South Carolina DNR freshwater fishing report 12-20

Mountains Area
Piedmont Region
Midlands Place
Santee Cooper Technique
SC Freshwater Fishing Regulations (Adobe PDF)
Acquire a fishing license
Boat Ramp Locations
State Fish Intake Advisories

StriperFishing tendencies courtesy www.SCFishingReport.com. Verify the site for latest updates and detailed reports.

Mountains Area

Lake Jocassee:

Trout: Reasonable. Captain Steve Pietrykowski studies that fish can nevertheless be caught in the primary lake, but the finest focus of fish will be located up the rivers. Troll from the surface down to fifty ft with live bait, including totally free lines far again from the boat, planer board rigs, and weighted baits at a assortment of depths.
Black Bass: Truthful. Captain Pat Bennett studies that bait and bass remain in the creeks and rivers. Attempt focusing on bass connected to shoreline cover proximate to deep h2o, in which they can be caught on shakey head worms and crankbaits. As water temperatures drop more and fish move into a winter season routine the greatest motion will occur fishing more than deep h2o for suspended fish. Look for bait colleges on your graph, and then reduce down a jigging spoon or drop shot rig.

Lake Keowee:

Largemouth and Noticed Bass: Fair to very good. Guide Brad Fowler reviews that fish are nonetheless working bait up on primary lake details, exactly where there is sporadic topwater exercise. It’s tough to catch these fish on topwater lures, and jerkbaits and scrounger heads have been a lot more efficient 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 all around deepwater framework. Jigging spoons have been functioning effectively, and drop shotting as nicely as fishing shakey head worms will both perform.

Lake Hartwell:

Black Bass: Good. Guide Brad Fowler studies that fish stay pass on out, and bass keep on to be caught on a range of tactics. Simply because of the heat late drop/early winter temperatures much more fish continue to be shallow than normal and it’s feasible to catch fish on jigs, spinnerbaits, scrounger heads and other lures about shallow go over. Fish can be caught shallow in principal lake pockets, at the mouths of creeks and partway again in the creeks. There carries on to be a excellent deep bite, and in twenty five-forty feet of drinking water fish are becoming caught on shakey head worms.
Striped and Hybrid Bass: Truthful. Captain Bill Plumley reports that striper fishing is enhancing, and he is catching most of his fish fairly shallow in -35 ft of drinking water. Fish are unfold out, with lots of fish up the large rivers and some in the creeks. Pulling umbrella rigs and following the birds is the most effective way to find fish.
Crappie: Reasonable to very good. Captain Expenses Plumley studies that crappie proceed to feed rather nicely about brush and bridge pilings. Fish minnows and jigs fifteen-twenty feet down about brush or about bridge pilings in twenty-twenty five ft of h2o.
Catfish: Reasonable. Captain Invoice Plumley reports that respectable numbers of channel catfish are becoming caught in 18-twenty feet of h2o on cut herring and nightcrawlers. A number of huge blue catfish are also beginning to show up in the creeks where they can be caught in seven-twenty five feet of drinking water with minimize gizzard shad, but h2o temperatures have not dropped ample for the bite to get scorching.

Piedmont Area

Lake Russell:

Black Bass: Excellent to quite very good. Guide Wendell Wilson reviews that the bass pattern stays quite comparable, and bass are feeding properly about bait universities 20-twenty five feet deep in significant coves in the mid-lake. No matter whether the coves have brush or not is unimportant – the presence of bait faculties is the crucial. Drop shot rigs fished just off the bottom and baited with a plastic worm or reside minnows will create, and jigging spoons are also operating. One more good pattern is fishing about flooded standing timber at the very same depths (twenty-40 feet) in which the bait is holding. Texas rigs and jigging spoons will both catch fish.
White and yellow perch: Very good. Manual Wendell Wilson reports that fishing minnows just off the bottom in twenty five-30 ft of water, specifically in the reduced lake all around the mouth of the Rocky River, is the greatest pattern. Yellow perch are demonstrating up in great figures. Perch make of portion of a blended bag right now and will be caught alongside with bass and crappie.
Crappie: Truthful to very good. Information Wendell Wilson reviews that the crappie are blended in with the bass and perch around bait schools in huge mid-lake coves. Fish minnows to target crappie. Catfish: Reasonable. Guide Wendell Wilson reviews that the best wager for catfish is fishing on the bottom around the big bait universities found in key coves. Anchor and put out lower herring offerings on the bottom, and don’t be frightened 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 visible clues to locate the bait and striped bass. Strong gull and striper activity has been observed in the Beaverdam region. Casting plugs or pulling free of charge lined live herring continues to be the very best strategy.

Lake Thurmond:

Crappie: Good to extremely good. Captain William Sasser reviews that crappie are feeding well in the mid-lake place and the South Carolina Minor River. Pulling minnows and jigs alongside the edges of the creek channels fifteen feet down in 20 ft of h2o is creating.
Striped and Hybrid Bass: Excellent. Captain William Sasser reports that fish are feeding greater up the lake towards the pumping stations and in the Raysville location. Buffalo Creek and the South Carolina Small River have also been strong. Great quantities 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 fifteen-30 ft of water.
Black bass: Truthful. Buckeye Lures in Augusta reports that bass are starting up to move into a standard winter pattern on Clarks Hill. Fish are in ditches 15-25 feet deep exactly where they can be caught on lead head fluke rigs, spin blades and perhaps Alabama rigs. Fish are unfold out all more than and not especially energetic.

Lake Wylie:

Catfish: Quite very good. Captain Rodger Taylor reviews that winter season catfishing on Lake Wylie is turning into a initial fishery, and fish are getting bigger and can be discovered unfold out from dam to dam. Warmer air temperatures have stored the h2o temperatures from dropping as considerably as very last winter, but shortened days and cooler water temperatures are nevertheless pulling fish deeper. Channel catfish can be caught on lower bait fished each deep and shallow, and blue catfish are roaming from the riverbed to ledges to shallow composition like factors and humps. However, they nevertheless relate to the river far more usually than not. Don’t forget about the heat drinking water discharges which can offer you some of the very best fishing on the lake at this time of yr.
White perch: Quite good. Captain Rodger Taylor reviews that white perch fishing is the most regular that it has been in months, and fish are feeding in open up h2o on the edges of humps 25-thirty feet deep. Fishing modest minnows on a modified Sabiki rig is the finest technique.
Largemouth Bass: Good. FLW Professional and Information Matt Arey reports that most of the bass are generating their way back again in direction of the major lake subsequent the bait universities, and most are now about mid-way again in the creeks. Some have previously arrived back in the major lake. Locating the shad is the essential to obtaining the fish. Spoons and grubs fished close to bait will catch fish, and most fish are suspended from the center of the h2o column to the bottom in fifteen-thirty ft.

Midlands Location

Lake Greenwood: (unchanged from Dec. 15)

Crappie: Fair. Sportsman’s Pal studies that spider rig trolling in 6-fifteen ft of water has been most effective. Jigs have been outfishing minnows recently.
Catfish: Very good. Captain Chris Simpson reports that the drift bite remains sturdy. 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 finest wager. On other days fish are scattered out across 18-25 foot deep flats in which they can also be targeted drifting. Lower shad and herring have been the greatest baits. Anchoring on channel ledges and using cut and are living bream and perch has also developed some huge channel catfish and flatheads just lately, but drifting is nonetheless the most constant way to set fish in the boat.
Largemouth Bass: Fair. Sportsman’s Buddy reviews that there is nevertheless schooling activity scattered across most of Lake Greenwood. Fishing popping bugs at the rear of a popping cork has been effective for placing fish in the boat, and when the universities sound jigging Berry Spoons off close to-by details has been successful. Despite the period fish have normally remained rather 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. fifteen)

Catfish: Great. Captain Chris Simpson reports that big fish carry on to feed effectively on Lake Monticello. The drop drift bite is on, and huge fish are getting caught drifting on the bottom with a Santee-type rig in 60-ninety feet of water. The depth can range from day to day, and fish have been caught as deep as one hundred fifteen feet of drinking water. Now is also a very good time for free-line drifting increased in the h2o column, and a range of diverse measurements can be caught with this method. Minimize shad and white perch have been the greatest baits.

Lake Wateree: (unchanged from Dec. fifteen)

Catfish: Excellent. Captain Rodger Taylor reviews results down lake. Right after a number of tries he was in a position to get plenty of four inch gizzard shad to drift fish and it was the ticket. The bite was excellent at a fee of 10 fish per hour.

Lake Murray:

Crappie: Excellent. Lake Planet reviews the fishing is successful up Tiny River in ten-15 feet with minnows. The recent heat temperatures have set fish into an early spring-like pattern.
Striper: Excellent. Best fishing is on the north side of the lake. Hotter temperatures have brought the fish into shallower h2o. Appear for birds. Spoons and bucktails along with downlines in 20 feet are making.
Shellcraker: Fair. Test the shallow water along financial institutions for finest benefits.

Santee Cooper Program

Catfish: Honest to good. Captain Jim Glenn studies that most days the blue catfish bite is reasonable to great, and fish are staying caught in various depths from 4-10 feet on down to 50 feet. The concentrations may be biggest in deeper drinking water. Both anchoring and drifting with recent cut gizzard shad, menhaden, perch or mullet will catch fish in the appropriate areas. There have been modern reviews of great night time fishing for anglers willing to courageous night time time lows and winds.
Largemouth bass: Truthful to great. Captain Jimmie Hair studies that the main pattern stays comparable. Fishing all around eel grass with Gambler Tremendous Studs and swimming jigs will catch fish, and in the swamp functioning sq.-billed crankbaits around cypress trees is effective. Comfortable plastics will also catch fish all around trees. In the Cooper River measurements are nevertheless little, but when temperatures drop just a number of more degrees some massive bass ought to be caught on bucktails and jigs thrown at breaks in the rice fields.
Striped Bass: Reasonable to very good. Captain Jim Glenn reports that anglers are catching loads of striped bass in equally lakes, but extremely handful of 26 inch fish are getting landed. Probably 1 in 50 is a keeper for most anglers, but the great information is that striper show up plentiful and most are robust and healthful. Fishing 35-50 ft deep with dwell baits like big shiners and gizzard or threadfin shad is doing work, and anglers are also possessing success trolling and chasing schooling fish on the floor with jigs, spoons and surface area plugs.
Crappie and Bream: Fair to very good. Captain Steve English studies that the crappie and bream bite is even now fairly excellent close to offshore brushpiles, but the fish are in deeper brush. Bream are about brush in twelve-eighteen ft, and crappie are around brush in 18-24 feet. At the up coming cold front the bites must rather properly shut down – so take pleasure in the fish although they will get minnows and crickets!