|
Freshwater Report
Mountains Area
Lake Jocassee
Trout: Fair: Jocassee is probably producing
trout 70-80 feet down using both live bait
and Spoons. Fish will be in the main lake
this time of year trying to escape the warm
water. Largemouth Bass: Fair. Captain Steve
Pietrykowski recommends finding the coolest
water close to deep water and use your
electronics. Shad schools starting to hit
the surface throughout the lake. You can't
really target them yet or use them as a
pattern because they are still scattered and
unpredictable. Use of drop-shots for fish
you find on your depthfinder/fishfinder. If
the fish are on the bottom put the weight on
the bottom, the fish will find you bait.
Black Bass: Slow to fair. Captain Pat
Bennett reports that in the absence of cloud
cover summer fishing is tough right now, but
he recommends fishing blowdowns near deep
water.
Lake Keowee
Largemouth and Spotted Bass: Fair. Guide
Brad Fowler reports Keowee has been fishing
really well right at daylight and for the
first hour or so after. The fish are
schooling and feeding well on long shallow
points on the main lake. Topwater and
swimbaits are the best choice early. Later
you can catch one here and there on topwater
around deeper points and humps. Also, drop
shots and shakey heads around docks and deep
drops are working during the day.
Lake Hartwell
Striped and Hybrid Bass: Good. Captain Bill
Plumley says the best fishing seems to be on
the lower end right now. Lots of people are
trolling lead core line 10-12 colors out
(100-120 yards back) and pulling swimbaits,
Road Runners and bucktails. They are
covering a lot of water and generally
sticking to the main river channel, trying
to avoid the trees. The afternoon has been
the best time for this technique. Captain
Steve Pietrykowski reports that live bait on
down rods is still producing best for him.
Largemouth Bass: Fair. Guide Brad Fowler
reports that fishing has gotten a little
tougher as the weather has gotten hotter.
Fish can still be caught on the topwater
pattern all day, but there is a lot of
pressure on those fish. The best pattern
right now may be fishing deep diving
crankbaits around depth changes, and
particularly anywhere near deep water with
timber, or off deep points with brush
piles. At night fishing Carolina and Texas
rigged worms in the same areas is
productive. Catfish: Fair. Captain Bill
Plumley reports the best bite for channels,
then flatheads and then blues. For channel
catfish fish on the bottom off deep points
in 30-40 feet of water using cut herring or
nightcrawlers. The best flathead fishing is
at night; look in 15-25 feet of water and
anchor a live bream or perch near a
brushpile. Blue catfish are very tough to
catch right now, as most of the big fish
have headed out to deep timber. Crappie:
Slow. Captain Bill Plumley reports crappie
being caught at night around bridges. Tie
up in 15-25 feet of water and put out a
light, then fish with live minnows.
Piedmont Area
Lake Russell
Crappie: Good. Guide Wendell Wilson reports
he has had some good crappie fishing trips
mid-lake around the golf course at Richard
Russell State Park. Fish are holding in
coves around brush in 18-25 feet of water.
Use a slip float rig or fish a plain minnow
behind a split shot, and work it very
carefully around the top of brush. Some
white perch are also mixed in with the
crappie, as well as some small spotted bass.
Catfish: Good. Guide Wendell Wilson reports
that the best catfish pattern is fishing cut
herring at night around 12-15 feet with cut
herring and nightcrawlers. Largemouth and
Spotted Bass: Fair. Guide Wendell Wilson
reports that small spotted bass are starting
to move into the coves following schools of
threadfin shad. For now the spots are
around 10-11 inches, but soon bigger spots
will be vulnerable to drop shot rigs.
Striped bass: Fair. Guide Wendell Wilson
reports that the best striped bass fishing
is below Hartwell Dam in cool water with
large herring.
Lake Thurmond
Striped and Hybrid Bass: Good to very good.
Captain William Sasser reports small fish
are schooling all over the lake right now,
including in the middle of the day. More
midday schooling is occurring on cloudy
days. Catch bigger striper and hybrids down
line 40-45 feet under the schools. There is
also good fishing up around the Russell Dam,
where cut bait is catching big fish on the
bottom. Crappie: Fair. Guide William
Sasser reports the best fishing is in the
mid-lake off the river channel, and fish are
spread out in about 40 feet of water. Fish
25 feet down with minnows. Black bass:
Slow. Buckeye Lures in Augusta reports the
bass fishing on Clarks Hill has gotten even
tougher. Keeper fish are few and far
between. Bream: Good. Guide Wendell Wilson
reports that at the top of Clarks Hill he is
catching good numbers of shellcracker in 7-8
feet of water. These fish are running up to
the 1 pound range.
Lake Wylie
Catfish: Good to very good. Captain Rodger
Taylor reports drift/slow trolling is
producing very good catches of channel
catfish in the major creek arms and main
channel humps at the depth range 6-20 feet.
Largemouth Bass: Fair to good. FLW
Professional and Lake Wylie Guide Matt Arey
reports bass are scattered just behind the
bait fish, but they are following them the
same direction. Schooling activity is a big
part of the equation right now, and flukes,
topwater lures, little grubs and small
spoons will all catch schooling fish. White
perch: Fair. Captain Rodger Taylor reports
the bite has been erratic this year compared
to the last two years.
Midlands area
Lake Wateree
Catfish: Very good. Captain Rodger Taylor
reports blue cats bit very well on the drift
and anchored late evening. Many white perch
and small bluegill were noted to be feeding
on the massive amounts of insect debris
floating near the shoreline. Crappie: Good.
Will Hinson of the Southern Crappie
Tournament Trail reports he's catching most
of his crappie on the upper most end of the
lake from Beaver Creek to Wateree Creek. He
is targeting brush in 12-18 feet of water,
and the fish are flat on the bottom beside
the brush. Will is working one rod with a
plain jig and moving the bait very slowly,
tight to the brush. Fish Stalker Lures Ugly
Green has been the best jig. Largemouth
Bass: Slow. Camden's Dearal Rodgers reports
as fall approaches the fish should start to
spread out and prepare to move shallower.
Lake Greenwood
Bream: Good. Sportsman's Friend reports that
lots of bedding activity took place on the
last full moon, and fish have remained
shallow. Fish crickets and worms around
piers and in the backs of coves. Catfish:
Good to very good. Captain Chris Simpson
reports the fish are moving a lot. It might
take a little while to find them from one
day to the next. Once you do that, it's
usually no problem to catch them. Shrimp and
stink bait are the best baits for quickly
filling a cooler and avoiding the gar.
Largemouth Bass: Slow. Sportsman's Friend
reports a few fish can still be picked up
around block walls early and after that near
brush. Scattered schooling is still being
reported, but it's tough to know where the
fish will pop up next. Crappie: Fair.
Sportsman's Friend reports that crappie have
moved deep. The best bet is fishing around
deep brush or deep bridge pilings at night
with minnows and jigs.
Lake Murray
Striped Bass: Very Good. Lake World reports
fishing around the towers and generally near
the dam is good. Both anchoring and drifting
will catch fish, and fishing 35-50 feet down
over humps in 50-85 feet of water is most
effective. Trolling has also been very
strong, both during the day and at night.
Road Runners, Rebel plugs and Grandma lures
will all catch fish. Bream: Very good. Lake
World reports the bream bite remains very
strong. For bluegill fish red worms and
crickets around docks and fallen trees. The
shellcracker bite is not as good, but fish
can be caught in 4-10 feet of water with
worms fished on the bottom in the backs of
coves or off points. Catfish: Good. Lake
World reports that catfish are feeding well
on the lake, especially at night. The most
popular way to catch them right now is
pulling a boat up to an island in the
evening and then casting off of it with
nightcrawlers or cut herring. Fish will be
scattered from 4-25 feet deep. Crappie:
Fair. Captain Brad Taylor reports that
crappie fishing has been good on the main
lake below Dreher Island. Brad has been
fishing 16-20 feet deep over brush in 25-30
feet of water. He is using the trolling
motor to stay on top of the brush, and
fishing four rods with live minnows straight
down. He is also casting beside the brush
with Fish Stalker Lures jigs, especially
black and chartreuse. Most of the fish have
been running in the 3/4 - 1 pound range, but
some larger fish have also been mixed in.
Largemouth Bass: Slow to fair. Captain Doug
Lown reports that fishing has definitely
gotten harder, especially during the day.
Some of the heaviest feeding may be taking
place between 2 a.m. and daylight. In this
heat fish are not feeding every day, and on
days when SCE&G is pulling water and some
current is generated the bite is generally
better. Shakey head jigheads rigged with
Zoom trick worms were working until
recently, but in the last week Doug has had
better luck on Texas rigged worms with a
5/16th ounce weight.
Lake Monticello
Catfish: Fair. Captain Chris Simpson
reports the big fish bite is still not up to
par yet but some are being caught. Lots of
fish are being caught free-line drifting
along with a few big fish. Most reports of
the big fish exclusively fisherman are
catching them either drifting Santee Style
or anchoring. The most productive depths
have been 50 to 80 feet.
Santee Cooper System
Crappie: Fair to Good. Captain Steve
English reports fishing most days on brush
in water 12 to 20 feet. Crappie may suspend
over brush in deeper water some days and
others will be tight to brush. Bream:
Good. Captain Jim Glenn reports that folks
are still catching good numbers of bream
near vegetation and on drops in 10 to 12 ft
of water that contain brush. Catfish: Fair.
Captain Jim Glenn reports that blue cats are
moving in and out of shallow water both day
and night in both lakes. The bite is a
little erratic from day to day and fish can
be hard to find, especially during day time.
Night fishing has not been the best
generally, except in a few shallow areas
that must be prospected. Good breezes during
daytime have mitigated the heat a little and
allowed for some good drift fishing on Lake
Moultrie. Either cut perch or herring or
shad will produce fish. Largemouth bass:
Fair. Captain Inky Davis reports that he
has had some good trips in the heat, and
fish can be caught as long as you fish the
morning bite and stay away from the heat of
the day. Even in the hot water some bass
remain shallow, and he is catching good
numbers of fish in 2-8 feet of water on soft
plastics fished around trees, stumps, logs,
lily pads and other cover.
|
