August 13

Lake Jocassee is at 97.8% of full pool and water clarity is normal on the main lake. Morning surface water temperatures are down to about 80 degrees. 

There are less summer vacationers on the water pursuing them but the trout bite on Lake Jocassee remains pretty strong, and Guide Sam Jones with Jocassee Charters (864-280-9056) reports that today his son and guide partner Casey caught three 4-pound fish. They all came in roughly 90-100 feet, where they should stay for a month or more longer. The cooler weather does not seem to have had much effect on the bite, which is unsurprising considering how deep the fish are living and so how little changes in surface temperatures of three degrees affect them. 

The best action is coming at the dam, and right now they are not picking up many black bass. 

July 31

Lake Jocassee is at 96.8% of full pool and water clarity is typically high. Morning surface water temperatures are up to about 83 degrees on the main lake, but they have seen temperatures as high as 88 up the Toxaway River – very hot for this mountain lake!  

The summer trout bite has slowed in the extreme heat on Lake Jocassee, and Guide Sam Jones with Jocassee Charters (864-280-9056) reports that his son Casey did have one trip where they caught three trout but picking up one or two has been more common. Most of the trout are around 100 feet deep, and they are basically trolling in the 90-110 foot range. When they have put spoons down to 125 they don’t get any action – which makes sense because it appears that the thermocline starts at about 90 feet (but can be tens of feet wide). The best area has been the big water near the dam.

But while the trout have slowed, they are picking up far more black bass than earlier in the summer. In addition to spots once again they picked up a very deep largemouth, this time a 3-pounder at 100 feet! They have not been catching many catfish except for small fish, often “hitchhikers” it takes a while to even realize are on the line. 

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 Jocassee is at 96.1% of full pool and water clarity is typically high. Morning surface water temperatures are up to about 82 degrees on the main lake.

The summer trout bite continues to be very good on Lake Jocassee, and Guide Sam Jones with Jocassee Charters (864-280-9056) reports that in addition to good numbers they are still picking up some very fat rainbows as well as some big holdover brown trout like the 6-pound, 23-inch fish pictured below. It came 95 feet deep, and generally they are catching most of the fish at 70-115 feet. Fish are mostly holding at least 80 feet deep but they will still run up shallower to take a bait. On a typical trip Sam will run a flat-line with a crankbait at about 25 feet, a downrigger shallow at 60 feet, and three more at about 90, 105 and 110 feet. In general the catfish and occasional black bass come on the shallower lines, although they did catch one largemouth at 90 feet! 

Overall the dam area has been the most productive, but they are picking up a few fish trolling from the dam area over to the Whitewater River. 

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 Jocassee is at 95.7% of full pool and water clarity is typically high. Morning surface water temperatures are holding at around 80 degrees on the main lake.

While they stayed off the water for a few days around the Fourth, Guide Sam Jones with Jocassee Charters (864-280-9056) reports that as they have started fishing again it’s clear the trout patterns have not changed very much. Overall the fish are still mostly coming in 80-110 feet of water, and by far the best action has been at the dam. Trolling up to the Whitewater River to try something different has mostly still been unproductive. Right now the fish are taking Sutton spoons so well there’s no reason to fish anything else. 

They are still picking up one or two catfish most trips but no black bass. 

July 2

Lake Jocassee is at 97.1% of full pool and water clarity is typically high. Morning surface water temperatures are holding at around 80 degrees on the main lake.

After the slow year for trout that was much of 2024 this year has been a tremendous improvement, and Guide Sam Jones with Jocassee Charters (864-280-9056) feels particularly grateful to say that today was a slower today where they onlycaught four trout. Most of last year that would have been a banner day. Monday both Sam and his guiding partner and son Casey had short three-hour trips (before customers wanted to cool off swimming) where they caught seven trout and two good catfish each, and so it really has been an incredible turnaround. 

Overall the fish are still mostly coming in 80-110 feet of water, and by far the best action has been at the dam. Trolling up to the Whitewater River to try something different has mostly been unproductive. Right now the fish are taking Sutton spoons so well there’s no reason to fish anything else.  

June 26

Lake Jocassee is at 97.5% of full pool and water clarity is typically high. Morning surface water temperatures have shot up to 80 plus degrees on the main lake.

As water temperatures have spiked this week the trout have headed much deeper on Lake Jocassee, and Guide Sam Jones with Jocassee Charters (864-280-9056) reports that almost overnight fish over 100 feet deep! They are marking a few in 60-80 feet, but the majority are in 80-110 feet and most of the ones they are catching are now at 100 plus. Despite that they did catch one trout on a crankbait that was only trolled 15 feet down, and Sam’s son and guide partner Casey has even seen some rainbows come to the surface to eat. But this just shows how far fish may be willing to travel for a meal, which they can see in the gin-clear water, and they certainly can’t live shallow right now.

The bite has been very good, and they are catching 4-8 fish on most trips - almost all on spoons.  There is the occasional big holdover fish like the 9-pounder last week, but most are fish stocked this winter. The dam area is producing by far the most fish although they have caught a few in the deep water at the mouth of the Whitewater River.

They have caught a few catfish this week but no black bass. 

Overall things are looking much, much better than last year!

June 18

Lake Jocassee is at 98.0% of full pool and water clarity is normal on the big water. Morning surface water temperatures are up to about 74-75 degrees on the main lake.

The trout are moving deeper on Lake Jocassee, but the bigger news from Guide Sam Jones with Jocassee Charters (864-280-9056) is that they caught a 9-pound brown trout on Monday! It hit a Sutton spoon at 80 feet, which is consistent with the fact that they have been marking fish 40-80 feet down this week. The big water near the dam and in channels at the mouth of the Whitewater River continues to be most productive, and they are catching a good mix of rainbows and browns. 

Channel catfish up to about 12 pounds continue to show up, and they are finally getting some black bass out deep. But while spotted bass are moving to the big water, the reports we are hearing indicate that the largemouth bass fishing in the rivers has gotten much slower.  

June 11

Lake Jocassee is at 95.9% of full pool and water clarity is normal. Morning surface water temperatures are still around 72-73 degrees on the main lake.

The trout fishing continues to get better and better on Lake Jocassee, but other than that Guide Sam Jones with Jocassee Charters (864-280-9056) reports that there hasn’t been too much change with the bite. They are getting a mixed bag of rainbows, browns, and some good eating-sized channel catfish, and the fish really haven’t gone much deeper. Fishing around the dam and the mouth of the Whitewater River they have actually caught one fish on a flat line in 21 feet, and the deepest anything has come has been 61 feet. All the bites have been coming on spoons, and they have noticed that cloudy weather often turns the fish on. 

They are still not getting any black bass – again indicating they are up the rivers and not really in the big water. 

May 29

Lake Jocassee is at 98.1% of full pool and water clarity is normal. Morning surface water temperatures are still around 72-73 degrees on the main lake.

With stable water temperatures it’s no surprise the trout haven’t moved much on Lake Jocassee, and Guide Sam Jones with Jocassee Charters (864-280-9056) reports that they are still marking fish at about the same depth. But while they are still putting out lines from about 25-60 feet, they are getting the most action on the spoons trolled in the 45-60 foot range. Right now it seems that the browns are more likely to be in the deeper sections of the rivers, while the rainbow trout (and catfish) are being picked up at the dam. Numbers of trout have been very good this week, especially for rainbows, and Sutton spoons have accounted for almost all of the catch.  

They are picking up only a very few black bass and so it seems that most of them are still further up the rivers where they are not trolling.   

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

May 21

Lake Jocassee is at 98.2% of full pool and water clarity is normal. Morning surface water temperatures are up to 72-73 degrees on the main lake.

Even though temperatures have shot up this week on Lake Jocassee, Guide Sam Jones with Jocassee Charters (864-280-9056) reports that they are still marking trout at about the same depth. But while they are still putting out lines from about 25-60 feet, they are getting the most action on the spoons trolled in the 45-60 foot range. Right now it seems that the browns are more likely to be in the deeper sections of the rivers, while the rainbow trout (and catfish) are being picked up at the dam. Numbers of trout have been pretty good this week, especially for rainbows. 

They are picking up only a very few black bass and so it seems that most of them are still further up the rivers where they are not trolling.   

Bass report to follow from veteran angler Chip Cranford of Boiling Springs.

May 15

Lake Jocassee is at 96.0% of full pool and water clarity is normal. Morning surface water temperatures are still about 68 degrees on the main lake.

The trout bite has changed a little this week on Lake Jocassee, and Guide Sam Jones with Jocassee Charters (864-280-9056) reports that – while they are still marking plenty of fish at the dam – they aren’t biting. As a result they are having to go up the rivers, where the fishing is more difficult with the shallower water and tighter channel, but there they are managing some keeper browns. In both areas the fish are in about 25-55 feet of water. While they have tried depths up to 70 feet they aren’t marking much or finding any action there, and in fact the most bites have come at around 26 feet. 

They still aren’t picking up any black bass on the big water, and as a result Sam thinks most of the fish are in the rivers.  That’s consistent with the report from veteran angler Chip Cranford of Boiling Springs, who reports that even though it’s late on the spawn he believes another wave of fish bedded on the May 12 full moon. Beyond that the last time Chip was on Jocasssee he found 2-4 pound fish cruising the banks in the rivers that would take topwaters, crankbaits and spinnerbaits.

The hope is that as more big fish get further removed from the spawn they will bite better again. 

May 6

Lake Jocassee is at 95.2% of full pool and water clarity is typically very high. Morning surface water temperatures are still about 68 degrees on the main lake.

The trout bite remains strong on Lake Jocassee, and Guide Sam Jones with Jocassee Charters (864-280-9056) reports that in particular the rainbow trout action is still very good. On one trip he had four fish over 17 inches, and they have landed fat fish pushing 20 inches. 

While the best pattern is still trolling spoons in 25-55 feet of water, with the dam area very good, Sam’s son and guiding partner Casey Jones has also had a lot of success trolling crankbaits about 15-20 feet deep. In addition to trout they are picking up catfish on this pattern, mostly in the 3-12 pound range. The population of catfish is obviously very healthy, and anglers targeting them with traditional bottom-fishing methods and baits for channel cats – including cut bait and more – report very strong results.  

While Jocassee Charters isn’t pulling up many black bass on the big water, veteran angler Chip Cranford of Boiling Springs reports that there are still plenty of fish in the rivers.  We are late in the spawn and so mostly smaller fish are on beds right now, but there should be another wave on the May 12 full moon. 

Recently the bite has not been great for bigger fish with post-spawn fish seemingly a little inactive, but Chip has still been able to catch 2-4 pound fish that are cruising the banks on topwaters, crankbaits and spinnerbaits.

May 1

Lake Jocassee is at 95.7% of full pool and water clarity is typically very high. Morning surface water temperatures are up to 68 degrees on the main lake.

The trout bite continues to improve on Lake Jocassee, and in a far cry from tournaments in the winter Guide Sam Jones with Jocassee Charters (864-280-9056) reports that in this weekend’s tournament they had 16 fish weighed. The big fish was right at four pounds and so there were no monsters, but numbers are rapidly improving. Even if there aren’t a lot of holdover fish from the winter 23-24 stocking there are some older fish and just-legal fish from this year, and the rainbow bite has really taken off. These aerial fighters are especially fun for parties, although the down-side is that by leaping they come unhooked more often.

The best pattern is still trolling in 25-55 feet of water, and the dam area is actually coming alive. The better action is coming on spoons, and with underwater cameras they have actually been able to watch fish inspect live bait then ultimately hit a spoon. Mostly catfish are being caught on minnows. 

It’s still pretty good black bass fishing on Lake Jocassee, and veteran angler Chip Cranford of Boiling Springs reports that we are late in the spawn and so mostly smaller fish are on beds right now. The majority of particularly the bigger fish are post-spawn, and as they seem to be recovering from the spawn they are not feeding very well.  Low water levels could be another factor, and he is hopeful that rain predicted for this weekend will get them feeding better. 

He has still been seeing a lot of 2-4 pound fish cruising the banks, and they have been willing to take topwaters, crankbaits and spinnerbaits.

April 24

Lake Jocassee is at 95.8% of full pool and water clarity is typically very high. Morning surface water temperatures are up to 63-64 degrees on the big water and the upper 60s up the rivers. 

It’s pretty good black bass fishing right now on Lake Jocassee, but veteran angler Chip Cranford of Boiling Springs reports that we are late in the spawn and so mostly smaller fish are on beds right now. The majority of particularly the bigger fish are post-spawn, and with water levels a few feet down he is hopeful that the coming rain will get them feeding better. He has been seeing a lot of 2-4 pound fish cruising the banks, and they have been willing to take topwaters, crankbaits and spinnerbaits.  It seems that a lot of the bigger fish are recovering from the spawn and not feeding very well right now.  

But the trout bite continues to get better and better, and Guide Sam Jones with Jocassee Charters (864-280-9056) reports that in addition to a lot of legal stocked fish from this past winter they have landed some good rainbows and a 5-pound brown trout. Fish are scattered out in the big water but not really near the dam yet, although they are coming from the big cove in that general area. The best action has been fishing spoons, and the anglers trolling minnows or fishing herring seem to mainly be catching catfish. The night bite with bait has also apparently been very poor. 

April 10

Lake Jocassee is at 95.4% of full pool and main lake water conditions are very clear. Morning surface water temperatures are up to 61-62 degrees on the main lake. 

What a difference a month (and a good winter’s stocking) makes! Recently Guide Sam Jones with Jocassee Charters(864-280-9056) expressed the hope that the spring trout fishing was just running a few weeks behind, and now that seems to have been exactly the case. It also helps that the fish stocked last winter have now mostly hit 14-16 inches, and on his last trip out they caught 6 trout with three of them browns big enough to keep. They also picked up a couple of black bass trolling spoons. 

The key depth range is still about 30-55 feet, and spoons are out-fishing live bait right now. The color of the spoon doesn’t seem to make a difference, and they caught fish on five of the seven different spoons they pulled. 

One interesting note is that, even though they continue to catch fish in the rivers, the bait appears to be starting to move and they are marking less bait in the backs. And the loons have moved out to the big water, either preparing to leave or following bait. 

With water temperatures inching up a few more degrees the pre-spawn and spawn bass bites are getting better on Jocassee, with more fish getting shallower and on beds. About the best way to target fish right now is to fish a shaky head in wood cover just off the banks at the first depth gradient. This could still be in 10-15 plus feet of water, but fish move into these areas and feed aggressively before the spawn – and some undoubtedly spawn that deep.  

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 Jocassee is at 95.7% of full pool and water conditions are very clear. Morning surface water temperatures are up to 58 degrees on the main lake. 

The water temperatures on Lake Jocassee are still well behind those on most other South Carolina lakes, but veteran angler Chip Cranford of Boiling Springs reports that in recent tournaments anglers have noted a few early black bass on beds or close to bedding. Still, the consensus is that most fish are not there yet.

As a result it continues to be almost exclusively a pre-spawn bite, and with the quality of fish on Lake Jocassee there are monsters being caught all the time. Swimbaits and crankbaits are both working, and of course a lot of people are looking at staging fish on forward-facing sonar and casting to them with minnow-type baits on jigheads. 

The trout bite hasn’t changed much on Lake Jocassee this week, but Guide Sam Jones with Jocassee Charters (864-280-9056) reports that with stocked fish big enough to keep it continues to make things more interesting.  To his knowledge there have not been any big holdover fish caught again this week, but at least they are catching trout that can be eaten.

The best action is coming in 30-45 feet of water trolling spoons, and minnows haven’t really produced anything for Sam or his guide partner. The dam area is pretty desolate of bait and fish, and the best fishing has been coming at the mouth of the rivers over deep water or up the rivers. The bait is still definitely concentrated up the river arms.