August 13

Lake Greenwood water levels are at 439.08 (full pool is 440.0) and morning surface water temperatures are down from 90 into the upper 70s. The upper end of the lake is muddy.

It’s a bit of a head-scratcher why the black bass fishing is so persistently tough on Lake Greenwood, and veteran tournament angler Stan Gunter of Saluda reports that in a tournament Saturday night a solid 14 pounds won but behind that were bags of 5 pounds (second and thirdplace), 4 (fourth), and 3 (fifth).   You can still mark fish all over deeper brush and points, but on electronics you can see them coming up to a bait and just looking at it. 

Some anglers report slightly better results fishing the new Strike King Tumbleweed, an odd-shaped lure that Stan was sure he would never fish but has actually started to like. You can fish it on a drop shot or with a nail weight, and apparently because it’s looks so different from anything they’ve seen fish are giving it a few more bites. Finesse jigs and small worms on a drop shot are other decent options.

Stan has not fished shallow or heard of a shallow bite.    

The crappie bite has also not improved on Greenwood, and while Captain Roland Addy with Carolina Crappie Guide Service (864-980-3672) reports that in the long run lower temperatures will help, dropping 12-13 degrees in 10 days was just too sudden for the crappie to like. If anything the fishing actually got a little tougher in the last week. 

Fish have not moved and most of the crappie are still deep on the main lake, ganged up on structure and particularly brush but also bridges, stumps, sunken boats, and logs. They are generally in 18-30 feet of water, and how deep they are holding depends on a variety of factors like heat, the height of the cover, water conditions, and time of day. Minnows seem to be working a little better than jigs and the upper end is fishing a bit better than the rest of the lake. 

July 31

Lake Greenwood water levels are at 438.98 (full pool is 440.0) and morning surface water temperatures are in the upper 80s. Water clarity is high.

Anyone hoping for magical improvement with the fishing on Lake Greenwood will be disappointed this week, and veteran tournament angler Stan Gunter of Saluda reports that your best bet is to stay in the air conditioning. But for anyone willing to try their luck for black bass on Lake Greenwood early and at night are the best times to fish, even though no time is very good. 

The best numbers of fish are still deep, but even the spotted bass aren’t biting particularly well by this point. They will look at crankbaits, worms, jigging spoons, and whatever else you send down to them, but that’s about it. Stan wonders if they get finicky enough this time of year that it’s hard to catch them on anything besides live bait.

There is still the chance to catch fish shallow around sea walls on a Pop-R or bream beds early, but there is short window for that bite and it’s not very good either. 

The crappie bite on Greenwood continues to be really tough, and Captain Roland Addy with Carolina Crappie Guide Service (864-980-3672) reports it’s still a struggle to catch a limit of fish.   

Most of the crappie are still deep on the main lake, ganged up on structure and particularly brush but also bridges, stumps, sunken boats, and logs. They are generally in 18-30 feet of water, and how deep they are holding depends on a variety of factors like heat, the height of the cover, water conditions, and time of day. Minnows seem to be working a little better than jigs and the upper end is fishing a bit better than the rest of the lake right now. 

Our family is travelling next week for the last week of the summer before our children go back to school, but we will resume weekly fishing reports the following week. Hopefully some cooler weather will give us some exciting changes to relay – although it will still be August in South Carolina!     

July 22

Lake Greenwood water levels are at 439.00 (full pool is 440.0) and morning surface water temperatures are in the upper 80s. Water clarity is high.

The crappie bite on Greenwood continues to get tougher, and Captain Roland Addy with Carolina Crappie Guide Service(864-980-3672) reports that he is basically encouraging clients to postpone trips (or head to Clarks Hill) unless they want to suffer the heat to catch 15-20 crappie if they are lucky on a six-hour trip. 
Most of the fish are still deep on the main lake, ganged up on structure and particularly brush but also bridges, stumps, sunken boats, and logs. They are generally in 18-30 feet of water, and how deep they are holding depends on a variety of factors like heat, the height of the cover, water conditions, and time of day. Minnows seem to be working a little better than jigs and the upper end is fishing a bit better than the rest of the lake right now. 

Unfortunately the black bass also seem to be pretty deep in the dog days of summer on Lake Greenwood, and veteran tournament angler Stan Gunter of Saluda reports that the bite has gotten tough. The best numbers of fish are deep, but even the spotted bass aren’t biting particularly well by this point. They will look at crankbaits, worms, jigging spoons, and whatever else you send down to them, but that’s about it. Stan wonders if they get finicky enough this time of year that it’s hard to catch them on anything besides live bait.

There is still the chance to catch fish shallow around sea walls on a Pop-R or bream beds early, but there is short window for that bite and it’s not very good either. 

We apologize that these reports are running a few days behind – the author had some unexpected issues in his other job arise. 

July 9

Lake Greenwood water levels are down to 438.87 (full pool is 440.0) and morning surface water temperatures are around 85-86 degrees. The water is probably clearer than ideal for fishing.     

And just like that the black bass fishing has gotten tougher again on Lake Greenwood, with veteran tournament angler Stan Gunter of Saluda reporting that a combination of intense heat and holiday traffic has probably not helped. Stan and his sons are still marking a bunch of fish on brush, but they have gotten hard to catch and when they do catch a fish it is usually a spot. Everything they have caught has been on a drop shot, and when they drop down a big worm the fish will just look at it. They often do the same with a drop shot, but at least sometimes they will take it. 

With the offshore bite slow, in the mornings it’s still worth casting around the sea walls with Pop-Rs, frogs, and Whopper Ploppers. You can also try to look for bass feeding around bream beds with the full moon tomorrow. 

Unfortunately the crappie on Greenwood have also gotten a lot tougher to catch than last week, and Captain Roland Addy with Carolina Crappie Guide Service (864-980-3672) reports that fish are just finicky now. You really have to mess with them to get them to bite. Most of the fish he is marking are now on the main lake 15-20 feet down in 18-25 feet of water, but Captain Roland notes that with a lot of bait in the creeks he may actually look there as well on his trip tomorrow. Fish are around structure, mostly brush but also bridges, stumps, sunken boats, and logs. He has been fishing with Fish Stalker jigs in Mountain Dew, Blue Dew, and Ugly Green but also plans to try minnows. 

July 2

Lake Greenwood water levels are at 439.07 (full pool is 440.0) and morning surface water temperatures have risen into the mid-80s or higher. 

Even though it’s been hot for a couple of weeks maybe the black bass just needed time to transition to deep water on Lake Greenwood, but in any event veteran tournament angler Stan Gunter of Saluda reports that the fishing is really picking up. It’s now taking 20 plus pounds to win night tournaments, and they are mostly catching fish on deep brush piles and of course lights. Crankbaits like a 6XD, Ol’ Monster worms and heavy drop shot rigs are catching fish around the brush piles. 

During the day brush is also the best pattern, but in the morning you can still pick up a fish here or there around the sea walls on Pop-Rs, frogs, and Whopper Ploppers. There is also a decent bite around bream beds, for generally a pretty good grade of fish, but that’s also mainly a very early deal. 

The crappie on Greenwood are continuing their trend from last week, and Captain Roland Addy with Carolina Crappie Guide Service (864-980-3672) reports that fish are simultaneously moving a bit further down in the water column and also continuing to migrate out to the main lake. Most of the better fish are now out of the creeks, and they are holding on main lake brush 10-20 feet down in 15-25 plus feet of water. 

For now Fish Stalker jigs in a variety of chartreuse colors are still working the best, but as water temperatures continue to rise throughout the water column fish will get more finicky and anglers may need to switch over to minnows.

June 26

Lake Greenwood water levels are at 439.09 (full pool is 440.0) and morning surface water temperatures have risen into the mid-80s or higher. 

It’s no surprise that the crappie continue to head deeper on Lake Greenwood, and Captain Roland Addy with Carolina Crappie Guide Service (864-980-3672) reports that fish are simultaneously moving a bit further down in the water column and also continuing to migrate out to the main lake. Most of the better fish are now out of the creeks, and they are holding on main lake brush 10-20 feet down in 15-25 plus feet of water. 

For now Fish Stalker jigs in a variety of chartreuse colors are still working the best, but as water temperatures continue to rise throughout the water column fish will get more finicky and anglers may need to switch over to minnows.

Black bass report to follow.

June 18

Lake Greenwood water levels are at 439.08 (full pool is 440.0) and the lake is getting dirty (while still fishable) down to the lower end. Morning surface water temperatures are in the low 80s.

The South Carolina Crappie Association had a tournament Saturday on Lake Greenwood, and Will Hinson of Cassatt and his tournament partner Tommy Slice of Chapin finished in second by .12 pounds. They had seven fish for 10.72 pounds and a big fish of 1.54 pounds. On the water it was clear that warm temperatures had finally moved the fish, and by Saturday most of the teams were fishing on the main lake. Will and Tommy found their fish on main lake points in 20-27 feet of water that had some sort of structure. They weighed a couple of fish that came off sunken boats, and the rest came off brush. Before 9:00 they caught more fish on brush, but after that the fish pretty much only wanted minnows and they had to let them sit and swim around before triggering strikes. 

The black bass on Lake Greenwood are also transitioning with the hotter weather, but veteran tournament angler Stan Gunter of Saluda reports that there is still a good bite for the first hour or two of the day around sea walls. You can get the most of this bite by going up the side of the lake that catches the sun earliest first, and then switching over to the shaded side and going back down. There are also still some fish being caught on docks with shaky heads, but there’s no doubt that more fish are starting to get on offshore brush in 15-18 plus feet. While tournament weights have only been about 14-15 pounds some bigger fish are starting to show up on brush. Deep-diving crankbaits and big worms have been the best way to catch them. 

Stan notes that one of his sons has been marking so many crappie on brush piles that he’s started targeting them, and at the times he’s fishing for them they will only take minnows. 

June 11

Lake Greenwood water levels are at 439.09 (full pool is 440.0) and the middle to lower lake is clear. Morning surface water temperatures are in the upper 70s. 

There are still black bass on Lake Greenwood that are heading offshore, but veteran tournament angler Stan Gunter of Saluda reports that a surprising number of fish have not gone very deep. There has been both a good topwater bite in the shallows and a good dock bite.

His son Bryan has caught a bunch of fish on a Pop-R around sea walls in the mid-lake area, mostly spots, while up the lake he also caught some largemouth on the same bait. Flipping docks with a shaky head in 7-10 feet has also been productive.

While they have caught a few fish on big worms and deep-diving crankbaits around brush in 15-18 feet, they have actually caught more fish that seem to be transitioning out deeper on points in 10-12 feet of water with a drop shot and shaky head. 

If anything the crappie have actually gone a little shallower on Lake Greenwood, although Captain Roland Addy with Carolina Crappie Guide Service (864-980-3672) reports that with temperatures starting to push 80 they should head deeper soon. But right now the most fish are in brush in 10-20 feet of water, holding 10-15 feet down. The most productive brush is in the creeks as it has just not gotten hot enough to push fish to the main lake yet. Fish Stalker jigs in Ugly Green, Blue Dew, and Mountain Dew are all working and fish are biting pretty well.  

May 29

Lake Greenwood water levels are at 438.96 (full pool is 440.0) and morning surface water temperatures are down to about 75 degrees. 

The black bass on Lake Greenwood continue to head offshore, and veteran tournament angler Stan Gunter of Saluda reports that – while there is almost always a topwater bite around seawalls early on Lake Greenwood, and there are some fish being picked up around deeper docks – by far the most consistent bite now is on brush in 15-18 feet, deeper points, and steep creek channel ledges (with brush). Cranking with something like a 6XD is one good pattern – carry a plug knocker – but lately big worms have been the most effective. 

Finally, for anglers who want to fish shallow one more thing to look for is a bream bed bite in the mornings.  

With stable or even dropping temperatures it makes sense that the crappie have not moved deeper this week on Lake Greenwood, and Captain Roland Addy with Carolina Crappie Guide Service (864-980-3672) reports that the greatest number of fish remain in the creeks. Brush in 15-25 feet of water is still the most productive, and the fish are mostly 10-15 feet down. Jigs and minnows are both working but Captain Roland has mostly been throwing Fish Stalker jigs in Ugly Green. 

Our family is travelling for our annual beach vacation next week, but we will resume weekly fishing reports the following week.   

May 22

Lake Greenwood water levels are down to 439.05 (full pool is 440.0) and morning surface water temperatures have been about 78 degrees. With freshwater inflow clarity up the lake is a mixed bag, and at times the upper end is cleaner than the middle while other days that reverses (depending on how hard they pull water). As of yesterday the lower end was clear and there was still plenty of fishable water. 

There is finally some improvement with the black bass fishing on Lake Greenwood, and veteran tournament angler Stan Gunter of Saluda reports that the key to the change seems to be more fish moving offshore and then feeding better. There is almost always a topwater bite around seawalls early on Lake Greenwood, and there are some fish being picked up around deeper docks, but the most consistent bite now is on brush in 15-18 feet, deeper points, and steep creek channel ledges (with brush). Cranking with something like a 6XD is one good pattern – carry a plug knocker – but lately big worms have been the most effective. 

Finally, for anglers who want to fish shallow one more thing to look for around the new moon is a bream bed bite in the mornings.  

Even as it got hotter the crappie have moved very little this week on Lake Greenwood, and Captain Roland Addy with Carolina Crappie Guide Service (864-980-3672) reports that the greatest number of fish remain in the creeks. Brush in 15-25 feet of water is still the most productive, and the fish are mostly 10-15 feet down. Jigs and minnows are both working but Captain Roland has mostly been throwing Fish Stalker jigs in Ugly Green. 

 

May 15

Lake Greenwood water levels are back to down to 439.29 after peaking above full two days ago (full pool is 440.0) and morning surface water temperatures are around 73-75 degrees. The upper end was a muddy a day or two ago and now the whole lake should be.

There is a gradual warm-weather progression with the crappie fishing on Lake Greenwood, and Captain Roland Addy with Carolina Crappie Guide Service (864-980-3672) reports that while fish are still mainly in the creeks there are a few more in the main lake this week. And now they are on brush in 15-25 feet of water instead of 10-20, and 10-15 feet down instead of 5-15. The crappie are also feeding a little better, and so now both jigs and minnows are working really well. Ugly green has been the best color in Fish Stalker jigs. 

At the same time the black bass fishing remains inexplicably tough on Lake Greenwood, and veteran tournament angler Stan Gunter of Saluda reports that even spotted bass are hard to catch – especially ones with any size.  There’s not really any good pattern right now, but about the best bet is to fish sea walls early with topwater lures and then move to docks with a shaky head – or brush piles.

While the brush pile bite hasn’t turned on so far, at some point brush in 15-18 feet has to get good. Brush in the front of creeks or the main lake should both be productive, and a deep-diving crankbait like a 6XD should work very well. 

Perhaps water temperatures are still a few degrees short of where they need to get. 

May 8

Lake Greenwood water levels are at 439.06 (full pool is 440.0) and morning surface water temperatures are in the mid-70s. Water clarity is high and the upper end has only a slight stain. 

The black bass fishing has gotten inexplicably tough on Lake Greenwood, and veteran tournament angler Stan Gunter of Saluda reports that a pretty significant tournament took only thirteen pounds to win. To make matters worse the winning bag included a 6-pounder, showing just how small all the other fish were. As water temperatures have gotten warm there really seem to only be two decent patterns right now. First is fishing around docks with a shaky head or wacky rig, and the other is fishing brush in 15-18 feet. The brush can be either in the front of creeks or the main lake and a deep diving crankbait like a 6XD seems to be working as well as anything. 

There should also be some bedding fish, particularly on the May 12 full moon, and it’s also worth looking for some fish getting around bream beds. For unclear reasons the early bite with Pop-Rs around sea walls has been non-existent. 

Since the bite was already good, fortunately there’s not a lot of change with the crappie this week and Captain Roland Addy with Carolina Crappie Guide Service (864-980-3672) reports that by now most of the fish are getting on brush in 10-20 feet of water. A few fish are out on the main lake, but most of the action is still on brush in the creeks right now. Fish are generally 5-15 feet down, and they are catching them on plain Fish Stalker jigs in chartreuse, blue dew, ugly green, and glimmer blue. 

May 1

Lake Greenwood water levels are at 439.06 (full pool is 440.0) and morning surface water temperatures are 72-74 degrees. Water clarity is high and the upper end has only a slight stain. 

There’s not a lot of change in patterns on Lake Greenwood this week, although Captain Roland Addy with Carolina Crappie Guide Service (864-980-3672) reports that the bite has gotten a little better as fish emerge from any post-spawn lull. Overall there are still a few crappie roaming the banks up the rivers, but in the middle to lower lake the majority of the fish are getting on brush in 10-20 feet of water. While not to say that there aren’t already a few fish on the main lake, most of the action is on brush in the creeks right now. Fish are generally 5-15 feet down, and they are catching them on plain Fish Stalker jigs in chartreuse, blue dew, ugly green, and glimmer blue. 

In a similar vein, there are still some black bass bedding and a few more to go on beds at Lake Greenwood, and so veteran tournament angler Stan Gunter of Saluda reports that you can certainly still catch fish around shallow cover and on spawning flats with soft plastics. But there are more post-spawn fish each day, and Stan finds that they like to congregate early around sea walls where they will take topwater lures including Pop-Rs, Whopper Ploppers, and frogs. The other major place that fish go after they come off beds is to docks, and a shaky head can be deadly for these post-spawn fish. 

With water temperatures in the 70s the shad spawn is also well underway, and anglers should look for shad spawning around the banks near virtually any hard cover – early in the morning. They will take spinnerbaits, buzzbaits, swim jigs. At times the sea wall and shad spawn bites overlap, and some of the best sea walls will have spawning shad. 

April 24

Lake Greenwood water levels are at 439.13 (full pool is 440.0) and morning surface water temperatures are in the upper 60s to low 70s. Water clarity is high and the upper end has only a slight stain. 

There are still a few crappie roaming the banks up the rivers, but Captain Roland Addy with Carolina Crappie Guide Service (864-980-3672) reports that in the middle to lower lake the majority of the fish are starting to get on brush in 10-20 feet of water. While not to say that there aren’t already a few fish on the main lake, most of the action is on brush in the creeks right now. Fish are generally 5-15 feet down, and they are catching them on plain Fish Stalker jigs in chartreuse, blue dew, ugly green, and glimmer blue. 

There are still black bass bedding and more to go on beds at Lake Greenwood, and so veteran tournament angler Stan Gunter of Saluda reports that you can certainly still catch fish around docks, shallow cover, and on spawning flats with soft plastics. But there are more post-spawn fish each day, and Stan finds that they like to congregate around sea walls where they will take topwater lures including Pop-Rs, Whopper Ploppers, and frogs. The other major place that fish go after they come off beds is to docks, and a shaky head can be deadly for these post-spawn fish. 

While Stan has not personally seen it yet, with water temperatures in the 70s the shad spawn should be getting started in places. Look for shad spawning around the banks near virtually any hard cover – early in the morning. 

April 10

Lake Greenwood water levels are up to 438.95 (full pool is 440.0) and morning surface water temperatures are in the upper 60s. Clarity is dropping after Monday’s rain and at least the upper lake is getting muddy.     

Readers of the Lake Wateree fishing report will see striking similarities with the crappie report on Lake Greenwood, and Captain Roland Addy with Carolina Crappie Guide Service (864-980-3672) reports that fish are extremely scattered. The majority of the fish have already spawned, but there are still plenty of (particularly) males hanging around shallow. There are also still groups of fish hanging in open water in the creeks or relatively shallow off the banks in the main lake, but then there are already groups out in deep water on the main lake. A very few fish are getting on brush, but not many so far, and the majority of fish that aren’t bank-oriented are still in open water. 

When you locate them fish are feeding pretty well, and for fish on the banks you can pursue them with a jig or minnow under a float. For open water fish you can long-line troll, cast at schools you see on electronics, or even tight-line. 

There will be another big wave of black bass that go on beds this weekend with the full moon, but overall veteran tournament angler Stan Gunter of Saluda reports that the spawn is starting to wind down on Lake Greenwood.  You can still fish in spawning pockets and around shallow cover with soft plastics, and catch bass, but for post-spawn fish Stan finds they congregate around sea walls where they will take topwater lures including Pop-Rs, Whopper Ploppers, and frogs. The other major place that fish go after they come off beds is to docks, and a shaky head can be deadly for these post-spawn fish. 

Before long a shad spawn will also get started on Lake Greenwood and concentrate post-spawn bass but it has not started yet. 

Our family is travelling for our children’s spring break next week, but we will resume weekly fishing reports after the Easter holiday. 

April 3

Lake Greenwood water levels are at 438.31 (full pool is 440.0) and morning surface water temperatures are in the mid-60s. Most of the lake is relatively clear. 

Every year it seems as if the crappie spawn goes faster on Lake Greenwood, and Captain Roland Addy with Carolina Crappie Guide Service (864-980-3672) reports that this year is no exception. By now he estimates that 80% of the fish have spawned, and in part as a result fish are highly scattered out and there are no really big concentrations anywhere. The bite is still pretty decent and you can catch fish at lot of different stages with a bunch of different techniques. There are a few on the banks that you can pursue with a jig or minnow under a float, you can long-line troll, or even tight-line. But Captain Roland is mostly casting at schools of post-spawn fish that he is looking at on electronics, with the vast majority of these schools in 18-30 feet of water. A few fish are on the main lake but most remain in the creeks. 

Overall the lake is a little clearer than he likes it for crappie fishing, and he thinks the bite would have been a bit better with less visibility. 

While the peak of the crappie spawn might be behind us, veteran tournament angler Stan Gunter of Saluda reports that the black bass spawn is completely wide open right now on Lake Greenwood. Every spawning pocket has beds in it, and fish are around every piece of shallow cover including docks, laydowns, rock and trees. Overall Lake Greenwood is probably a bit behind Lake Murray, but both pre- and post-spawn fish (or annoyed spawning fish) will take Pop-Rs, Bang-O-Lures, buzzbaits, spinnerbaits in stained areas, Rattle Traps, and more.  But for fish at all stages of the spawn it’s hard to beat soft plastics, and going down the bank with a floating worm is a pretty fool-proof technique.