News Release
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 | Largemouth Bass: Fair, slow retrieves with plastic worms, casting Carolina-rigged worms, topwater lures, crankbaits and spinnerbaits. Good catches in the early morning and at night |
| Trout: Fair, trolling with Apex lures, Sutton spoons and Yozuri baits from 40 to 70 feet deep. |
| Smallmouth Bass: Good, drifting large minnows and brown hair jigs around rocky points and rocky banks. |
| Crappie: Slow, Try small minnows and jigs around brush piles. |
| Catfish: Good, using nightcrawlers or cut bait on bottom at night. |
| Bream: Good, using popping bugs and crickets around banks and brush. |
Lake Keowee:
| Largemouth Bass: Good, using topwater lures like Zara Spooks, buzzbaits and floating worms early in the morning. Carolina-rigged worms in green or red colors in 20 to 40 feet of water in the mouths of creeks and off rocky points after the mid-morning. |
| Crappie: Fair, using small minnows and jigs in 10 to 20 feet of water around brush piles and bridge pilings. Also night fishing around bridge pilings. |
| Catfish: Good, using minnows, nightcrawlers and cut bait on the bottom. |
| Bream: Good, using redworms and crickets around brush piles, stumps and bridge pilings. |
Lake Hartwell:
| Largemouth Bass: Good, using 5 to 6-inch lizards, crankbaits, spinnerbaits and topwater lures. |
| Striped and Hybrid Bass: Good, try live herring with down-rods in deep water around the dam in 24 to 60 feet deep. Also try night fishing for stripers. |
| Crappie: Fair, using small minnows, grubs and small jigs. Fish are moving into deeper water around brush piles. |
| Catfish: Good, using cut herring, large shiners, nightcrawlers, shrimp and chicken livers on the bottom. |
| Bream: Good. Try using redworms and crickets under boat docks and bridges. |
Piedmont Area
Lake Russell:
| Largemouth Bass: Good, 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: Fair, night fishing and early morning 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 and around the riprap at bridges. |
| Bream: Good. Try using crickets and earthworms around bridge pilings and structure. |
Lake Thurmond:
| Largemouth Bass: Good, casting plastic worms, 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. |
| Catfish: Good, using cut bait and nightcrawlers around bridges and rocky points. |
| Bream and Shellcrackers: Good, using earthworms and crickets around banks and brush. |
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. |
| White Bass: Good, with Roostertails and Little Cleos cast to fish schooling in afternoon. |
| Crappie: Fair, 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. |
| Catfish: Good, using nightcrawlers on the bottom. |
| 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, casting floating worms, topwater plugs and plastic worms in shallow water around docks and structure early in the morning. Fish being caught around docks and bridge pilings using dark colored plastic worms in 12 to 15 feet of water. |
| Stripers: Good, behind the dam using Bombers, Charlie plugs and bucktails. Schooling activity reported around Goat Island and in the dam area as well as upper part of the lake. |
| White Bass and White Perch: Good, fish are schooling around Goat Island and around the dam area. To catch these fish try spinnerbait. |
| Crappie: Fair, 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. |
| Catfish: Good, using cut bait and nightcrawlers on the bottom. |
| Bream: Fair, with redworms and crickets along shoreline structure and docks in 4 to 6 feet of water. |
Lake Wateree:
| Largemouth Bass: Good, 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 starting to school. Good catches reported with topwater plugs. Stripers also suspended in 15 to 22 feet of water all over the lake. |
| White Bass: Good, using shad-like baits on points. School activity has been reported on the lake in the state park area along points. |
| Crappie: Good, using Wow grubs and Slider worms with 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 and Cedar Creek dam area. Night fishing productive along underwater bars off points. |
| Bream and Shellcrackers: Good, using crickets, worms and artificial lures fished around piers, structure and brush. |
Lake Murray:
| Largemouth Bass: Fair, using topwater lures early in the morning and floating worms, jerk baits and buzz baits along the banks. Try fishing Texas-rigged and Carolina-rigged worms midday around routes and structure in 8 to 20 feet of water. |
| Striped Bass: Good, using live bait on downrods and free-lining at depths of 40 to 70 feet. Fish are schooling very early, Good catches with topwater plugs, pencil poppers and striper delights. |
| Crappie: Fair, using jigs and small tuffies trolling in creek runs and medium minnows fishing brush piles at depths of 10 to 20 feet. |
| White Perch: Good, jigging Flex-it spoons and fishing red worms in 15 to 20 feet of water. |
| Catfish: Good, using cut herring and nightcrawlers on bottom. |
| Bream: Good. Try fishing redworms, baby night crawlers and crickets in 3 to 15 feet of water. |
| Shellcrackers: Fair, using redworms and baby night crawlers in 6 to 20 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 with down rod in about 20 feet of water. Free-lining live shiners has also been productive. Trolling has produced some stripers also. |
| White Perch: Slow, Try jigging off the bottom with Hopkins spoons. |
| Crappie: Good, Crappie starting to bite, using small and medium minnows around deep brush piles, bridge pilings and piers. Also, try fishing at night. |
| Catfish: Good, fishing with live herring and cut shad off the bottom in deep water. |
| Bream and Shellcrackers: Excellent, using redworms and crickets in 4 to 6 feet of water and fishing shallow in river channel. |
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 all over the lake. Night fishing the most productive. |
| Crappie: Fair. Try small to medium sized minnows around fish attraction areas and brush piles. |
| Catfish: Good, shallow 9 to 15 feet using cut herring, stink bait, chicken livers and shiners 9 to 20 feet deep near the bottom along dike edges and around the dam. |
| Bream: Good, using crickets and redworms, nightcrawlers around fish attraction areas and banks. |
| Shellcrackers: Poor, using crickets and redworms along the banks in river runs and along points. |
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