Black bass: Slow to fair. The Herring Hut reports that the bass bite continues to be slow to fair but seems to be improving. Fish are still coming in 30-40 feet of water on Buckeye Lures Mop Jigs, but some fish are starting to pull up into shallower water.

Lake Wylie:

Catfish: Fair to good. Captain Rodger Taylor reports that the best pattern for catching a mess of channel cats early this spring is to fish creek mouths in the riverine sections of the lake. Make short casts towards the mouth of small feeder creeks with cut bait, and downsize your baits to have the most fun.
White perch: Slow to fair. Captain Rodger Taylor reports that the white perch are very hard to locate right now. Try fishing minnows 18-24 feet deep around offshore structure.
Largemouth Bass: Slow. Guide Matt Arey reports the fishing on Wylie remains really tough. A few bass have been caught around the warm water discharge in the South Fork on shallow running crankbaits and jigs.

Midlands Area
Lake Greenwood:

Crappie: Good. Guide Rod Wall reports that crappie fishing has improved on Lake Greenwood in the last week or two. Even though the cold snap at the middle of last week pulled fish out of the creeks and into the mouths and main lake they are biting well. Both long-line trolling and tight-lining will catch fish – target depths about 10 feet deep in 20-25 feet of water. Straight jigs will work for trolling, but for tight-lining minnows or jigs tipped with minnows are needed.
Largemouth Bass: Good. Sportsman’s Friend reports that bass are moving shallower and feeding. The warmest water in the lake is on the surface and so good numbers of fish are being found in 4-6 feet of water in the back ends of coves and off little dips in the main lake. Stanley Gunter of the 2009 6-Man Champion Greenwood Bassmasters reports the best pattern he has heard is fishing around mid-depth brush with a large, one ounce spinnerbait, although crankbaits are also catching fish.
Catfish: Fair to good. Captain Chris Simpson reports that the water is clearing up and the channel cats are starting to get into their spring pattern. Drifting cut bait in and out of feeder creeks and across warm, shallow flats 5 to 15 foot deep is the best bet to put some fish in the boat.
Striped bass: Fair. Sportsman’s Friend reports that there has been some schooling activity around the lake, and the fish seem to be scattered out.

Lake Wateree:

Catfish: Fair. Captain Rodger Taylor reports that the Catawba Catfish Club’s February tournament posted some tremendous catches, but overall the bite remains off. Anchoring has been most effective, and Captain Taylor is finding it necessary to stay on a spot for longer than usual to get bit. Remember that drifting the deep flats can turn on at any time, and so be prepared to try either anchoring or drifting.
Crappie: Good. Will Hinson of the Southern Crappie Tournament Trail reports that the bite has improved as the water has started to clear. He has been finding fish 20 feet deep over 26 feet of water on the river channel around the State Park area. Tight-lining plain minnows has been most effective.
Largemouth Bass: Fair. After a tough first Carolina Anglers Team Trail Tournament of the season the bite improved for the CATT event on Lake Wateree. Two sacks over 18 pounds were weighed in, including a nearly 21 pound bag. Jigs and spinnerbaits are good choices right now.

Lake Monticello:

Catfish: Fair. Captain Chris Simpson reports that the bite on Monticello is inconsistent right now. One day numerous fish from 20 to 30+ lbs can be caught, and the next day you can struggle to just catch a fish. Anchoring on vertical ledges from 30 to 80 feet is still producing but as the water starts to warm, catches in much shallower water should start to occur.

Lake Murray:

Crappie: Very good. Captain Brad Taylor reports that crappie fishing continues to be very good, although perhaps a bit off of where it was a couple of weeks ago. Both long-lining and tight-lining in the Little River area are working, and he is fishing 10-12 feet deep over 18-20 feet of water in the channel. Lake World says that so far this appears to be the best crappie year they have witnessed in a while, from the mid-lake on up.
Bream: Good. Dooley’s reports that the bream bite is good, with bluegill and shellcracker mixed together. Look around hard bottoms in 6 feet of water. Striped Bass: Fair. Lake World reports that striper are being caught across much of the lake, from the rivers most of the way down towards the dam. Dooley’s Sports Shop is hearing most of their reports from the Gap up to the Little River area; casting bucktails and ice flies into areas where birds are found is working.
Catfish: Fair. Captain Chris Simpson reports that the water is clearing up and the fish are biting a bit better, but blue catfish are still extremely scattered. Drifting cut herring in and out of those areas will catch some channels and whites, and every now and then a blue or two.
Largemouth Bass: Slow. Captain Doug Lown reports that bass fishing on Lake Murray remains inconsistent. Fish are still in school mode, and with cold water temperatures they don’t have to feed every day. Bass can be found both deep and shallow, but substantial numbers of fish have not moved up yet. One popular pattern is covering lots of water with crankbaits like Shad Raps or Rattle Traps

Santee Cooper System
Lake Marion:

Catfish: Fair. Captain Jim Glenn reports that throughout the Santee system fish should be moving shallower with the warmer weather, from the top of Lake Marion down to the Cooper River tailrace and into brackish water. Blue catfish will be caught drifting or fan casting with cut bait in shallow water, and cut herring and shad are both good baits.
Largemouth bass: Fair to good. Captain Inky Davis advises that the upper end of Lake Marion is clearing; look for warm, wind-protected areas and navigate carefully around submerged stumps and trees. Crankbaits, spinnerbaits and plastic worms are all good choices right now. Captain Glenn Baxley reports that in the lower lake bass are making their way shallow into backwater ponds, which heat up first.
Crappie: Captain Steve English reports that the first wave of crappie has moved up into shallow water, in some places moving into as little as 3 feet. Trolling with minnows and jigs is a good way to target these fish.

Diversion Canal:

See Lake Marion report

Lake Moultrie:

See Lake Marion report