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NEWS RELEASE
December 12, 2005
DNR News (803) 734-3950

Freshwater Fishing Trends:

Mountains Area

Lake Jocassee: Largemouth Bass: Good, casting Carolina-rigged worms in morning and late evening. Trout: Good, try drifting large minnows from surface to 80 to 100 feet and trolling with minnows. Fish at 80 to 115 feet with nightcrawlers and at 100 to 115 feet with Sutton, Doctor and Apex spoons. Smallmouth Bass: Good. Casting minnows around rocky points. Crappie: Poor. Try small minnows and jigs around brush piles. Catfish: Fair. Try nightcrawlers or cut bait on bottom. Bream: Good, fishing with popping bugs, redworms and crickets around banks and brush.

Lake Keowee: Largemouth and Spotted Bass: Fair, try doodling with drop-shot rigs in 30 to 40 feet of water and using jigging spoons. Crappie: Fair, fishing with minnows at night and jigs in 15 to 20 feet of water around brush piles and bridge pilings, best under bridges with lights early in the day. Catfish: Good, basket fishing for catfish still productive. Use cut bait, minnows and nightcrawlers on the bottom. Bream: Good, using crickets and redworms around brush piles, stumps and bridge pilings.

Lake Hartwell: Largemouth Bass: Fair, try using 8 to 10 inch blue worms at night and live large minnows also white flukes and topwater flukes in morning and evenings. Striped and Hybrid Bass: Good, schooling early morning and evening. Catches around the dam with live herring at 40 to 60 feet. Fair at daybreak on cut bait on points or breaks. Trolling umbrella rigs, free-lining live herring and large minnows and jigging in about 38 feet of water. Crappie: Fair, some catches at 25 to 30 feet with small to medium minnows. Also, try using mini-umbrella rigs. Catfish: Fair, using cut herring, large shiners, nightcrawlers, shrimp and chicken livers on the bottom. Bream: Fair. Try using redworms and crickets under boat docks and bridges and brush piles.

Piedmont Area

Lake Russell: Largemouth Bass: Good, casting shallow-running crankbaits, jigs and spoons in deep water. Yellow Perch: Fair. Try using worms and lizards and fishing deep with medium minnows, worms and jigging spoons. Striped and Hybrid Bass: Good, using bucktails, cut and live herring and jigs below the dam when water is running. White Bass: Fair, using bucktails, spinners and live bait below the dam when water is running. Crappie: Excellent, using minnows and jigs around brush piles and bridge pilings at 10 to 12 feet. Better at night. Catfish: Good, using cut bait and nightcrawlers on the bottom and around the riprap at bridges. Bream: Good, fishing with crickets and earthworms around bridge pilings and structure.

Lake Thurmond: Largemouth Bass: Fair, casting deep-running Rebels, ShadRaps, plastic worms, CountDown lures. Striped and Hybrid Bass: Good, using Sidewinder spoons, medium and large minnows. Also, Berry spoons and Hopkins spoons. Crappie: Good, mostly using small minnows and greenish mini-jigs and Wobbly-eye jigs around deep brush tops. Catfish: Good, using cut bait and nightcrawlers fishing on the bottom, particularly around structures like riprap and bridge pilings. Bream and Shellcrackers: Good, using earthworms and crickets around banks and brush along the bottom as well.

Lake Wylie: Largemouth Bass: Good, cast spinnerbaits and medium-running crankbaits along points close to the bottom. Try using topwater baits in the morning and late afternoon. Striped Bass: Excellent, using spoons and bucktails behind Lake Wylie dam. White Bass: Good, below the dam casting smaller bucktails and spoons. Crappie: Good, using small minnows and jigs around docks, piers and brush tops in 10 to 15 feet of water. Catfish: Good, fishing on the bottom with a variety of baits. Shellcrackers: Good, using redworms and crickets on the bottom. Bream: Good, using earthworms and crickets around the banks.

Midlands Area

Lake Greenwood: Largemouth Bass: Good, try crankbaits off points in 6 to 15 feet of water. Stripers: Excellent, catches behind the dam using Bombers, Charlie plugs, flukes and live herring in 12 to 30 feet of water. White Bass and White Perch: Fair, try casting and Beetle Spins and Panther Martins. Crappie: Good. Use small to medium minnows, mini jigs and Slider jigs around brush in 10 to 15 feet of water. Catfish: Good. Use redworms in 15 to 20 feet of water. Bream: Fair, with redworms and crickets along shoreline structure and docks in 6 to 12 feet of water.

Lake Wateree: Largemouth Bass: Good, best caught with shad-like lures on points. Some schooling activity reported. Striped Bass: Good. Some schooling activity early morning and late afternoon. Fish 12 feet deep with live shad. White Bass: Slow. White Perch: Good, casting and jigging Twister-tail grubs and live minnows. Crappie: Excellent, best fishing with jigging around brush piles. Also in shallow water in the creeks, along edge old river channel and trolling Wow grubs, Sliders and live bait. Catfish: Good, using earthworms, nightcrawlers, shrimp, small pieces of cut bait and live shad. Bream and Shellcrackers: Slow, using crickets, worms and artificial lures fished around piers, structure and brush.

Lake Murray: Largemouth Bass: Fair, best fishing early in shallow water and late in deep water and some topwater schooling. Striped Bass: Good, schooling underway with best fishing from Shull Island up the lake. Try dragging free lines along banks. Early fishing is best with free lines and down fishing to 30 feet. Fishing with freelining live bait, Striper Delights. Casting bucktails with ice fly. Crappie: Good, using minnows and jigs around brush piles in 8 to 20 feet of water and casting toughie minnows and jigs. White Perch: Good, jigging with small spoons in 8 to 35 feet and using worms. Catfish: Fair, using cut herring and nightcrawlers on the bottom 6 to 20 feet deep. Bream and Shellcrackers: Excellent, using redworms, baby nightcrawlers, crickets, Beetlespins around green grass in 4 to 8 feet of water and around docks.

Santee Cooper System

Lake Marion: Largemouth Bass: Fair, using live shiners, Carolina rigs and artificial worms, fishing along drops and creek banks, especially in morning. Striped Bass: Good. Fairly well with live bait, bucktail shiners at The Brickyard and past Red Bank. White Perch: Slow. Try jigging off bottom with Hopkins spoons and with smaller nightcrawlers on sand points. Use nightcrawlers at sunrise and sunset. Crappie: Good, using small and medium minnows over deep brush piles, bridge pilings and piers. Best fishing in the morning and evening. Catfish: Excellent, use live shiners, cut shad, and herring off bottom drifting in deep water and at night in shallow water. Bream and Shellcrackers: Good, using redworms, crickets and waxworms in 4 to 6 feet of water and fishing shallow.

Lake Moultrie: Largemouth Bass: Fair, cast spinnerbaits, plastic worms and lizards along docks and structure. Also cast Rattletraps and Rapala lures around Pinopolis Point and Old Hatchery. Striped Bass: Fair, casting and trolling. Crappie: Excellent, using crickets and small to medium minnows around fish attraction areas and brush piles. Some crappie being caught on the bed with minnows and jigs. Catfish: Excellent, 9 to 15 feet deep using cut herring, stink bait, chicken livers and shiners 9 to 20 feet deep near the bottom dike edges and around the dam. Bream: Excellent. Use crickets and redworms, nightcrawlers around fish attraction areas and banks. Shellcrackers: Good. Use crickets and redworms along the banks in river runs and along points, possibly in canals.

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.

- Written by Brett Witt -

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

 

 

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