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News Release
February 5, 2007
DNR News (803) 734-3815Striper

Freshwater Fishing Trends
 

Mountains Area
Lake Jocassee:

bulletLargemouth Bass: Fair, casting Carolina-rigged worms and Hopkins, Berry or flexing spoons.
 
bulletTrout: Good, fishing early morning using minnows and herring 55 feet and up. Also trolling early morning and during the day with Sutton spoons and Bad Creek spoons in water 55 feet and up.
bulletSmallmouth Bass: Fair, casting brown hair jigs or drifting live bait on rocky points and rocky banks.
bulletCrappie: Slow. Try using small minnows.
bulletCatfish: Fair, using night crawlers or cut bait on bottom.
bulletBream: Fair, using redworms around banks and brush.

Lake Keowee:

bulletLargemouth Bass: Good, doodling plastic worms, jigging spoons and drop-shotting lures on the bottom 30 to 50 feet down.
bulletCrappie: Fair. Try small minnows and jigs in 10 to 15 feet of water around brush piles and bridge pilings.
bulletCatfish: Good, using nightcrawlers and cut bait.
bulletBream: Slow. Try red-worms around brush piles and around stumps.

Lake Hartwell:

bulletLargemouth Bass: Good, using buzzbaits and planer boards to get bait close to shore. Also try deep-running crankbaits.
bulletStriped and Hybrid Bass: Good, using down-rods in deep water around river channels 15 to 30 feet deep and using umbrella rigs.
bulletCrappie: Fair, using medium minnows in about 10 feet of water.
bulletCatfish: Good, using shrimp and chicken livers, cut herring, large shiners, and nightcrawlers on the bottom.
bulletBream: Good, using red worms around brush piles.

Piedmont Area
Lake Russell:

bulletLargemouth Bass: Slow. Try casting deepwater crankbaits.
bulletYellow Perch: Slow. Try fishing minnows deep.
bulletStriped and Hybrid Bass: Fair. Try early morning with bucktails, cut, live herring and jigs especially when water is running below dam.
bulletWhite Bass: Poor. Try bucktails, spinners and live bait below dam.
bulletCrappie: Fair. Try using minnows and jigs around brush piles and bridges.
bulletCatfish: Fair, using cut bait on the bottom.
bulletBream: Slow. Try fishing deep with crickets or live worms.

Lake Thurmond:

bulletLargemouth Bass: Fair. Try casting plastic worms and Cleos.
bulletStriped and Hybrid Bass: Good, using Roadrunners, Mr. Champ spoons or deep-running Rebels.
bulletCrappie: Good, around docks using jigs and minnows.
bulletCatfish: Fair, using cut bait, nightcrawlers and livers on the bottom.
bulletBream: Fair, using earthworms around the banks.

Lake Wylie:

bulletLargemouth Bass: Good, casting Carolina-rigged worms and plastic crawfish jigs.
bulletWhite Bass: Good, below the dam using bucktails, jigs and spoons.
bulletCrappie: Excellent, using small minnows and jigs in 20 to 30 feet of water.
bulletCatfish: Good, fishing on the bottom with a variety of baits.
bulletShellcrackers: Try using redworms and crickets on the bottom.
bulletBream: Slow. Try red-worms and nightcrawlers from the bank.

Midlands Area
Lake Greenwood:

bulletLargemouth Bass: Fair. Try using crankbaits off main points or jigging around brush piles and deep holes.
bulletStripers: Fair, using live bait, herring or shad 20 to 25 feet deep.
bulletWhite Perch: Fair, jigging bucktails and berry spoons 15-20 feet deep.
bulletCrappie: Fair, using minnows and mini jigs in black and chartreuse over brush in 10 to 20 feet of water.
bulletCatfish: Fair, using cut bait and worms on the bottom.
bulletBream: Poor. Try using crickets and red worms.

Lake Wateree:

bulletLargemouth Bass: Slow. Try using worms and crankbaits.
bulletStriped bass: Good. Try fishing with down-rods 14 feet deep with small shiners in 25-35 feet of water.
bulletWhite Bass: Slow. Try trolling shad-like baits or same as striper fishing.
bulletCrappie: Good, trolling jigs, grubs and minnows 10 to 15 deep in creeks.
bulletCatfish: Slow. Try using live bait.
bulletBream: Slow. Try red worms along the bank.

Lake Murray:

bulletLargemouth Bass: Try using Texas and Carolina rig finesse baits with a shaky jig head on the edge of flooded grass and broom straw. Use spinner baits in the shallows, pig and jig around brush at 8 to 12 feet.
bulletStriped Bass: Good catches in backs of creeks, free lining herring and using plainer boards. Good catches casting double rigged buck tails and Ice Flies.
bulletCrappie: Good, using jigs and small tuffies trolling the creek runs, at 4 to 15 feet, and in the upper part of the lake around the confluence of the little and big Saluda rivers and Camp Barstow. Try medium minnows around brush piles, docks and around bridge pilings, at 6 to 25 feet.
bulletWhite Perch: Good,  jigging Flex-it spoons down 30 to 60 feet and using small tuffies and red worms.
bulletCatfish: Fair, using cut herring and nightcrawlers on bottom.
bulletBream: Fair. Fish with redworms, baby nightcrawlers and crickets in 3 to 12 feet of water.
bulletShellcrackers: Good, using redworms and baby nightcrawlers in 4 to 15 feet around a flooded grass edge, rocks, stumps and other structure.

Santee Cooper System            
Lake Marion:

bulletLargemouth Bass: Slow. Try artificial worms deep.
bulletStriped Bass: Slow. Try casting bucktails to schooling fish or fishing live small blueback herring, shad or shiners.
bulletWhite Perch: Slow, Try jigging off the bottom with Hopkins spoons.
bulletCrappie: Fair, Try using small and medium minnows over deep brush piles, bridge pilings and piers.
bulletCatfish: Excellent, using cut shad off the bottom in deep water.
bulletBream and Shellcrackers: Slow. Try using crickets.

Lake Moultrie:

bulletLargemouth Bass: Fair. Try using or Carolina-rigged worms, spinnerbaits or Sammie lures.
bulletStriped Bass: Good, trolling with artificial worms.
bulletCrappie: Fair. Try using small to medium minnows and Beetlespins around fish attraction areas and brush piles.
bulletCatfish: Good, using cut shad, herring, menhaden, mullet, live large shiners and nightcrawlers 30 to 40 feet deep on bottom.
bulletBream: Fair. Try using crickets, redworms, and small minnows, around manmade fish attractors.
bulletShellcrackers: Slow, try redworms and green worms along the banks along river runs and 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.

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

 

 

 

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