FRESHWATER FISHING TRENDS

MOUNTAINS-PIEDMONT AREA

LAKE JOCASSEE: Largemouth Bass: Fair, slow retrieves with plastic worms, casting Carolina-rigged worms, topwater lures, crankbaits and spinnerbaits. Trout: Fair, trolling with Apex lures, Sutton spoons and Yozuri baits from 20 to 70 feet deep. Night fishing producing good catches of trout in depths of 50 feet and up. Smallmouth Bass: Fair, drifting nightcrawlers and small or medium minnows. Also try brown hair jigs on rocky points and rocky banks. Recent catch of a 5-pound Smallmouth was reported 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. Water temperature is about 75 degrees.

LAKE KEOWEE: Largemouth Bass: Excellent, using topwater lures like the Sammy 100's, Zara Spooks, buzzbaits, floating worms and Carolina-rigged worms in green or red colors 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. Fish in the 5 to 7-pound range reported caught and schooling activity. Crappie: Good, using small minnows and jigs in 10 to 15 feet of water around brush piles and bridge pilings. Also night fishing around bridge pilings using lanterns. Limits reported caught. Catfish: Good, using jumbo minnows, nightcrawlers and cut bait on the bottom. Recent catches of 20-pound fish reported. Bream: Good, using redworms and crickets around brush piles and around stumps. Limits reported caught. Water temperature 90 degrees and clear.

LAKE HARTWELL: Largemouth Bass: Good, using 5 to 6-inch lizards, crankbaits, spinnerbaits, topwater lures, and Trick worms fishing off points. Last weeks winning weight for Garretts Bush Bass Trail Tournament was 8.58. The big fish weighed in at 4.47-pounds. Striped and Hybrid Bass: Good, try live herring with down-rods in deep water around the dam in 24 to 30 feet deep. Some Stripers have been reported caught in the 30-pound range. Crappie: Fair, using small minnows, grubs and small jigs. Fish are moving into deeper water around brush piles. 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: Fair, casting plastic worms and lizards along rocky points and deep humps Night fishing most productive. Yellow Perch: Fair, fishing minnows deep. Striped and Hybrid Bass: Excellent, night fishing 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 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 chartreuse jigs around rip-rap and brush tops. Limits are being caught. Catfish: Good, using cut bait and nightcrawlers around bridges and rocky points. Shellcracker: Good, try jumbo redworms fished on the bottom. Bream: Good, using Louisiana pink worms, crickets and jumbo 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: Excellent, 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. Limits of crappie have been reported caught. Catfish: Good, using nightcrawlers on the bottom. Shellcracker: Good, using redworms and crickets on the bottom. Limits are being caught. Bream: Good, using earthworms, redworms and crickets around the banks. Limits are being caught.

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. Largemouth bass are being caught at night using bark colored plastic worms in 12 to 15 feet of water. Stripers: Good, behind the dam using Bombers, Charlie plugs and bucktails. Schooling activity has been reported around Goat Island and in the dam area as well as all over the lake. White Bass and White Perch: Good, fish are schooling together with stripers and largemouth. 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. Some limits being caught. Catfish: Excellent, using cut bait and nightcrawlers on the bottom. Recent catches of 8 to 15-pound fish have been reported. 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 along drops around brush Striped Bass: Good, using live shad with down-rods in 15 to 25 feet of water. Stripers are suspended in 20 to 22 feet of water in the Clearwater Cove area. Also try Stillhouse Branch fishing 15 to 20 feet deep. Fishermen are using boat paddles, thumping the inside bottom of the boat with a rhythm to attract fish while fishing for stripers. 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 neutral colors, casting and jigging along old river beds in 12 to 15 feet of water. 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. Night fishing has been productive along underwater bars off points Recent catch of 29-pounder has been reported. Bream: Excellent, using crickets and redworms. Fish during the early morning and late evening for bream during mayfly hatches. Also try river drops around brush. Limits are being caught. Water temperature 83 to 86 degrees. Upper half of lake is dingy and lower half is clear.

LAKE MURRAY: Largemouth Bass: Excellent, using topwater lures early in the morning. Also try floating worms, jerkbaits and buzzbaits along the banks. Try fishing Texas rigged and Carolina rigged worms midday around stumps and rocky points. Many caught in the 4-pound range. Striped Bass: Good, try live herring on the bottom and down-rods in 30 to 60 feet of water. Many fish caught in the 5 to 7-pound range and limits are being caught. Some large fish caught in the 20-pound range. Crappie: Fair, using jigs and small tuffies trolling in creek runs and fishing brush piles in 10 to 20 feet of water. White Perch: Good, jigging Flex-it spoons and redworms in 15 to 20 feet of water. Catfish: Good, using cut herring and nightcrawlers on the bottom. Many fish being caught in the 4 to 5-pound range. Bream: Excellent, casting beetle spins in white with red dot colors and yellow with black stripes. Also try fishing redworms and crickets in 4 to 15 feet of water. Limits reported caught. Shellcrackers: Fair, using redworms and blue worms in 4 to 15 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. Trolling has produced some stripers also. Recent catch of a 15-pounder was reported. White Perch: Slow, Try jigging off the bottom with Hopkins spoons. Crappie: Good, using small and medium minnows around deep brush piles, bridge pilings and piers. Try fishing at night. Catfish: Excellent, fishing with live herring and cut shad off the bottom in deep water. Some 20 to 50-pound catfish have been reported. 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 with down-rods. Some schooling activity reported. Limits are being caught. Night fishing 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 the most productive. Fish are being caught in the 15 to 20-pound range. Bream: Good, using crickets, green worm and redworms around public fish attractors. Fish are in 8 to 25 feet of water on beds. Shellcrackers: Fair, 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 - Hoyett's Tackle; Keowee - Fishing Hole; Hartwell - Garrett's 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; Marion - Lanes; and Moultrie - Atkins Boat Landing.

- Written by John Lucas -

For South Carolina freshwater fishing regulations: http://www.dnr.state.sc.us/etc/rulesregs/img/freshfishing.pdf

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