Freshwater fishing report

Dec. 23, 2011

Santee Cooper System

Catfish: Fair to good. Captain Jim Glenn reports that most days
the blue catfish bite is fair to good, and fish are being caught in
various depths from 4-10 feet on down to 50 feet. The
concentrations may be greatest in deeper water. Both anchoring and
drifting with fresh cut gizzard shad, menhaden, perch or mullet
will catch fish in the right places. There have been recent reports
of good night fishing for anglers willing to brave night time lows
and winds. Largemouth bass: Fair to good. Captain Jimmie Hair
reports that the primary pattern remains similar. Fishing around
eel grass with Gambler Super Studs and swimming jigs will catch
fish, and in the swamp working square-billed crankbaits around
cypress trees is effective. Soft plastics will also catch fish
around trees. In the Cooper River sizes are still small, but when
temperatures drop just a few more degrees some big bass should be
caught on bucktails and jigs thrown at breaks in the rice fields.
Striped Bass: Fair to good. Captain Jim Glenn reports that anglers
are catching plenty of striped bass in both lakes, but very few 26
inch fish are being landed. Perhaps 1 in 50 is a keeper for most
anglers, but the good news is that striper appear plentiful and
most are robust and healthy. Fishing 35-50 feet deep with live
baits including big shiners and gizzard or threadfin shad is
working, and anglers are also having success trolling and chasing
schooling fish on the surface with jigs, spoons and surface plugs.
Crappie and Bream: Fair to good. Captain Steve English reports that
the crappie and bream bite is still pretty good around offshore
brushpiles, but the fish are in deeper brush. Bream are around
brush in 12-18 feet, and crappie are around brush in 18-24 feet. At
the next cold front the bites should pretty well shut down – so
enjoy the fish while they will take minnows and crickets!

Mountains Area

Lake Jocassee

Trout: Fair. Captain Steve Pietrykowski reports that fish can
still be caught in the main lake, but the best concentration of
fish will be found up the rivers. Troll from the surface down to 50
feet with live bait, including free lines far back from the boat,
planer board rigs, and weighted baits at a variety of depths. Black
Bass: Fair. Captain Pat Bennett reports that bait and bass remain
in the creeks and rivers. Try targeting bass related to shoreline
cover proximate to deep water, where they can be caught on shakey
head worms and crankbaits. As water temperatures drop further and
fish move into a winter pattern the best action will come fishing
over deep water for suspended fish. Look for bait schools on your
graph, and then lower down a jigging spoon or drop shot rig.

Lake Keowee

Largemouth and Spotted Bass: Fair to good. Guide Brad Fowler
reports that fish are still running bait up on main lake points,
where there is sporadic topwater activity. It’s hard to catch these
fish on topwater lures, and jerkbaits and scrounger heads have been
more effective for targeting them. Fish can be caught up the lake
shallow and in the creeks, but Brad’s boat is catching most of its
fish around deepwater structure. Jigging spoons have been working
well, and drop shotting as well as fishing shakey head worms will
both work.

Lake Hartwell

Black Bass: Good. Guide Brad Fowler reports that fish remain
spread out, and bass continue to be caught on a variety of
techniques. Because of the warm late fall/early winter temperatures
more fish remain shallow than usual and it’s possible to catch fish
on jigs, spinnerbaits, scrounger heads and other lures around
shallow cover. Fish can be caught shallow in main lake pockets, at
the mouths of creeks and partway back in the creeks. There
continues to be a good deep bite, and in 25-40 feet of water fish
are being caught on shakey head worms. Striped and Hybrid Bass:
Fair. Captain Bill Plumley reports that striper fishing is
improving, and he is catching most of his fish relatively shallow
in 0-35 feet of water. Fish are spread out, with plenty of fish up
the big rivers and some in the creeks. Pulling umbrella rigs and
following the birds is the most efficient way to locate fish.
Crappie: Fair to good. Captain Bill Plumley reports that crappie
continue to feed pretty well around brush and bridge pilings. Fish
minnows and jigs 15-20 feet down over brush or around bridge
pilings in 20-25 feet of water. Catfish: Fair. Captain Bill Plumley
reports that decent numbers of channel catfish are being caught in
18-20 feet of water on cut herring and nightcrawlers. A few big
blue catfish are also starting to show up in the creeks where they
can be caught in 7-25 feet of water with cut gizzard shad, but
water temperatures have not dropped enough for the bite to get
hot.

Piedmont Area

Lake Russell

Black Bass: Good to very good. Guide Wendell Wilson reports that
the bass pattern remains very similar, and bass are feeding well
around bait schools 20-25 feet deep in large coves in the mid-lake.
Whether the coves have brush or not is unimportant – the presence
of bait schools is the key. Drop shot rigs fished just off the
bottom and baited with a plastic worm or live minnows will produce,
and jigging spoons are also working. Another good pattern is
fishing around flooded standing timber at the same depths (20-40
feet) where the bait is holding. Texas rigs and jigging spoons will
both catch fish. White and yellow perch: Good. Guide Wendell Wilson
reports that fishing minnows just off the bottom in 25-30 feet of
water, particularly in the lower lake around the mouth of the Rocky
River, is the best pattern. Yellow perch are showing up in good
numbers. Perch make of part of a mixed bag right now and will be
caught along with bass and crappie. Crappie: Fair to good. Guide
Wendell Wilson reports that the crappie are mixed in with the bass
and perch around bait schools in large mid-lake coves. Fish minnows
to target crappie. Catfish: Fair. Guide Wendell Wilson reports that
the best bet for catfish is fishing on the bottom around the large
bait schools found in major coves. Anchor and put out cut herring
offerings on the bottom, and don’t be afraid to chum to draw in the
cats. Lately catfish catches have been a bit off. Striped bass:
Fair. Guide Wendell Wilson reports that gulls have arrived on Lake
Russell, and so there are visual clues to locate the bait and
striped bass. Strong gull and striper activity has been seen in the
Beaverdam area. Casting plugs or pulling free lined live herring
remains the best technique.

Lake Thurmond

Crappie: Good to very good. Captain William Sasser reports that
crappie are feeding well in the mid-lake area and the South
Carolina Little River. Pulling minnows and jigs along the edges of
the creek channels 15 feet down in 20 feet of water is producing.
Striped and Hybrid Bass: Good. Captain William Sasser reports that
fish are feeding better up the lake towards the pumping stations
and in the Raysville area. Buffalo Creek and the South Carolina
Little River have also been strong. Good numbers of 8-12 pound fish
have been caught pulling planer boards and free lines, and fish
have also been caught fishing down lines 12-15 feet deep in 15-30
feet of water. Black bass: Fair. Buckeye Lures in Augusta reports
that bass are starting to move into a typical winter pattern on
Clarks Hill. Fish are in ditches 15-25 feet deep where they can be
caught on lead head fluke rigs, spin blades and possibly Alabama
rigs. Fish are spread out all over and not especially active.

Lake Wylie

Catfish: Very good. Captain Rodger Taylor reports that winter
catfishing on Lake Wylie is turning into a premier fishery, and
fish are getting bigger and can be found spread out from dam to
dam. Warmer air temperatures have kept the water temperatures from
dropping as much as last winter, but shortened days and cooler
water temperatures are still pulling fish deeper. Channel catfish
can be caught on cut bait fished both deep and shallow, and blue
catfish are roaming from the riverbed to ledges to shallow
structure like points and humps. However, they still relate to the
river more often than not. Don’t overlook the warm water discharges
which can offer some of the best fishing on the lake at this time
of year. White perch: Very good. Captain Rodger Taylor reports that
white perch fishing is the most consistent that it has been in
months, and fish are feeding in open water on the edges of humps
25-30 feet deep. Fishing small minnows on a modified Sabiki rig is
the best technique. Largemouth Bass: Good. FLW Professional and
Guide Matt Arey reports that most of the bass are making their way
back towards the main lake following the bait schools, and most are
now about mid-way back in the creeks. Some have already arrived
back in the main lake. Finding the shad is the key to finding the
fish. Spoons and grubs fished around bait will catch fish, and most
fish are suspended from the middle of the water column to the
bottom in 15-30 feet.

Midlands area

Lake Wateree (unchanged from Dec. 15)

Catfish: Good. Captain Rodger Taylor reports results down lake.
After several tries he was able to get plenty of 4 inch gizzard
shad to drift fish and it was the ticket. The bite was good at a
rate of 10 fish per hour.

Lake Greenwood (unchanged from Dec. 15)

Crappie: Fair. Sportsman’s Friend reports that spider rig
trolling in 6-15 feet of water has been most productive. Jigs have
been outfishing minnows recently. Catfish: Good. Captain Chris
Simpson reports that the drift bite remains strong. Some days fish
are stacked in the river channel and making drifts in the channel,
parallel to the channel or in and out of the channel is the best
bet. On other days fish are scattered out across 18-25 foot deep
flats where they can also be targeted drifting. Cut shad and
herring have been the best baits. Anchoring on channel ledges and
using cut and live bream and perch has also produced some big
channel catfish and flatheads recently, but drifting is still the
most consistent way to put fish in the boat. Largemouth Bass: Fair.
Sportsman’s Friend reports that there is still schooling activity
scattered across most of Lake Greenwood. Fishing popping bugs
behind a popping cork has been effective for putting fish in the
boat, and when the schools sound jigging Berry Spoons off near-by
points has been effective. Despite the season fish have generally
remained pretty deep. Fish have also been caught where wind is
blowing into dips and creek channels on crankbaits and plastic
worms.

Lake Monticello (unchanged from Dec. 15)

Catfish: Good. Captain Chris Simpson reports that big fish
continue to feed well on Lake Monticello. The fall drift bite is
on, and big fish are being caught drifting on the bottom with a
Santee-style rig in 60-90 feet of water. The depth can vary from
day to day, and fish have been caught as deep as 115 feet of water.
Now is also a good time for free-line drifting higher in the water
column, and a range of different sizes can be caught with this
technique. Cut shad and white perch have been the best baits.

Lake Murray

Crappie: Good. Lake World reports the fishing is productive up
Little River in 10-15 feet with minnows. The recent warm
temperatures have put fish into an early spring-like pattern.
Striper: Good. Best fishing is on the north side of the lake.
Warmer temperatures have brought the fish into shallower water.
Look for birds. Spoons and bucktails along with downlines in 20
feet are producing. Shellcraker: Fair. Check the shallow water
along banks for best results.