April 25

Lake Monticello morning surface water temperatures are still about 72 degrees and the water is clear. Water levels generally fluctuate daily. 

As seems to be the unfortunate norm on Lake Monticello, Captain William Attaway (803-924-0857) reports that the big catfish continue to be inconsistent from one day to the next. While the fish are in pre-spawn mode, they are not feeding well every day. The best places to look for fish continue to be around long points and in coves, with 15-25 feet the key depth range. Fish move towards the deeper end of that as the water warms.

Anchoring with perch, gizzard shad, and bream all seem to be about the same.

Overall it continues to be a good time to catch a monster on Monticello, but they are finicky as ever on that lake.

April 23

Lake Monticello morning surface water temperatures are up to about 72 degrees and the water is clear. Water levels generally fluctuate daily. 

Even though it has gotten hot on Lake Monticello, BYA Fishing’s Eric Enlow of Union reports that one more wave of bass has come on to the beds and there are some giants up there. If you want to win a tournament right now sight fishing with your favorite soft plastic is probably the prime pattern. 

But the most exciting pattern for a lot of anglers is targeting the shad spawn, and anywhere on the lake that has riprap will have spawning shad right on the rocks at daylight. There are a lot of ways to catch them, and cranking, flukes and spinnerbaits (when windy) will all catch fish. The bite slows down after a couple of hours, but even after the shad pull back out they don’t go far. Eric is actually catching some of his better fish on a 3/16 ounce shaky head and Trick worm out to about 15 feet off the same areas where the shad were spawning earlier. When you can find a point near rock it is particularly good, but most points are holding fish during the day regardless of location. 

For now only small fish are out deep, but that could change any day.

More to follow. 

March 28

Lake Monticello morning surface water temperatures have dropped back to about 55 degrees on the 99 end. Water levels generally fluctuate daily. 

We are between waves of spawning bass on Lake Monticello, and BYA Fishing’s Eric Enlow of Union reports that one group of fish has already spawned but the next group won’t move up until temperatures warm again. For now a lot of fish have headed back out to the main lake where they are holding as deep as 20 feet, and they can be caught around riprap and points with jerkbaits and even Alabama rigs. 

There are still fish in the vicinity of spawning pockets that can be caught on spinnerbaits and jerkbaits, but as far as going down the bank with a worm temperatures probably need to warm a bit before that becomes a dominant pattern again. 

No new report on Monticello catfish from Captain William Attaway (803-924-0857), but he has trips booked targeting them again in two weeks. 

March 20

Lake Monticello morning surface water temperatures range from about 59-63 degrees. The upper lake is lightly stained while the lower end near the power plant area is fairly dirty. Water levels generally fluctuate daily. 

The bass spawn is on at Lake Monticello, and BYA Fishing’s Eric Enlow of Union reports that all over the lake fish are on the beds. If you spot fish you can sight-fish for them with your favorite bed-fishing lure, but Eric prefers to drop-shot a small minnow-type grub on a short leader. Since water levels rise and fall on Monticello the fish tend to spawn a little deeper, and if you can’t see them because the water is up or stained then working parallel to the bank with a jerkbait or pulling a Whopper Plopper over their heads is a great option. You can also fish a spinnerbait the same way.  

For post-spawn fish until water temperatures hit about 78 degrees a jerkbait is a fantastic choice, and the only question is whether to fish a shallow-diver or a deeper running bait. 

 

There are also still tons of crappie being caught in the stumps on the 99 end.

The catfish should be close but they still don’t seem to have really turned on at Lake Monticello, but Captain William Attaway (803-924-0857) reports that the best pattern remains to anchor and fan-cast baits to ledges and points covering a wide range of depths. Early in the morning look for the fish to set up shallower, but then to pull out deeper as the sun comes up. 

White perch and gizzard shad should be the best baits right now, but nothing is very consistent.

March 14

Lake Monticello morning surface water temperatures range from about 59-63 degrees. The whole lake is stained while the lower end near the power plant area is dirty. Water levels generally fluctuate daily. 

The bass have moved a lot shallower in the last week on Lake Monticello, and BYA Fishing’s Eric Enlow of Union reports that the buck bass are already on the banks and the females are about to be right there with them – if they are not already. He expects fish to be on the bed by next week.

The best thing going is still fishing a spinnerbait first thing around any riprap on the lake, but after that you can target any cove or spawning pocket which all will hold fish. Fish seem to be wise to baits presented from out to in, and it seems to be easier to draw strikes fishing parallel to the bank. As is often the case in the clear (even if stained) water on Monticello, Eric likes to fish the transition where the bottom falls out of sight.  For some reason a Speed Craw on a shaky head has been out-fishing everything else for shallow fish this week. 

March 7

Lake Monticello morning surface water temperatures range from about 56-62 degrees. The 99 end is clear but the lower end is dirty. Water levels generally fluctuate daily. 

Particularly right now there is a great variation between water temperatures on the two ends of the lake, and BYA Fishing’s Eric Enlow of Union reports that down towards the power plant you can find water as warm as 65 degrees. He has no doubt that there are already some bass down there spawning, whereas on the rest of the lake he thinks fish are headed to an early spawn in the next couple of weeks (barring a major cold front).

As often on Monticello there is a good shallow pattern first thing, and throwing a spinnerbait around any riprap will generate bites. You could also fish shallow on secondary points with soft plastics before the sun gets high.

But after the sun comes up fish are moving out from the banks, and one group of fish can be targeted running parallel to the bank with jerkbaits or Carolina rigs at the first drop where you stop being able to see the bottom. For some reason Carolina-rigged lizards have been working the best.

There is also a group of fish roaming offshore, and while most of them are suspended 10 or less feet below the surface they are mostly in 20 or 30 feet of water. It’s hard to target them without LiveScope. They are taking both jerkbatis and small swimbaits.

One group of fish that Eric saw this week turned out to be monster crappie instead of bass, and he caught this 3-pound fish out of a roaming offshore school.  They were 10-18 feet down in 40-60 of water.

Another place you can look for crappie right now is around the stumps on the 99 end, and the stump fields are absolutely loaded with suspended fish right now. The stumps start in about 18 feet and the fish he is seeing there are about 6 feet under the surface.  

The catfish should be close but they still don’t seem to have really turned on at Lake Monticello, but Captain William Attaway (803-924-0857) reports that the best pattern remains to anchor and fan-cast baits to ledges and points covering a wide range of depths. Early in the morning look for the fish to set up shallower, but then to pull out deeper as the sun comes up. Just like the bass. 

White perch and gizzard shad should be the best baits right now, but nothing is very consistent.

February 29

Lake Monticello morning surface water temperatures vary, but on the 99 end they are usually starting about 53 or 54 degrees and the water is stained. Water levels generally fluctuate daily. 

22 pounds won the ABA tournament this Sunday on Lake Monticello, and BYA Fishing’s Eric Enlow of Union reports that there is no doubt what is the best bait to throw right now. Perhaps because of the stained conditions the best bags all came on Alabama rigs. First thing if there is some water moving then going down shallow riprap is the ticket, and then after that working coves and casting parallel to the banks in 8-14 feet of water is the best pattern. There are also still some deep fish out in 40 feet, and one of the better bags came looking at these fish on LiveScope and watching them come up to take the A-rig.  

There was very little sign that fish have made a move shallow yet. 

It’s still basically fair fishing for catfish on Lake Monticello, and Captain William Attaway (803-924-0857) reports that most of the bait and catfish are still holding tight in 60-70 feet of water. Both slow drifting and anchoring can catch fish, and ledges of gullies seem to be the most productive terrain.  White perch and gizzard shad have been the best baits. As usual when pursuing big fish anglers need to be patient.

February 23

Lake Monticello morning surface water temperatures vary, with low 50s on the 99 end but upper 50s near the power plant. Water levels generally fluctuate daily. 

We will have more information after the ABA tournament this Sunday on Lake Monticello, but BYA Fishing’s Eric Enlow of Union reports that there are monster sacks coming out of the lake. It took 26 pounds to win Saturday, and weekday anglers are routinely catching lots of 6 plus pounders. For now we will just say that the early morning bite around rock and rip rap is still good, and then after that most people are Scoping and casting with swimbaits and Alabama rigs.  

It’s still basically fair fishing for catfish on Lake Monticello, and Captain William Attaway (803-924-0857) reports that most of the bait and catfish are still holding tight in 60-70 feet of water. Both slow drifting and anchoring are working well, and ledges of gullies seem to be the most productive terrain.  White perch and gizzard shad have been the best baits. As usual when pursuing big fish anglers need to be patient.

February 12

Lake Monticello morning surface water temperatures vary, with low 50s on the 99 end but upper 50s near the power plant. The whole lake has a slight stain but the closer you get to the power plant the dirtier it is. Water levels generally fluctuate daily. 

The bass patterns continue to change on Lake Monticello, and BYA Fishing’s Eric Enlow of Union reports that in last weekend’s CATT tournament on the lake he finished second with 18 pounds (winning bag was 22). First thing in the morning he found a good bite anywhere there was riprap, including the dam and the major ramps. The key to getting bites is to work parallel to the bank once you find how deep the fish are holding (tournament day they were 5-10 feet deep) with a spinnerbait. Casting perpendicular to the bank does not work. 

When that bite ends then the best bet is to target points, and for now the fish are on main lake points outside of big pockets. He did not find fish that had gone into the pockets. Again the depth varies, but they were all sitting on the bottom in 15-40 feet around structure. Sometimes he would see the fish on LiveScope but most of the time they wouldn’t swim up until it passed over them. Everything this way came on an Alabama rig and again moving parallel to the bank was critical. 

It’s still basically fair fishing for catfish on Lake Monticello, and Captain William Attaway (803-924-0857) reports that most of the bait and catfish are still holding tight in 60-70 feet of water. Both slow drifting and anchoring are working well, and ledges of gullies seem to be the most productive terrain.  White perch and gizzard shad have been the best baits. As usual when pursuing big fish anglers need to be patient, particularly now when catfish have their choice of millions of slow-moving baitfish to feed on.

February 1

Lake Monticello morning surface water temperatures vary, with low 50s on the 99 end but upper 50s near the power plant.  The whole lake has a slight stain but the closer you get to the power plant the dirtier it is. Water levels generally fluctuate daily. 

Almost overnight the bass have gotten a lot shallower on Lake Monticello, and BYA Fishing’s Eric Enlow of Union reports that the best deal going right now is the Alabama rig. Fish can be caught on it all over the lake, but first thing fish are starting off shallow in around 10 feet of water. Steep, rocky banks have been the most productive. 

As the day goes on fish are working their way out to 16-25 feet, and they can be caught around laydowns, stumps or any other cover in deeper water. The A-rig is still the best way to approach them. 

It’s still basically fair fishing for catfish on Lake Monticello, and Captain William Attaway (803-924-0857) reports that most of the bait and catfish are still holding tight in 60-70 feet of water. Both slow drifting and anchoring are working well, and ledges of gullies seem to be the most productive terrain.  White perch and gizzard shad have been the best baits. As usual when pursuing big fish anglers need to be patient, particularly now when catfish have their choice of millions of slow-moving or even dying baitfish to feed on.

January 23

Lake Monticello morning surface water temperatures vary depending upon where on the lake you are, ranging from the upper 40s to mid-50s. Water levels generally fluctuate daily. 

It’s unlikely that anything major will change with the bass on Lake Monticello until we get some sustained warming to push the fish shallower, and BYA Fishing’s Eric Enlow of Union reports that bass are still on a deep pattern following the bait around. The bait is very heavy in about 65 feet of water around tree tops, and the fish are suspending a little above that. They are dropping down to about 40 feet with jigging spoons and looking for the birds to let them know where to fish. Alabama rigs are also working. 

There will always be fish shallow on Monticello, and Eric says you can catch plenty of bass up to about 3 pounds fishing a jerkbait off points in 8-15 feet of water. 

Finally, it’s not a super-hot bite but they are catching some smallmouth bass right now over humps. A Strike King Rage Swimmer fished deep is working. 

There were some good catches in a recent catfish tournament on Lake Monticello, but Captain William Attaway (803-924-0857) reports that most days fishing is just fair right now.  Everything has gotten a bit deeper, and most of the bait and catfish are holding tight in 60-70 feet of water. Both slow drifting and anchoring are working well, and ledges of gullies seem to be the most productive terrain.  White perch and gizzard shad have been the best baits. As usual when pursuing big fish anglers need to be patient, particularly now when catfish have their choice of millions of slow-moving or even dying baitfish to feed on.

January 4

Lake Monticello morning surface water temperatures are surprisingly warm in the mid-50s or even higher depending on where on the lake you are, and water levels generally fluctuate daily. Even after recent rains the lake is fairly clear. 

It’s still a very good bass bite on Lake Monticello, and BYA Fishing’s Eric Enlow of Union reports that the fish are still on a deep pattern following the bait around. The bait is very heavy in about 65 feet of water around tree tops, but surprisingly the fish are suspending above that at about 40 feet. They are dropping down to about 40 feet with jigging spoons and looking for the birds to let them know where to fish. The best action has been on the 99 end around windblown pockets. 

There will always be fish shallow on Monticello, and Eric says you can catch plenty of bass up to about 3 pounds fishing a jerkbait off points in 8-15 feet of water. 

Catfish report to follow.