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 September 24, 2007, follows.

Mountains Area
Lake Jocassee:

• Largemouth Bass: Good, casting Carolina-rigged worms, and topwater plugs with slow retrieve. Also in early morning drifting minnows off shallow points.
• Trout: Slow, trolling early in the day in 70 to 90 feet water with Sutton, Doctor and Apex spoons. Also try drifting large minnows and nightcrawlers early in the morning in 75 to 100 feet of water.
• Smallmouth Bass: Good. Try drifting large minnows and brown hair jigs around rocky points and rocky banks.
• Crappie: Fair, using small minnows around brush. 
• Catfish: Fair, try cut bait or worms. Bream: Excellent, using crickets around the banks.

Lake Keowee:

• Largemouth Bass: Good, casting Carolina-rigged worms, crankbaits and jerk baits to the banks around brush. Most productive time to catch fish is early morning and at night.
• Crappie: Fair, using small minnows and jigs in 20 to 25 feet of water around brush piles and bridge pilings.
• Catfish: Good, using jumbo 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, crankbaits, topwater lures and flukes fishing off points. Best catches reported at dawn and dusk.
• Striped and Hybrid Bass: Fair, using live herring with down-rods in deep water around river channels 15 to 30 feet deep. Some schooling activity from River Forks Landing to the dam in the afternoon. Good catches with top water plugs, spoons and Cleos in schools. Also trolling RoadRunners with bucktail jigs.
• Crappie: Fair, using small and medium minnows along with small crappie jigs. Fish are being caught in 15 to 30 feet of water over structure.
• Catfish: Good, using cut herring, nightcrawlers, shrimp and chicken livers on the bottom. 
• Bream: Good, using redworms and crickets around brush piles.     

Piedmont Area
Lake Russell:

• Largemouth Bass: Good, try shallow creeks, flats, and rocky points with medium-running crankbaits and plastic worms. Better at night. Yellow Perch: Fair, fishing medium minnows deep and jigging spoons.
• Striped and Hybrid Bass: Fair, early morning with bucktails, cut and live herring and jigs especially when water is running below dam. Night fishing has been the most productive.
• White Bass: Good, using bucktails, spinners and live bait below dam.
• Crappie: Good, using minnows and around brush piles and bridges. Also try fishing jigs along banks with cover. 
• Catfish: Good, using cut bait and nightcrawlers on the bottom. 
• Bream: Good, using red wigglers, pinks, crickets and nightcrawlers.   

Lake Thurmond:

• Largemouth Bass: Good, casting plastic worms. Also, try Little Cleos, spinnerbaits and top water plugs. Good catches with deep-running Rebels and ShadRaps. Yozuri plugs and Challenger plugs.
• Striped and Hybrid Bass: Fair, using Cleos, Berry Spoons, 1/2 ounce yellow and white RoadRunners with bucktails and KastMasters. Good catches around the dam in 30 to 50 feet of water. Also, try large minnows and live herring.
• Crappie: Good, using small minnows and jigs around deep brush tops.
• Catfish: Good, using cut bait and nightcrawlers around bridges and rocky points. 
• Shellcracker: Good, try jumbo redworms on the bottom.
• Bream: Good, using pink worms, crickets 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: Fair, using small minnows and jigs around brush tops in 20 to 25 feet of water. Best time to catch crappies is at night.
• Catfish: Excellent, using nightcrawlers on the bottom. 
• Shellcracker: Good, using redworms and crickets on the bottom.
• Bream: Good, using earthworms, redworms and crickets around the banks.    

Midlands Area
Lake Greenwood:

• Largemouth Bass: Good, using plastic worms and lizards around points and in brush piles in 8 to 12 feet of water. Floating worms and topwater lures early in the morning are producing some fish along banks.
• Stripers: Good, behind the dam using Bombers, Charlie plugs, and Flukes.
• Crappie: Fair, using small to medium minnows and mini jigs over brush in 12 to 15 feet of water. Night fishing for crappie is the best. 
• Catfish: Good, using redworms with a standard hook, line, sinker and cork in 6 to 8 feet of water.
• Bream: Good, using redworms and crickets along shore and docks.   

Lake Wateree:

• Largemouth Bass: Good, casting to deep banks with deep-running crankbaits and plastic worms.
• Striped Bass: Fair, using cut bait in the lower end of the lake, 40 to 50 feet of water, near the dam. Stripers schooling in the lower half of the lake early and late, mostly smaller fish. Some fish being caught below Wateree Dam with topwater lures.
• Crappie: Fair, try trolling with Wow grubs or Slider grubs. Fish are at the mouths of major feeder creeks suspended in the water column 12 feet deep.
• Catfish: Good, using live shad, small pieces of shrimp and cut bait close to bottom in 10 to 20 feet of water and deeper down the lake. Also try Cedar Creek dam area. Night fishing has been productive along underwater bars and off points. 
• Bream: Excellent, using crickets and redworms. Fish during the early morning and late evening. Also try river drops.

Lake Murray:

• Largemouth Bass: air, using topwater lures early morning and in the late afternoon. Try fishing Texas-rigged and Carolina-rigged worms midday around stumps and rocky points in 8 to 20.
• Striped Bass: Fair, using live bait and trolling road runners and buck tails.
• Crappie: Good, using jigs and minnows around bridge pilings, brush piles in 10 to 20 feet of water.
• Catfish: good, using cut live herring, cut bait and nightcrawlers 8 to 25 feet deep.
• Bream and Shellcracker: Fair, using crickets and worms next to docks, structure and brush in 5 to 20 feet of water.

Santee Cooper System            
Lake Marion:

• Largemouth Bass: Fair, using artificial worms, and topwater Rebels fishing along the banks and point early in the morning. Striped Bass: Fair, 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 small and medium minnows over deep brush piles, bridge pilings and piers.
• Catfish: Excellent, fishing with live herring and cut shad off the bottom in deep water.
• Bream and Shellcrackers: Excellent, using redworms and crickets in 4 to 8 feet of water.         

Lake Moultrie:

• Largemouth Bass: Good, casting, spinnerbaits, plastic worms and lizards along docks and structure.
• Striped Bass: Good, Jigging and with down-rods in 30 feet of water with live herring near the powerhouse and also trolling stretch 25's when live bait does not produce fish in 30 feet of water. Night fishing has been the most productive.
• Crappie: Fair, using small to medium minnows and Beetlespins around fish attraction areas and brush piles.
• Catfish: Excellent, using cut shad, herring, menhaden, live large shiners and nightcrawlers 30 to 35 feet deep.
• Bream: Excellent, using crickets, redworms, and small minnows, around manmade fish attractors and around the dam.
• Shellcrackers: Fair, 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.sc.gov/regs/pdf/freshfishing.pdf