Freshwater Fishing Trends - May 23

Fishing trends courtesy www.SCFishingReport.com. Check the site for recent updates and detailed reports. DHEC Fish Consumption Advisories.

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Mountains Area

Lake Jocassee: (unchanged from May 16)

• Trout: Good to very good. The patterns are still similar to weeks past, but fish are continuing to move into the main lake. There are also some reports of fish being caught on the main intakes. Best bet is with silver and gold spoons.
• Largemouth Bass: Fair. Fish are still spawning and scattered around the lake. Some herring are working around 20-50 feet, but not much surface action.
• Bluegill: Good. Best results are shallow around wood.
  

Lake Keowee:

• Trout: Good to very good. The patterns are still similar to weeks past, but fish are continuing to move into the main lake. There are also some reports of fish being caught on the main intakes. Best bet is with silver and gold spoons.
• Largemouth Bass: Fair. Fish are still spawning and scattered around the lake. Some herring are working around 20-50 feet, but not much surface action.
• Bluegill: Good. Best results are shallow around wood.
  

Lake Hartwell: (unchanged from May 16)

• Catfish: Good. Captain Bill Plumley reports that channel catfish are making their move shallow and feeding, and concentrating in depths of 1-8 feet of water has been most productive. Stinkbait has been working best but cut herring will also produce. The action for blue catfish has slowed a bit, but concentrating in 15-30 feet of water in creeks and at the mouths of creeks is the best bet. Cut herring and shad are both working.
• Crappie: Good. Captain Bill Plumley reports that crappie are up shallow around the banks, with some fish already having spawned but the majority post-spawn. Concentrate in 1-10 feet of water around the bank grass that grew up when the lake was down. Long-line trolling as well as casting minnows or jigs under a cork will catch fish.
• Striper: Good. Fish are scattered all around the lake. The best bet is to pull baits across the banks with freelines and downlines from three to four feet down casting out.
• Bream: Fair. Expect the bite to improve on the full moon and clearing water conditions.

Piedmont Area

Lake Russell:

• Black Bass: Good to very good. Guide Wendell Wilson reports that approximately 85% of the bass on Lake Russell have completed the spawn, and most of these fish seem to have stayed shallow and to be looking to fatten up on spawning blueback herring. The herring spawn got underway approximately a month ago, but cold weather and wind paused the activity until it resumed recently. Early in the morning fishing around long, sloping main lake points with topwater plugs is successful, while later in the day Carolina rigging has been most effective. Concentrate on 5-10 feet of water. Wendell’s boat has been catching some very nice spots in the 3-4 pound range as well as largemouths.
• Striped bass: Fair. Guide Wendell Wilson reports that striper are spread out across the lake, with some making their way up the lake and others still concentrated on the lower end near the dam. The best pattern is cover a lot of water and pull a combination of planer boards and free lines over 10-20 feet of water.
  

Lake Thurmond:

• Catfish: Good. Captain William Sasser reports that this is the best month of the year for Clarks Hill catfishing, and right now both channel and flathead catfish can be found spawning in the rocks around the bridges. The best technique is to fish a piece of cut herring on a Carolina rig or a split shot rig, similar to how you would fish a plastic worm, by casting the rig up towards the bank and letting it fall in the rocks as you work it back to the boat. Use your trolling motor to maneuver parallel to the rocks. Early morning is the best time, and a mixed bag of fish including very nice cats can be caught this way.
• Bream: Good. Captain William Sasser reports that shellcracker fishing is wide open on Clarks Hill. Fish will be found in blow throughs and a Louisiana pink worm fished on a size 6 hook is hard to beat.
• Crappie: Fair. Captain William Sasser reports that crappie have moved out away from the bank and are generally being caught about 10 feet deep over 15-18 feet of water. Fish have moved out of the coves and towards the river, but they have not gone deep yet and are hanging around mid-depth brushpiles. Minnows are working best.
  

Lake Wylie:

• Largemouth Bass: Good. FLW Professional and Guide Matt Arey reports that he doesn't expect the action for bass feeding up shallow on spawning bream to take off until the next full moon, but the shad spawn bite is wide open and good numbers of bass are related to the bait. Shad spawn adjacent to marina docks, dock floats, riprap, shallow rocks, bridge pilings, and other places where they can rub their eggs out, and they will usually be found spawning over or near deep water. Particularly early in the morning bass can be caught in these areas on swimbaits, floating worms, swimming jigs, topwaters, Alabama rigs and other lures that imitate shad.
  

Midlands Area

Lake Greenwood:

• Largemouth Bass: Slow. Veteran angler Stan Gunter reports that bass fishing has gotten downright tough, but there is light at the end of the tunnel are bream are starting to move up shallow to spawn and bass are following them. Pop-Rs and prop baits will both work well for bass feeding on spawning bream. For now dragging worms and flipping docks may be as good a pattern as anything, and early in the morning try floating worms around sea walls. Water levels are very high.
  

Lake Monticello: (unchanged from May 16)

• Catfish: Fair to good. Captain Chris Simpson reports that he has started catching fish in the shallower range of 5-40 feet right now instead of in their winter-time haunts of 60+ feet. The backs of coves and humps and points in that depth range have been most productive, and drifting or anchoring have both been working. There are plenty of fish out deep but at times it seems as if the shallow fish are more aggressive. Big cut gizzard shad and white perch are working for big fish, and if you want to put any size fish in the boat small cut herring is tough to beat.

Lake Wateree:

• Catfish: Fair to good. Captain Rodger Taylor reports that bait has moved into the upper lake but the big fish bite nonetheless remains hit or miss. Anchoring on deep holes and bottom changes will produce but patience is necessary. Smaller fish are being taken readily on the drift in 5 to 10 feet. The shallow water bite continues to be good. Most shad being netted right now are threadfin, but some are as large as a decent gizzard shad. Cut fish seems best for the big ones at this time.
• Crappie: Fair. Will Hinson of the Southern Crappie Tournament Trail reports that fish were starting to feed better after the post-spawn lull, but high water levels may delay things really settling down. Water conditions should be muddy for a little while, and anglers are advised to fish the clearest water they can find anywhere in the lake. While fish haven’t entered a full blown summer pattern yet, they are starting to set up on brush and bridge pilings. Look for brush in the 15-20 foot range and work the top of the brush down as fish will be suspended. It’s hard to go wrong with Fish Stalker Jigs or minnows. Look for brush in the main lake or off points as fish have pretty much left the creeks and coves.
  

Lake Murray:

• Catfish: Fair to good. Captain Chris Simpson reports that fish are still scattered in various depth ranges, but the bite is getting more consistent. Both drifting and anchoring can catch fish, and anglers need to be willing to try a variety of depth ranges. Cut herring has worked as well as any bait, but it’s a good idea to be prepared to use different baits. Lake World advises pulling up on islands and casting out a mix of nightcrawler and cut herring to catch catfish.
• Bream: Fair to good. Lake World reports that shellcracker are bedding in 5-6 feet of water all around the edges, including in the backs of coves and off points. Big shellcracker can also be located over shallow humps that have bushes on them. Nightcrawlers on the bottom are hard to beat.
• Largemouth bass: Unpredictable. Veteran Lake Murray tournament bass angler Captain Doug Lown reports that bass are hard to pattern right now, with fish biting well some days and on other days being very difficult to convince to eat. A few herring are up shallow spawning, but that bite is day to day and at best usually only lasts for a couple of hours in the morning. Fishing a shakey head worm off points has been as good as anything. It should take some time for the water to clear after the recent rains.
  

Santee Cooper System

• Crappie: Fair to good. Captain Steve English reports that before the flood crappie were showing up in good numbers on brush piles, and they could be caught best fishing minnows and jigs over brush in the 14-20 foot range.
• Bream: Fair to good. Captain Steve English reports that for now there is not much of a shallow bite for bluegill or shellcracker, which are still ganged up on brushpiles in the 8-14 foot range. However, on the next full moon fish should move shallow in very good numbers.
• Catfish: Slow. Only a few fish are being caught most of the time, which is not what is expected at this time of year. Anglers are having some limited success in shallow water for blue cats and channels, but it is not the usual widespread shallow water bite. Some fish are being caught in deeper water, but neither shallow nor deep is hot.
  

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