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...
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 March 3, 2008, follows.
DNR does not endorse or otherwise sanction the following Web page. Statewide reporting courtesy SCFishingReport.com.
Mountains Area
Lake Jocassee:
- Trout: Red hot. Rare among SC freshwater species, trout like the cold weather. 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 a recent tournament the big fish weighed over 10 pounds and several more very large fish have been caught lately. Night fishing has also been productive with large fish and good numbers being caught; troll the rivers for best success.
- Largemouth 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.
- Jocassee Outdoor Center 2008 Annual Trout Fishing Tournaments - March 8, April 12.
Lake Keowee:
- Largemouth Bass: Very good. Fish top water jerkbaits and swim baits in a black/ silver pattern and also magic shad color.
- Spotted Bass: Very good. Fish around Mile Creek and Gap Hill Landing. Shakey head worms in watermelon seed and redbug color have been productive in 25 to 30 feet of water. Also try drop shotting around bridge pilings in 15 to 20 feet of water with a blade runner or a fish head spinner in pearl color.
- Crappie: 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:
- Striped and Hybrid Bass: Fair to good. Unpredictable weather continues to make striper fishing difficult except in very specific areas. Best action is coming in the Martin Creek area near the coal pile and at the mouth. There is also good action being reported at Friendship Access fishing up the Coneross. Successful techniques include pulling trout and gizzard shads on planer board rigs. As the water r warms looks for striper to move shallower and begin feeding on threadfin shad.
- Largemouth Bass: Fair. Catches in the Classic were good but not exceptional. Blame very difficult conditions over the last few days. As has been widely reported the winning technique in the Classic was fishing a Booyah Pigskin jig, a Booyah AJ’s Go-To jig, both with a Yum trailer, and a Cordell CC spoon. Winner Alton Jones successfully targeted boat docks and the inside edges of standing timber in 25-35 feet of water. The most popular baits in the tournament seemed to be jigs and crankbaits.
- Crappie: Fair. The crappie are feeding in 8 to 20 feet of water. Locate brush piles and fish minnows and colorful jigs. Expect better conditions to bring them shallower again.
Piedmont Area
Lake Russell:
- Striped and Hybrid Bass: Fair. Fish early morning with bucktails, cut and live herring and jigs, especially when water is running below the dam.
- Largemouth Bass: Good. Fish crankbaits about 20 feet out from the banks.
- Crappie: 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.
- Catfish: Good, using cut bait and nightcrawlers along the bottom.
Lake Thurmond:
- Striped and Hybrid Bass: Fair. Windy conditions and cold weather continue to make striper fishing inconsistent and difficult at times. Conditions up the river are muddy while the lower end of the lake is clear to slightly stained. 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.
- Largemouth Bass: Fair. Largemouth moved shallower over the last week or two and the fishing improved; however, cold weather has temporarily pushed them deeper. Fish secondary points and creek backs with a small #5 Shad Rap or spinnerbait once warmer conditions return.
- Crappie: 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:
- Largemouth Bass: Good. Tough conditions slowed down Lake Wylie’s excellent bass fishing of one to two weeks ago but look for more consistent weather to improve fishing again soon. Still, on calmer days some nice catches have been made this week. Fish a pig and jig around docks on the main lake or a dark plastic worm in the mouths of creeks. Fish are also starting to venture up the creeks. Carolina rigs fished early on main lake points have also been productive as have spinnerbaits at secondary points near mouths of creeks.
- Crappie: 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.
- White 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:
- Unlike most lakes in the Midlands area Lake Greenwood is at full pool.
- Striped Bass: Fair. Locate striped bass by finding feeding gulls. Use jigging spoons in 18-20 feet of water.
- Largemouth 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.
- Crappie: 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:
- Striped Bass: Good. Fish in the lower part of the lake using topwaters, shiners, or live herring.
- Largemouth Bass: Fair to Good. The bite is inconsistent from day to day but fishermen are catching some nice fish. Look for higher water temperatures in the stained water higher up the lake – 55 or 56 degrees instead of the typical 50-52 degrees. Fish boat 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.
- Crappie: Good. Tough conditions pushed fish out to deeper water this week but as the water warms the crappie bite will continue to get better and better. Target the Fishing Creek and Beaver Creek areas using minnows.
- Catfish: 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:
- Tough weather conditions, including very strong winds, have made fishing difficult on Lake Murray over the last week.
- Striped Bass: Fair to good. The striper remain scattered all over the lake although the eastern end of the lake seems to be producing better than the western end right now. Look for feeding birds to indicate schooling striper, and also use cut herring on the bottom. After a winter where mainly short fish were being landed catches of keeper sized fish are beginning to pick up.
- Largemouth Bass: Good. The bass fishing has improved over the last week or two. Bass are starting out the day in deep water and then making their way shallower as the sun warms the water. Crankbaits and spinnerbaits are producing fish but jigs seem to be the most effective lure.
- Crappie: Very good. The crappie bite continues to improve and fishermen are taking good catches of crappie, including some really nice sized fish. Fish minnows and jigs around brushpiles in 6 to 20 feet of water.
- Shellcracker: Good. The shellcracker are turning on in 4 to 12 feet of water.
Santee Cooper System
Lake Marion:
- Lake Marion waters continue to rise and carry the promise of relief to local boat ramps and tackle stores operators. However, for now continue to call ahead to make sure that ramps are operable and tackle stores are open. Randolph’s Landing lower down the lake has a boat ramp that can accommodate boats of any size.
- Striped Bass: Slow. Fishermen are picking up the occasional striper trolling but the drifting action has pretty much dropped off. Try large plugs or live shad. Stripers seem to have moved a little way out of Wyboo Creek on Lake Marion but will probably be back in that area soon, depending on bait fish movements.
- Largemouth Bass: Good. Catches of very large bass, over 10 pounds, are beginning to pick up. Bass are responding to rising water and beginning to be caught very shallow on spinnerbaits, crankbaits, and stickbaits with spinners.
- Catfish: Very good. Prospecting in shallow water is productive both anchoring and drifting although drift fishermen may encounter frequent hang-ups. Have fresh cut bait, including shad, herring and white perch, on hand. Look for big blues to be caught in shallower water with lots of structure such as stumps.
- Crappie: Good. Catches of crappie are picking up and some nice stringers are being caught. Crappie are running shallow in late evenings on the upper end of Lake Marion. On the lower end of the lake they continue to hold on deeper structure.
- Shellcracker: Bites of shellcracker are beginning to pick up. Fish shallow.
Lake Moultrie:
- Most 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. As rain continues to raise the water level, look for fishing to continue to improve.
- Striped Bass: Fair. While the bite is inconsistent striper are being caught shallow in Lake Moultrie. Fish are in the 8 to 10 pound range although there are younger, smaller striper mixed in. Casting or trolling bucktails, stickbaits, and large spinnerbaits is most productive. Some striper are still being caught trolling on the lower end of Moultrie very early and after dark.
- Largemouth Bass: Good. The bass bite is improving and fish are beginning to move into shallower water. Use crankbaits and spinnerbaits as fish spread out into shallow areas that have been dry.
- Catfish: 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.
- Crappie: Good. Lake Moultrie is producing good catches of crappie but windy, unpredictable conditions are keeping the fish on deeper structure and there are no reports of shallow crappie just yet. Look for suspended fish in 20-25 feet of water and fish 10-15 feet deep. Use minnows, jigs, or a jig tipped with a minnow and target brush. With steadier conditions look for fish to move shallower and begin prospecting for shallower crappie.
- Shellcracker: Fair. Catches of shellcracker are starting to pick up. The mouth of the Diversion Canal on the Moultrie end is producing shellcracker in late afternoon.
South Carolina Rivers
Catawba River
- Largemouth Bass: Fair. Bass fishing in the Catawba is beginning to improve using crankbaits and spinnerbaits. Calmer conditions should improve fishing in the next couple of weeks.
Chattooga River
- Trout: 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
- Shad: Excellent. The shad run is in full swing in the Cooper River and the bucks and now females are making their way from the ocean up the river towards the Lake Moultrie Dam tailrace to spawn. Some really nice roe shad are being taken, ranging from 3 to 5 pounds. Conventional fishermen should use a small green grub and fly anglers should use a chartreuse Clauser on a #4 hook.
Saluda River
- Trout: Good. There are reports of large numbers of small stocked trout from last fall’s DNR stocking being caught as well as some larger trout. One angler caught a 16 and a 17 inch brown trout. Fishing should only improve as the spring approaches.
Santee Diversion Canal
- The water level in the canal is slowly rising.
- Largemouth Bass: Good. Nice largemouth catches are being taken fishing in the breaks and rocks at both ends of the canal.
- Crappie: Good. Large numbers of crappie are being taken in the canal.
- Catfish: Excellent. Catfishing in the area is very productive. Use cut or whole bait and drift or anchor.
- Shellcracker: Shellcracker are beginning to be caught on the Moultrie end of the canal. Look for warmer water conditions in late afternoon.
Savannah River
- Yellow Perch: Excellent. Huge yellow perch are still being caught in the two to three pound range.
- Striped/ 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 2 fish over 27” may be kept and no striper, hybrids or white bass under that size.