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 3, 2007, follows.

Mountains Area
Lake Jocassee:

• Largemouth Bass: Good, casting Carolina-rigged worms in morning and late evening.
• Trout: Good, try drifting large minnows from surface to 80 to 100 feet and trolling with minnows. Night fishing is fair with minnows. Fish at 80 to 115 feet with nightcrawlers and at 100 to 115 feet with Sutton, Doctor and Apex spoons.
• Smallmouth Bass: Good. Casting minnows around rocky points.
• Crappie: Poor. Try small minnows and jigs around brush piles.
• Catfish: Fair. Try nightcrawlers or cut bait on bottom.
• Bream: Good, fishing with popping bugs, redworms and crickets around banks and brush.

Lake Keowee:

• Largemouth Bass: Fair, try doodling with drop-shot rigs in 30 to 40 feet of water and using jigging spoons.
• Crappie: Fair, fishing with minnows at night and jigs in 15 to 20 feet of water around brush piles and bridge pilings, best under bridges with lights early in the day and night.
• Catfish: Good, basket fishing for catfish still productive. Use cut bait, minnows and nightcrawlers on the bottom.
• Bream: Good, using crickets and redworms around brush piles, stumps and bridge pilings.

Lake Hartwell:

• Largemouth Bass: Fair, try using 8 to 10 inch blue worms at night and live large minnows also white flukes and topwater flukes in morning and evenings.
• Striped and Hybrid Bass: Fair, schooling early morning and evening. Catches around the dam with live herring at 40 to 60 feet. Fair at daybreak on cut bait on points or breaks. Trolling umbrella rigs, free-lining live herring and large minnows and jigging in about 38 feet of water. Use blue umbrella lures when trolling.
• Crappie: Fair, some catches at 25 to 30 feet with small to medium minnows. Also, try using mini-umbrella rigs.
• Catfish: Fair, using cut herring, large shiners, nightcrawlers, shrimp and chicken livers on the bottom.
• Bream: Fair. Try using redworms and crickets under boat docks and bridges and brush piles.

Piedmont Area
Lake Russell:

• Largemouth Bass: Slow. Try shallow creeks, flats, and rocky points with medium-running crankbaits and plastic worms along grass banks.
• Yellow Perch: Good. Try fishing deep with medium minnows and jigging spoons.
• Striped and Hybrid Bass: Fair, early morning with bucktails, cut, live herring and jigs especially when water is running below dam.
• White Bass: Good, using bucktails, spinners and live bait below dam.
• Crappie: Fair, using minnows and jigs around brush piles and bridge pilings in 14 to 15 feet of water. Also try fishing jigs along banks with cover.
• Catfish: Good, using cut bait and nightcrawlers on the bottom.
• Bream: Slow. Try using crickets and earthworms around bridge pilings.           

Lake Thurmond:

• Largemouth Bass: Fair, casting plastic worms deep-running Rebels and ShadRaps. Yozuri plugs and Challenger plugs.
• Striped and Hybrid Bass: Fair, using Little Cleos, Berry Spoons, 1/2 ounce yellow and white RoadRunners with bucktails and KastMasters 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 fishing on the bottom.
• Bream and Shellcrackers: Slow. Try using earthworms in 5 to 10 feet of water around brush-tops. 

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: Fair, below the dam casting smaller bucktails and spoons, improved.
• Crappie: Good, using small minnows and jigs around brush tops in 12 to 20 feet of water.
• Catfish: Good, fishing on the bottom.
• Shellcrackers: Try using redworms and crickets on the bottom.
• Bream: Slow. Try using earthworms and crickets around the banks.       

Midlands Area
Lake Greenwood:

• Largemouth Bass: Fair. Try spinnerbaits, jigs, plastic worms and lizards around points and brush piles in 8 to 12 feet of water.
• Stripers: Good, behind the dam using Bombers, Charlie plugs, and Flukes.
• White Bass and White Perch: Good: Schools are scattered. Good results with minnows and Berry Spoons in 10 to 12 feet of water. 
• Crappie: Good, using small to medium minnows and mini jigs over brush in 12 to 15 feet of water. Good catches of crappie along brush and bushes on the Reedy River. 
• Catfish: Good, using redworms with a standard hook, line, sinker and cork in 6 to 8 feet of water.
• Bream: Slow. Try using redworms along shoreline and docks.

Lake Wateree:

• Largemouth Bass: Good, casting to deep banks with deep-running crankbaits  and around piers with brush. Use lures that mimic shad.
• Striped Bass: Fair, using live shad in10 to 12 feet, particularly the Bird Island area. Some schooling early and late.
• White Perch: Fair, using Twister tail crappie, grubs and live minnows.
• Crappie: Good, minnows fished 15 to 18 feet deep using Wow grubs or Slider grubs trolled slow and deep around mouths of creeks and in the river channel suspended in the water column 12 feet deep. Many small crappie noted. 
• Catfish: Good, using earthworms, nightcrawlers shrimp, small pieces of cut bait and live shad 6 to 12 feet close to bottom in major feeder creeks.
• Bream: Fair. Try worms and crickets fished around piers with brush.

Lake Murray:

• Largemouth Bass: Fair, casting to submerged grass along banks with horny-toad frogs and floating worms, Texas-rigged worms or lizards in pumpkin, watermelon seed and redbug colors. Fish are hitting topwater baits, Sammy 100's, floating worms and double buzz baits.
• Striped Bass: Fair, using down-rods with live herring, 20 to 60 feet deep, in up to 100 feet of water; also free-lining herring. Schooling activity reported early morning and late evening hours, try pencil poppers and spooks. 
• Crappie: Good, using jigs tipped with small tuffy minnows and shiners trolling in creek runs and fishing brush piles in 15 to 20 feet of water and at bridge pilings.
• White Perch: Good, jigging spoons and nightcrawlers in 15 to 20 feet of water.
• Catfish: Good, using cut herring and nightcrawlers on the bottom.
• Bream: Slow. Try fishing redworms and crickets around grass wall and docks with brush. Try Beetlespins, white with red dot, when live bait does not produce.
• Shellcrackers: Fair, using redworms and baby nightcrawlers in 6 to 20 feet of water off points. 

Santee Cooper System            
Lake Marion:

• Largemouth Bass: Good, using artificial worms, and bucktails fishing along the banks and point early in the morning.
• Striped Bass: Fair, using live shiner with down rods in 25 feet of water.
• White Perch: Slow, Try jigging off the bottom with Hopkins spoons.
• Crappie: Good, 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: Slow. Try using redworms and crickets in 4 to 8 feet of water. 

Lake Moultrie:

• Largemouth Bass: Fair, casting spinnerbaits, plastic worms and lizards along docks and structure around Hog Swamp in shallow water.
• Striped Bass: Good, casting topwater lures like Devil's Horse to fish schooling, noted in past week. 
• Crappie: Fair to Good, using small to medium minnows and Beetlespins around fish attraction areas and brush piles.
• Catfish: Good, using cut shad, herring, menhaden, mullet, live large shiners and nightcrawlers 35 to 50 feet deep on bottom.
• Bream: Fair. Try using crickets, redworms, and small minnows, around manmade fish attractors, crappie beds and around the dam around grates at powerhouse.
• Shellcrackers: 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.

South Carolina freshwater fish regulations