Freshwater fishing trends are provided by the S.C. Department of Natural Resources. For South Carolina freshwater fish regulations visit the SCDNR website. Freshwater fishing trends for the week of December 24, 2007, follows.

Mountains Area
Lake Jocassee:

• Largemouth Bass: Fair, casting jigging spoons and Carolina-rigged worms.
• Trout: Fair, fishing early morning using cut bait, minnows and herring 30 feet and up. Also trolling early morning and during the day with Sutton spoons, Doctor spoons and plugs in water 40 feet deep and up.
• Smallmouth Bass: Fair, casting brown hair jigs or drifting live bait on rocky points and rocky banks. 
• Crappie: Poor. Try small minnows and jigs around brush piles.  Catfish: Fair, using nightcrawlers or cut bait on bottom, night is best. 
• Bream: Slow to Fair, using popping bugs and dug worms around banks and brush. 
• Jocassee Outdoor Center 2008 Annual Trout Fishing Tournaments - January 12, February 9, March 8, April 12.

Lake Keowee:

• Largemouth Bass: Good, doodling and drop-shotting baits on the bottom. Yozuri baits, Jigging Spoons and plastic worms have also been used to catch bass. 
• Crappie: Fair, using small minnows under bridges day or night. 
• Catfish: Good, using nightcrawlers and cut bait on the bottom. 
• Bream: Slow. Try Red worms around shallow brush piles and stumps. 

Lake Hartwell:

• Largemouth Bass: Fair, using Buzzbaits and planer boards to get bait close to shore. Also try casting plastic frogs. 
• Striped and Hybrid Bass: Fair, in creeks lake with live herring shiners, jigs and jerkbaits in 30-feet of water at mouths of major creeks. Some success trolling in this area. Also casting to schools with Super Flukes.
• Crappie: Good, using small and medium size minnows 15-20 feet deep around bridge pilings, docks and brush piles.
• Catfish: Excellent, using cut herring on the bottom in shallow coves. 
• Bream: Fair, using red worms around brush piles. 

Piedmont Area
Lake Russell:

• Largemouth Bass: Slow. Try casting deepwater crank baits. 
• Yellow Perch: Good, try fishing minnows deep. 
• Striped and Hybrid Bass: Fair, using bucktails, cut bait and jigs especially when water is running below dam. 
• White Bass: Poor. Try bucktails, spinners and live bait below dam. 
• Crappie: Good, using minnows and jigs around brush piles and bridges. 
• Catfish: Good, fishing cut bait on the bottom. 
• Bream: Excellent, fishing with red wigglers and nightcrawlers.             

Lake Thurmond:

• Largemouth Bass: Good, casting plastic worms in the necks early morning and around points late afternoon. 
• Striped and Hybrid Bass: Fair, using Little Cleos, KastMasters, Spoons (gold and silver), and Roostertails in yellow or green. Also try free-lining medium size minnows.
• Crappie: Good, using minnows around bridges, piers and brush tops. 
• Catfish: Excellent, using worms, cut bait and chicken livers on the bottom along rip-rap and banks.
• Bream: Good, using crickets, worms and popping bugs. 

Lake Wylie:

• Largemouth Bass: Good, casting Carolina-rigged worms and plastic crawfish jigs along shallow points and banks. Topwater plugs good late afternoon and early morning. Midday fish deep water with spoons and spinnerbaits.  
• Striped Bass: Good, below Wylie dam using bucktails, jigs and spoons when water is running.
• White Bass: Fair, casting small spinners and jigs behind the dam. 
• Crappie: Good, using redhead-white body jigs and minnows around piers about 5 to 15 feet of water.
• Catfish: Good, using nightcrawlers on the bottom. 
• Bream: Slow. Try fishing with red worms and nightcrawlers from the bank.       

Midlands Area
Lake Greenwood:

• Largemouth Bass: Good, casting crank baits and plastic worms on the bottom around structure, in 12 to 15 feet of water or less. 
• Stripers: Fair, using live bait, herring or shad 20-25 feet deep. Also try spoons and bucktails. Schooling activity increasing on lake. Some stripers being caught behind the dam. 
• White Perch: Good, use jigs and bucktails were the schooling activity is located. 
• Crappie: Good, using minnows and mini jigs in Black and Chartreuse colors, over brush in 10 to 20 feet of water. 
• Catfish: Good, using cut bait and worms on the bottom. 
• Bream: Slow, using red worms along shore, docks and fishing from banks. 

Lake Wateree:

• Largemouth Bass: Fair, fish slow using pig and jigs. 
• Striped bass: Fair. Try fishing with down-rods 13 feet deep with medium shiners in 26 feet of water. Try mouth of Beaver Creek. 
• White Bass: Slow, using shad-like baits in state park area, increased schooling. Try fishing 10-15 feet deep with shiners. 
• Crappie: Fair, Lower half of lake fishing minnows 13 feet deep. Also trolling Wow grubs in creeks in 12 to 13 feet of water. 
• Catfish: Good, using stink bait and live bait drifting on the bottom. 
• Bream: Slow. Try red worms along the bank. 

Lake Murray:

• Largemouth Bass: Good, using topwater lures early in the morning. Use lite, short Carolina rigged finesse worms with a short leader around rocks and gravel bottom. Try shaky head rigged finesse worms with 6 to 8 lb. test line. 
• Striped Bass: Fair, using live herring on down-rods 40 to 60 feet deep. Schooling activity reported in the early morning and late afternoon. Also try free-lining herring or large minnows in mouths of creeks in the upper part of the lake. 
• Crappie: Fair, using jigs and small tuffy minnows trolling in creek runs and fishing over brush piles and deep water docks.
• White Perch: Good, try jigging spoons and tuffies or worms. 
• Catfish: Fair, using cut live herring, cut bait and nightcrawlers 5 to 15 feet deep. 
• Bream: Good, using crickets and worms next to around grass in about 10 to 15 feet of water.     

Santee Cooper System            
Lake Marion:

• Largemouth Bass: Good, casting topwater lures, lizards and floating worms early morning and late afternoon. 
• Striped Bass: Fair, casting bucktails to schooling fish or fishing live small blueback herring, shad or shiners 15 to 20 feet deep. Fair catches reported where schooling. 
• White Perch: Slow, try jigging off the bottom with Hopkins spoons. 
• Crappie: Good, Try small minnows around deep brush piles. 
• Catfish: Excellent, fishing with cut bait off the bottom and drift fishing around old trees in the middle of the lake. 
• Bream and Shellcrackers: Slow, using, red-worms, wigglers and nightcrawlers. 

Lake Moultrie:

• Largemouth Bass: Fair, using topwater lures and plastic worms in shallows near Hatchery Area early and late afternoon. 
• Striped Bass: Good, using live herring and trolling Stretch 25s between Navy Point and Bonneau. Also jigging with Flex-it spoons 35-40 feet deep. 
• Crappie: Slow. Try minnows around fish attraction areas. 
• Catfish: Good, using cut bait, shiners and nightcrawlers along dike edges 15-40 feet deep and near Power Plant. Also try fishing ledges along the riverbeds. Good catches anytime of the day. 
• Bream: Good using crickets. Reports of catches made on old crappie beds. 
• Shellcrackers: Fair, using crickets around public fish attractors. 

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 - Mr. David Sweat

South Carolina freshwater fish regulations