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Freshwater Fishing Trends - February 25, 2008

DNR does not endorse or otherwise sanction the following Web page. Statewide reporting courtesy SCFishingReport.com.

Mountains Area
Lake Jocassee:

bulletTrout: Red hot. Troll from the surface down to 40 feet using Bad Creek trolling spoons. Also try drifting live bait (large shiners or herring) in the same zone.  In the recent tournament the big fish weighed over 10 pounds and several more very large fish have been caught recently.  Night fishing has also been productive lately with large fish and good numbers being caught; troll the rivers for best success.
bulletLargemouth and Redeye Bass: Very good.  Try jigging vertically in 60 to 80 feet of water using ¾ ounce jigging spoons and jig n pigs.  Also try fishing plastics such as finesse worms and trick worms deep and just off the bottom.
bulletSmallmouth Bass: Fair. Any day now the smallmouth bite should start; try live bait, vertical jigging spoons, and crawling plastics (crayfish imitations, worms) across the bottom around rocks.
bullet Jocassee Outdoor Center 2008 Annual Trout Fishing Tournaments - March 8, April 12.

Lake Keowee:

bulletLargemouth and Spotted Bass: Excellent.  An incredible 5 fish 28.92 pound limit was caught in a tournament last weekend. Fish the backs of creeks in 5 to 15 feet of water using Lake Fork Swim Baits.  Jerkbaits are also producing in the same areas. Also try shaky head jigs in 15 to 30 feet of water and try fishing boat docks using a 1/8 ounce to 3/16 ounce jig head with a watermelon or pumpkinseed worm.
bulletCrappie: Fair. It’s still early for crappie but try minnows and jigs in 25-30 feet of water around brush piles and other structure.

Lake Hartwell:

bulletStriped and Hybrid Bass:  Good.  The striper bite is heating up on Lake Hartwell as the water temperature makes its way from the 40s to the low 50s.  A variety of techniques are working right now, including live bait (herring and gizzard shad) on planer boards, balloon rigs, and down rods.  Generally target the mouths of creeks and river arms.  Specifically, try the 3 and 20, Martin’s Creek, and creeks in the Seneca River area near I-85.  Fish the down rigs in 35 feet of water 4 feet off the bottom.  While nice catches have been taken this week, look for fishing to continue to improve as the water warms throughout February and March.
bulletLargemouth Bass: Good. Largemouth bass are on the brink of spawning.  For now fish jigging spoons in 45 to 50 feet of water, but expect the fish already visible in the backs of pockets to stage for the spawn and start feeding soon.
bulletCrappie: Good. The crappie are feeding well in 8 to 20 feet of water.  Locate brush piles and fish minnows and colorful jigs. 

Piedmont Area
Lake Russell:

bulletStriped and Hybrid Bass: Fair.  Fish early morning with bucktails, cut and live herring and jigs, especially when water is running below the dam.
bulletLargemouth Bass: Good.  Fish crankbaits about 20 feet out from the banks. 
bulletCrappie: Excellent.  Lake Russell anglers continue to catch lots of crappie.  Fish in 12-18 feet of water around treetops using small minnows.  Limits of very nice fish are being taken daily.
bulletCatfish: Good, using cut bait and nightcrawlers along the bottom.                 

Lake Thurmond:

bulletStriped and Hybrid Bass: Fair. The water temperature rose slightly this week but strong winds made fishing difficult at times.  Rain muddied the upper tributaries making for tough fishing, but everyone was still glad to see it because of the persistent drought. Pull planers in 45-55 feet of water and fish downlines with live bait.  Target the Little River Carolina, Buffalo Creek, Soap Creek and Baker Creek areas.  Expect fishing to improve dramatically as March and warmer weather arrives.
bulletLargemouth Bass: Fair to good.  Largemouth have moved shallower over the last week or two and the fishing has improved.  Fish secondary points and creek backs with a small #5 Shad Rap or spinnerbait.
bulletCrappie: Very good.  The crappie bite continues to improve and catches of real slabs are being reported.  The upper end of the lake is better for crappie right now, particularly from Snap and Pistol Creek down to Landrum.  Pull slider jigs or fish minnows around brush tops in 14 to 18 feet of water.   

Lake Wylie:

bulletLargemouth Bass: Very good.  Fishermen are taking really nice stringers on Wylie right now – 15 to 20 fish days are being reported.  Fish a pig and jig around docks on the main lake or a dark plastic worm in the mouths of creeks.  Look for shallow areas with easy access to deep water but don’t venture up the creeks yet.
bulletCrappie: Good.  After a slow winter the crappie fishing is fast improving.  Limits of crappie are being taken fishing shallow using 1/32 ounce jigs in bright Chartreuse.  Target docks with brush in 4-6 feet of water.  Once the water hits 55 degrees the trolling action will pick up; if water is being pulled out of the lake trolling in South Fork is productive now.
bulletWhite Perch: Very good.  Fishermen who locate large schools of white perch report catching 50 or 100 nice fish.  Target mouths of creeks and main lake humps.            

Midlands Area
Lake Greenwood:

bulletUnlike most lakes in the Midlands area Lake Greenwood is at full pool.
bulletStriped Bass: Fair. Locate striped bass by finding feeding gulls. Use jigging spoons in 18-20 feet of water.
bulletLargemouth Bass: Fair to good.  Jigs, spinnerbaits, and crankbaits are all productive right now. Look for fish to continue to move into shallower water as the pre-spawn approaches.
bulletCrappie: Good. Fish in 18-20 feet around mid-lake structure using small minnows or jigs.  Look for schools of fish on the depth-finder before anchoring as fish are grouped very tightly in certain areas – and not in others. 

Lake Wateree:

bulletStriped Bass: Good. Fish in the lower part of the lake using topwaters, shiners, or goldfish.
bulletLargemouth Bass:  Fair to Good.  The bite is inconsistent from day to day but fishermen are catching some nice stringers.  Look for higher water temperatures in the stained water higher up the lake – 55 or 56 degrees instead of the typical 50-52 degrees.  Also fish docks on the main lake around June and Colonel’s Creek.  In plastic worms try green pumpkin or red shad colors and also fish dark jigs. 
bulletCrappie: Great.  As the water warms the crappie bite continues to get better and better.  Target the Fishing Creek and Beaver Creek areas using minnows.
bulletCatfish: Very good. Multiple 40 pounders have been taken in the last two weeks.  Target big blue cats using cut bait fished on the edges of holes.     

Lake Murray:

bulletStriped Bass: Fair to good. The striper remain scattered. For keeper-sized striper the fishing is fair right now, but for sheer numbers of fish it is very good. This time of year striper will take either herring or large shiners drifted and trolled from the surface down to 35 feet.  Continue to look for birds to locate striper and fish the lower part of the lake as striper have not made their way up the river.  The Black’s Bridge area is productive right now, and the lower (East) part of the lake seems to hold more fish than the top.
bulletLargemouth Bass: Fair. The bass are tricky currently but fishermen who figure them out can still do well.  The winning stringer in a tournament last weekend was 5 fish weighing 18 pounds, 8 ounces.  Those fish were caught fishing pockets and points in the lower lake with a brown buckeye jig and soft plastics.  For a deeper bite try fishing slowly using jigs and spinnerbaits in 12 to 20 feet of water and around points.
bulletCrappie: Very good. The crappie bite is really starting to improve and fishermen are taking nice catches of crappie. Fish minnows and jigs around brushpiles in 8 to 15 feet of water. 

Santee Cooper System            
Lake Marion:

bulletWhile the water level in much of the lake remains significantly down and a majority of boat ramps remain inoperable the lake is continuing to rise, albeit slowly.  Area marinas, boat ramps and tackle stores are hoping that traditional spring rains return water levels to normal, but for now call ahead to be sure ramps are usable before making a trip. Randolph’s Landing lower down the lake has a boat ramp that can accommodate boats of any size.
bulletStriped Bass: Slow.  Fishermen are picking up the occasional striper trolling but the drifting action has pretty much dropped off and the fishery remains depleted. Try large plugs or live shad. Legislative proposal H-4548 may soon affect the landscape of striped bass fishing throughout the Santee Cooper system. 
bulletLargemouth Bass: Good.  Nice catches of bass are being taken around structure but the lake remains dangerous to run.  Look for bass to enter pre-spawn mode very soon.
bulletCatfish: Excellent.  Fishermen are bringing in coolers full of catfish every day and the catfish action remains red hot as it has been for most of the last three months.  Target the old woods part of Lake Marion fishing cut shad in 10-12 feet of water.  One guide reports catching 21 fish weighing 300 pounds in 3 hours and needing to use the marina’s endloader to lift his cooler once he was back on dry land.  Look for more active catfish to continue to move shallower in the next couple of weeks and to begin to key in on shallow structure such as stumps and creek channels.  Expect better catches when a slight 5-10 knot breeze ripples the water than on calm days.
bulletCrappie: Good.  The crappie bite is improving each week.  While people haven’t been catching huge numbers of fish fishermen have been taking some of the biggest slabs seen in a year or two out of the lake.  Several boats have come back with stringers of 8-15 really big crappie.  Use minnows or jigs around brush in 8-20 feet of water.  Look for crappie to move into 4 to 10 feet of water in the next few weeks.
bulletBream: Fair.  The bream bite is starting to improve as temperatures rise.  Fish vertically around standing timber in 10-22 feet of water.  

Lake Moultrie:

bulletMost ramps remain unusable but for fishermen willing to put in at the Diversion Canal and slowly navigate down to the big water (the low water conditions make fast boating extremely dangerous) the concentrated fishery is very good.  If rain raises the water a couple of feet look for extremely good fishing this spring.
bulletStriped Bass: Slow. Try trolling large plugs or live bait (shad and herring). 
bulletLargemouth Bass: Good. The bass bite is improving and fish are beginning to move into shallower water.  Use crankbaits and worms. 
bulletCatfish: Good to very good. Catfish are biting well and are also beginning to move into shallower water.  However, the bite has been inconsistent at times for big blue cats.  Best bites have come on windy mornings with the bite cooling off on calm, bluebird clear days.  Fish cut herring or other large, oily chunks of baitfish in 8-10 feet of water on the bottom and around stumps.  Also try drifting in 10 to 20 feet of water when the winds are favorable or too strong to anchor comfortably.  February is traditionally a transitional month and catfish will continue to move shallower over the next couple of weeks.
bulletCrappie: Good. Crappie are moving shallower – fish in 8-10 feet of water around structure using minnows.

South Carolina Rivers

Catawba River

bulletLargemouth Bass:  Fair.  Bass fishing in the Catawba is beginning to heat up using crankbaits and spinnerbaits.

Chattooga River

bulletTrout: Good.  Water is rising in the Chattooga and fishing for brooks, rainbows, and browns is improving.  Brook trout up to 15 and 16 inches are the predominant catch with rainbows second – brown trout are mainly nocturnal feeders.  Currently nymph fishing is most successful but look for dry fly fishing to improve in the next week or two.  Additionally, the March brown Mayfly hatch is not far off.  Best fishing is in the catch and release section which is fly-fishing only until May 15.

Cooper River

bulletShad: Excellent.  The shad run has begun in the Cooper River and the bucks are making their way from the ocean up the river towards the tailrace to spawn.  Conventional fishermen should use a small green grub and fly anglers should use a chartreuse Clauser on a #4 hook.  Males range from 2-6 pounds and heavier row laden females should begin to show up in the next 4-6 weeks. 

Saluda River

bulletTrout:  Good.  Brown and rainbow trout were stocked in November and these fish are starting to get to a decent size.  Use flies and try to enjoy the trout fishing for numbers of fish before the striper came back up the river and thin the population in April.

Santee Diversion Canal

bulletThe water level in the canal is slowly rising.
bulletLargemouth Bass: Good.  Nice largemouth catches are being taken fishing in the breaks and rocks at both ends of the canal.
bulletCrappie: Good. Large numbers of crappie are being taken in the canal.
bulletCatfish: Excellent.  Catfishing in the area is very productive.  Use cut or whole bait and drift or anchor.

Savannah River

bulletYellow Perch: Excellent.  Huge yellow perch are being caught in the two to three pound range.  One fishermen recently caught four perch and weighed them in on certified scales at 8 pounds, 1 ounce.  Perch sizes have steadily increased for the last five or six years since the Lake Thurmond Dam turbines had holes cut to oxygenate the water.  Oxygenation, plankton, shells, and perch sizes have ballooned ever since.
bulletStriped/ Hybrid Bass: Excellent.  Fish are being caught directly under the Lake Thurmond Dam in the slack areas where baitfish are being pulled by. Remember, only two fish over 27” may be kept and no striper, hybrids or white bass under that size.
 

 

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