News Release
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 | Largemouth Bass: Fair, slow retrieves with plastic worms, casting Carolina-rigged worms, and topwater plugs. Good catches in the early morning drifting minnows off shallow points. |
| Trout: Good, trolling with Apex lures, Sutton spoons and Yozuri baits from surface to 30 to 40 feet deep. Also try free-lining large minnows for trout. Also good catches reported with crippled herring jigs in shallow water and with live minnows in 30 to 40 feet of water. |
| Smallmouth Bass: Slow, 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: Fair, using popping bugs and red worms around banks and brush.
|
Lake Keowee:
| Largemouth Bass: Good, Try Carolina-rigged worms, crankbaits and jerk baits casting these lures to the banks around brush. Largemouth bass are being found in 20 feet of water around structure. Also try jigging spoons in 20 feet of water in the mouths of creeks and off rocky points after mid-morning. |
| Crappie: Good, using small minnows and jigs in 10 to 15 feet of water around brush piles and bridge pilings. |
| Catfish: Good, using jumbo minnows, nightcrawlers and cut bait on the bottom. |
| Bream: Fair, using redworms around brush piles and around stumps.
Also, try fishing around bridge pilings. |
Lake Hartwell:
| Largemouth Bass: Good, using 5 to 6-inch lizards, crankbaits, spinnerbaits, topwater lures, and Trick worms fishing off points. Best catches reported at dawn and dusk Also try fishing in coves. |
| Striped and Hybrid Bass: Fair, using jigging spoons, umbrella rigs and live herring with down-rods in deep water around river channels 15 to 20 feet deep. |
| Crappie: Good, using small and medium minnows along with small crappie jigs. Fish are being caught in water 10 to 25 feet deep over structure. |
| Catfish: Good, using cut herring, large shiners nightcrawlers, shrimp and chicken livers on the bottom. |
| Bream: Fair, using redworms and crickets around brush piles and in
covers. |
Piedmont Area
Lake Russell:
| Largemouth Bass: Good, try shallow creeks with medium running crankbaits and plastic worms. |
| Yellow Perch: Good, fishing medium minnows deep and jigging spoons. |
| Striped and Hybrid Bass: Good, early morning with bucktails, cut and live herring and jigs especially when water is running below dam. |
| White Bass: Good, using bucktails, spinners and live bait below dam. |
| Crappie: Good, using minnows around brush piles and bridge pilings. Also try fishing jigs along banks with cover. |
| Catfish: Fair, 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. Good catches with deep running rebels and shad raps. |
| Striped and Hybrid Bass: Good, using Cleos, Berry Spoons 1/2 ounce yellow and white Road Runners with bucktails and KastMasters. Also try large minnows and live herring. |
| Crappie: Good, using small minnows and jigs around deep brush tops. |
| Catfish: Fair, using cut bait and nightcrawlers fishing on the bottom. |
| Bream: Fair, using Louisiana pink worms and jumbo redworms around the
banks. |
Lake Wylie:
| Largemouth Bass: Good, casting bass jigs and medium running crankbaits. |
| Striped and Hybrid Bass: Good, using spoons and Bucktails behind Lake Wylie dam. |
| White Bass: Fair, casting small bucktails and spoons. |
| Crappie: Good, using small minnows and chartreuse jigs around rip-rap, docks and brush tops in 15 to 20 feet of water. |
| Catfish: Good, using nightcrawlers on the bottom. |
| Shellcracker: Fair, using redworms and crickets on the bottom. |
| Bream: Fair, using earthworms, redworms and crickets around the
banks. |
Midlands Area
Lake Greenwood:
| Largemouth Bass: Good, casting crankbaits and spinners around the banks. Also using plastic worms and lizards around points in 8 to 12 feet of water. |
| Stripers: Good, behind the dam using Flukes and Bombers and good in the lake using Berry spoons and live bait. Try jigging Berry Spoons in 20 feet of water on the lake. |
| White Bass and White Perch: Good, using spinners and small jigs in 2 to 3 feet of water in backs of coves. |
| Crappie: Good, using small to medium minnows and mini jigs over brush in 3 to 12 feet of water. |
| Catfish: Good, using cut bait and blood bait off points in 12 to 20 feet of water on the bottom. |
| Bream: Good, using redworms along shore and docks. |
Lake Wateree:
| Largemouth Bass: Good, try using crankbaits and spinnerbaits in shallow water casting to the bank. |
| Striped Bass: Fair, using live shad with down-rods in 20 to 25 feet of water. A few fish are being caught around Cedar Creek Dam. |
| White Bass: Slow: Try shad-like baits off points. |
| Crappie: Good, try trolling with wow grubs, slider grubs and minnows. Also try fishing with a jig and float at the mouths of major feeder creeks in 2 to 3 feet of water. Crappie are congregating at these locations. |
| Catfish: Good, using live shad, small pieces of shrimp and cut bait close to bottom in 10 to 20 feet of water and deeper down the lake. |
| Bream: Slow, try using worms. |
Lake Murray:
| Largemouth Bass: Fair. Bass are hitting spinner baits in the shallows and shaky head artificial worms around brush and shallows. |
| Striped Bass: Good. Fish river and creek runs. In schools, cast double rigged buck tails, Ice Flies and striper delights. |
| Crappie: Good, using jigs, small tuffies and red minnows trolling the creek runs, at 8 to 20 feet, and in the upper part of the lake around the confluence of the little and big Saluda rivers and up to Camp Barstow. |
| White Perch: Good, jigging Flex-it spoons down 30 to 50 feet and using small tuffies. |
| Catfish: Fair, using cut herring and nightcrawlers on bottom. |
| Bream: Fair. Fish with redworms, small nightcrawlers and crickets in 3 to 12 feet of water. |
| Shellcrackers: Fair, using redworms and small nightcrawlers in 4 to 15
feet around a flooded grass edge, rocks, stumps and other structure. |
Santee Cooper System
Lake Marion:
| Largemouth Bass: Good, using artificial worms, topwater rebel lures, fishing along the banks and points early in the morning. |
| Striped Bass: Slow, using shad and live herring with down rod in about 24 to 30 feet of water. |
| White Perch: Slow, Try jigging off the bottom with Hopkins spoons. |
| Crappie: Good, Crappie are starting to bite in 20 feet of water, using small and medium minnows over deep brush piles, bridge pilings and piers. |
| Catfish: Good, fishing with live herring and cut shad off the bottom in deep water. |
| Bream and Shellcrackers: Fair, using redworms, in 8 to 10 feet of
water and limits are reported. |
Lake Moultrie:
| Largemouth Bass: Good, casting, spinnerbaits, plastic worms and lizards along docks and structure in shallow water. |
| Striped Bass: Good, fishing live herring in 30 feet of water with down-rods. Reports of trolling deep lures are producing a few striped bass. |
| Crappie: Good, 2 lb to 3 1/2 lb crappie in 8 foot of water using minnows fishing 6 foot down. The action is occurring in the areas entering shallow water coves. Try small to medium sized minnows around fish attraction areas and brush piles. Also try fishing in shallow water 3 to 7 feet deep. |
| Catfish: Good, moving into shallow water, reports of 5 lb channel catfish are being caught in 5 to 6 foot of water on worms, with some larger blue catfish being caught in the 20-25 lb range using cut bait in 6 to 10 foot of water. |
| Bream: Fair, using crickets and wigglers, around man made fish attractors in 8 to 10 feet. |
| Shellcrackers: Fair, try redworms and green worms along the banks along river runs and points. A 3 lb shell cracker was caught Saturday night in a cove with a worm (6 to 10 foot of water). |
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 - Mr. David Sweat.
For South Carolina freshwater fish regulations:
http://www.dnr.sc.gov/regs/pdf/freshfishing.pdf
