NEWS RELEASE
June 19, 2006
DNR News (803) 734-3950

Freshwater Fishing Trends:

Mountains Area

Lake Jocassee: Largemouth Bass: Good, casting Carolina-rigged worms, and topwater plugs with slow retrieve or early morning drifting minnows off shallow points. Trout: Fair, trolling early in the day in 30 to 65 feet water with Sutton spoons, Doctor spoons and Apex spoons or drifting large minnows in early morning in 40 feet of water. Smallmouth Bass: Fair. Try drifting large minnows along red clay and rocky points. Crappie: Slow. Try small minnows and jigs. Catfish: Good, using nightcrawlers or frozen herring at night. Bream: Good, using crickets and dug worms, popping bugs around banks and brush, some bedding.

Lake Keowee: Largemouth Bass: Good, casting Carolina-rigged worms, crankbaits and jerkbaits to the banks around brush. Fish bedding in the center of pockets and around stumps.  Crappie: Excellent. Try small minnows and jigs in 5 to 10 feet of water around brush piles and bridge pilings. Catfish: Good, using nightcrawlers and cut bait on the bottom. Bream: Fair. Try using worms and crickets in sandy pockets.

Lake Hartwell: Largemouth Bass: Good, using 5 to 6-inch lizards, crankbaits, spinnerbaits, topwater lures and pearl white floating worms fishing off points and in coves at dawn and dusk. Striped and Hybrid Bass: Good, using live herring with down-rods in deep water around river channels 15 to 30 feet deep.  Crappie: Good, using small and medium minnows around bridge pilings and brush piles. Catfish: Good, using cut herring on the bottom. Bream: Good, using crickets around brush piles.

Piedmont Area

Lake Russell: Largemouth Bass: Good, using medium-running crankbaits and plastic worms in shallow creeks, flats and rocky points. Yellow Perch: Good, fishing medium minnows deep and jigging spoons. Striped and Hybrid Bass: Good. Try using bucktails, cut bait and jigs below the dam. White Bass: Slow. Try bucktails and spinners below the dam. Crappie: Slow. Try minnows and jigs around brush piles. Catfish: Good, fishing cut bait on the bottom. Bream: Good, fishing with red wigglers and nightcrawlers.

Lake Thurmond: Largemouth Bass: Good, casting plastic worms, Rebels and Rapalas. Striped and Hybrid Bass: Good, fishing with large minnows and cut bait, and trolling with deep-running Rapalas and Rebels. 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: Good, using pink worms and jumbo redworms around the banks.

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: Good, casting small bucktails and spoons. Crappie: Good, using jigs and minnows around piers about 15 feet deep. Catfish: Good, using nightcrawlers on the bottom. Bream: Good, fishing with crickets and worms from the bank.

Midlands Area

Lake Greenwood: Largemouth Bass: Good, casting spinnerbaits and chatterbaits around the banks. Also using plastic worms and lizards around points in 8 to 12 feet of water. Floating worms and topwater lures are producing some fish along banks early in the morning. Stripers: Good, behind the dam using Bombers, Charlie plugs, and flukes. White Perch: Good, using berryspoons in 12 to 15 feet of water. Also some schooling activity reported. Crappie: Fair, using minnows and mini jigs over brush in 20 feet of water. Catfish: Good, using cut bait on the bottom. Bream: Excellent, using crickets and worms along shore and docks and fishing from banks.

Lake Wateree: Largemouth Bass: Good, casting to the bank with deep-running crankbaits and plastic worms. A few bass have been caught on buzzbaits late in the afternoon. Striped Bass: Fair, using live bait, cut bait and bucktails. A few fish are being caught around Cedar Creek Dam. Fish reported caught below Wateree Dam with topwater lures. White Bass: Slow: Try shad-like baits off points and around Cedar Creek dam. Crappie: Fair. Try using minnows and jigs, fishing deep brush. Catfish: Good, using live shad in 3 to 5 feet of water. Bream: Good, using crickets and worms around mayfly hatches. Shellcrackers: Fair. Try using crickets and worms.

Lake Murray: Largemouth Bass: Fair, casting topwater baits, such as floating worms and buzzbaits early and late or Carolina rigging lizards and worms on secondary points. Striped Bass: Good, Try using down-rod with live herring in 20 to 60 feet of water and also free-lining herring. Crappie: Fair. Try using jigs tipped with small tuffy minnows trolling in creek runs and fishing brush piles in 15 to 20 feet of water. White Perch: Fair, jigging small tuffies, worms or spoons in 20 to 60 feet. Catfish: Great, using cut herring and nightcrawlers 5 to 15 feet deep. Bream: Good, using crickets and worms 6 to 8 feet of water.

Santee Cooper System

Lake Marion: Largemouth Bass: Fair, using artificial worms, and topwater Rebels fishing along the banks and points early morning. Striped Bass: Fair. Try 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 medium minnows around deep brush piles. Catfish: Good, fishing with cut bait off the bottom. Bream and Shellcracker: Good, using crickets and small minnows.

Lake Moultrie: Largemouth Bass: Slow. Try topwater lures and plastic worms early and late. Striped Bass: Fair, using topwater lures in early morning along the east dike. Crappie: Good, using small to medium minnows and Beetlespins around fish attraction areas and brush piles. Also try fishing in shallow water slow water on the beds. Catfish: Good, using cut shad, herring, menhaden, live large shiners and nightcrawlers 8 to 30 feet deep.  Bream and Shellcrackers: Good, using crickets around fish attraction areas.

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