February 26

Lake Jocassee is down to 94.7% of full pool and surface water temperatures are around 51-52 degrees. Clarity is normal.

It seems the full moon has thrown off the daytime trout bite the last few days on Lake Jocassee, and Guide Sam Jones (864-280-9056) reports that they are still marking a ton of fish but they just don’t seem to be interested in eating. However, once we get over this hump the fishing should get better again. 

Most of the trout are still in 30-50 feet of water, although a few fish are also being caught shallower. However, these are often the smallest ones. He is marking equal numbers of fish in front of the dam as well as up the Whitewater. Sam is not noticing any preference for live bait over spoons. 

On the bass front, tournament angler Joe Anders of Easley reports that the fish are biting very well as March approaches. Early in the morning spinnerbaits have been fishing well against the banks, and offshore swimbaits and spybaits have both been working. There are still good numbers of fish suspended in the channels in 45-100 feet of water around bait schools. 

Counting your bait down to the right depth remains critical.

February 18

Lake Jocassee is at 96.9% of full pool and surface water temperatures in the big water are around 52 degrees, but cooler up the rivers. Clarity is still high on the main water and into the rivers, and there is also not too much floating debris at least in the bigger sections of the rivers despite the recent rains. 

There are still a ton of small trout being caught on Lake Jocassee, but Guide Sam Jones (864-280-9056) points out that the results of the most recent Jocassee Outdoors Center tournament show that there are plenty of good ones biting, too. And this week Sam saw a 7-pounder caught in the same area he was fishing!

The best fishing is still in 30-50 feet of water, although a few fish are also being caught shallower. However, the shallowest fish are often smaller. In the tournament Saturday most of the anglers were fishing up the rivers, but the action in the big water has also been good, showing that fish are scattered all over the lake. The 7-pounder was caught at Roundhouse Point.  Sam is trying live bait from time to time, but he is still having better action pulling spoons.

One note is that there do not seem to be very many trout in the very backs of the creeks, although there are a ton of gulls, loons, and bait back there. In fact, one angler in the tournament caught a 7-pound bass on a blueback herring in the back of a creek – one of the very few times someone is disappointed to catch a 7-pound largemouth!

That is consistent with what tournament angler Joe Anders of Easley reports, as he doesn’t expect the bass to move out of the deep channels until we get closer to the pre-spawn. Right now most of the fish are suspended in about 45-100 feet of water, and the key to finding them is locating the bait. They are mostly feeding on shad right now and so small spoons, Rooster Tails and other smaller baits are working.  Alabama rigs and jerkbaits can also be effective.   

Counting your bait down to the right depth remains critical.

February 5

Lake Jocassee is at 97.3% of full pool and surface water temperatures in the big water are in the low 50s, but cooler up the rivers. Clarity is typically high.

It’s a still a good time to try for a big trout on Lake Jocassee, although Guide Sam Jones (864-280-9056) reports that anglers do still have to contend with a lot of sub-legal fish that have recently been stocked. He caught a nice 20-incher on his last trip out, and there have also been some good ones caught on other boats this week.  

Sam would still prefer to start out fishing the big water in front of the dam, but windy conditions have frequently forced him to fish other areas. Fortunately fish are still spread out all over the lake. Roughly 30-50 feet is still the magic depth, and fish are hitting bait but they are biting spoons just as well.

 

The bass are still very much in a winter pattern, and tournament angler Joe Anders of Easley reports that it won’t be until late March when fish start to really get into a pre-spawn pattern that he expects them to move out of the deep channels. Right now most of the fish are suspended in about 45-100 feet of water, and the key to finding them is locating the bait. They are mostly feeding on shad right now and so small spoons, Rooster Tails and other smaller baits are working.  Alabama rigs are also effective, and particularly in the morning when they are feeding jerkbaits are good. 

Counting your bait down to the right depth remains critical. 

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January 21

Lake Jocassee is at 97.2% of full pool and surface water temperatures in the big water are about 53-54 degrees, but cooler up the rivers. Clarity is typically high.

This is a great time to catch trout on Lake Jocassee, although Guide Sam Jones (864-280-9056) reports that right now anglers are still having to fish through a lot of sub-legal fish that have recently been stocked.  Sam would still prefer to start out fishing the big water in front of the dam, but windy conditions have frequently forced him to fish other areas. Fortunately fish are spread out all over the lake, and he caught the 21-inch trout below in the back of Howard’s Creek. 

Roughly 30-50 feet is still the magic depth, and like a lot of them the 21-incher came right in the middle at 40 feet. Fish are hitting bait but they are biting spoons just as well. There is obviously still a very strong bait population in the lake, and one recent fish spit up a herring and threadfin shad back-to-back after it was landed!

The bass still seem to be in about the same locations, and tournament angler Joe Anders of Easley reports that he is still seeing the bulk of the fish suspended out in the river channels. They are in 30-70 feet of water, and right now Alabama rigs are out-fishing everything else. Jerkbaits can also work, but regardless of what bait you are throwing you have to count it down to the depth where you mark them on electronics.    

In the mornings there is also a little bit of a crankbait bite around the banks of Lake Jocassee, and on warmer mornings the fish will even sometimes bust bait on the surface. A jerkbait can be good when this is happening. 

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January 14

Lake Jocassee is at 95.6% of full pool and surface water temperatures in the big water are about 57 degrees, but cooler up the rivers. Clarity is typically high. 

Some nice trout are being caught on Lake Jocassee, and Guide Sam Jones (864-280-9056) reports that in the last Jocassee Outdoor Center tournament Saturday there was a big 7.18 pound brown weighed in as well as a couple more fish in the 5-pound range. But that doesn’t mean all the fish are big right now, and anglers will have to wade through a lot of smaller stockers in the 13-inch range. These won’t all pop your down-riggers and so anglers need to be attentive to avoid wasting time when you could be catching a big one – and killing fish. The stockers have been in the lake for a little while, but they first head to the backs of the creeks before they realize they need to head out to the bigger water to search for food.

On Saturday it was too rough for the anglers to fish the big water and so the catches came in the rivers, but the best place to start day-in and day-out right now is around Roundhouse Point and then fish the two main river channels. If that doesn’t pan out then head into the rivers and look because the fish could be scattered anywhere. The fish are still mostly in 20-50 feet of water, with 30-40 feet the best range day in and day out, but they could also be on the surface as all of the water is about the same temperature. Spoons and live bait are both working. In addition to trolling, some anglers are setting up with spot lock like a striper fisherman and dropping live baits down to fish that they mark. 

Sam has marked a ton of fish back in the Devil’s Fork area, but because of the way they were stacked up he thinks they were mostly bass. 

On the subject of bass, tournament angler Joe Anders of Easley reports that he is also seeing the bulk of the fish suspended out in the river channels right now. They are in 30-70 feet of water, and right now Alabama rigs are out-fishing everything else. Jerkbaits can also work, but regardless of what bait you are throwing you have to count it down to the depth where you mark them on electronics.    

In the mornings there is also a little bit of a crankbait bite around the banks of Lake Jocassee, and on warmer mornings the fish will even sometimes bust bait on the surface. A jerkbait can be good when this is happening. 

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January 8

Lake Jocassee is at 98.0% of full pool and surface water temperatures in the big water are about 55.5 degrees, but cooler up the rivers. Clarity is normal.

The Lake Jocassee trout bite continues to improve, and Guide Sam Jones (864-280-9056) reports that it’s clear that the fish are turning on based on some good catches on his boat and others’. The fish are mostly in 20-50 feet of water, with 30-40 feet the best range day in and day out. Right now they aren’t have much success trolling plugs and flatlines at the top of the water column but that could still be coming. Spoons are working well, but live bait can be even better if you can find it. 

Sam is spending most of his time fishing in the big water, although some anglers are having success in the front section of rivers. When Sam goes very far back in the rivers all he finds is spotted bass. 

Speaking of bass, tournament angler Joe Anders of Easley reports that about 15 pounds has won tournaments on the lakes a couple of weeks in a row, and from what he is seeing the fish are mostly suspended out in the river channels right now. They are in 30-70 feet of water, and one tournament was won a Rattle Trap and one on an Alabama rig.

Right now you have to count your bait down, and if you mark them suspended deeper then a heavy swimbait or an Alabama rig is a good option. If they are only down about 15 feet then a jerkbait can work, and at times fish can even be caught schooling on warm mornings with a jerkbait.  

In the morning you can also fish a crankbait in shad patterns around the banks. 

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December 20

Lake Jocassee is down to 89.1% of full pool and morning surface water temperatures are about 58 degrees. 

DNR trout stocking on Lake Jocassee usually correspond to improvement in the trout bite, and this year is no exception. Guide Sam Jones (864-280-9056) reports that some brown trout up to 21-inches have been caught recently, and while he has caught smaller rainbows it shouldn’t be long until a big one also shows up. With water temperatures dropping most of the action is now in 60 feet and up, and trolling both minnows and spoons is working. The biggest fish recently was caught on bait. 

Trout guides have seen some surface activity, but without catching one it is unclear whether it is trout or bass.  

At least some of the fish seen on top by trout fishermen are almost certainly bass, as tournament angler Joe Anders of Easley reports that even though it’s late in the year there have been some smallmouth caught on topwaters and even a few schooling.  Still, most of the fishing activity is now concentrated in deep water, and the last tournament was won with an Alabama rig fished deep.  Some people are also dragging a jig on the bottom, but there are a lot of fish right now suspended in 40-100 feet of water.  The mouths of creeks as well as creek channels where you mark bait are good places to look.

November 24

Lake Jocassee is at 95.4% of full pool and water temperatures are down to 65 degrees. Clarity remains normal.   

While fishing is still a grind, it’s promising for trout fishing that water temperatures are finally starting to fall on Lake Jocassee. Guide Sam Jones (864-280-9056) reports that in a really good sign of seasonal improvement he has started marking some fish in the 50-60 foot range. They got about a 5-pound brown to the surface from 60 feet but it flipped off. Still, there are plenty of fish in 100 feet and so a fair range is from about 50-100 feet.  Live bait and spoons will both work, and the better fish recently have come off a mix of the two. A 5-pound trout took first in the JOC tournament and the same angler got second with a 3-pounder.  

Most of the action Sam has found has been in the big water near the dam, but while they have marked plenty of fish in the rivers from the way they are set up it seems likely that they are bass. 

The bass fishing is still pretty good on Lake Jocassee, and tournament angler Joe Anders of Easley reports that he is still focusing more on the main lake where the fish seem to be set up on steep ledges that range from 20-60 feet of water. Bulky football jigs like Mop jigs, spy baits, and swimbaits have all worked well on a deep retrieve, and when there is some wind a spinnerbait has been good. 

That is not to say that there are not still some fish on flatter banks, but as water temperatures drop they should get more rare.

November 12

Lake Jocassee is at 95.5% of full pool and water temperatures are still around 70 degrees. Between fall and the storms there is a lot of debris in the water, but conditions remain very clear. 

The bass fishing has gotten a little tougher on Lake Jocassee, but tournament angler Joe Anders of Easley reports that the fishing is still pretty good – and he expects it to be wide open by the end of November. The last couple of times Joe has been out he has concentrated more on the main lake, and the fish have seemed to be set up on steep ledges that range from 20-60 feet of water. Bulky football jigs like Mop jigs, spy baits, and swimbaits have all worked well on a deep retrieve, and when there is some wind a spinnerbait has been good. 

That is not to say that there are not still some fish on flatter banks, and the best fish Joe caught his last time out came on a popping frog fished shallow. 

With water temperatures still very warm it’s unsurprising that there’s not a lot of improvement with the trout, and Guide Sam Jones (864-280-9056) reports that the fishing is still very slow. They are still marking a ton of fish (and bait), but in general the trout are just not eating very well. The fish remain stacked up in 90-100+ feet in the big water, but they are not interested in spoons or live bait.  Still, if enough people are fishing someone usually catches them and with a make-up tournament this weekend from April’s event it will be interesting to see what is landed.

When water temperatures drop significantly the trout fishing should really improve, usually about the time that DNR stocks the lake, and we should get into the best months of the year on Lake Jocassee.

October 23

Lake Jocassee is at 93.8% of full pool and water temperatures are still 70-73 degrees. Water clarity remains very high. 

There were some signs of life at the last trout report, but Guide Sam Jones (864-280-9056) reports that the trout fishing has been very slow recently. They did catch a nice 3+ pound fish this week, and they are still marking a ton of fish (and bait), but in general the trout are just not eating very well. With water temperatures still very warm the fish remain stacked up in 90-100+ feet in the big water, but they are not interested in spoons or live bait.

Fortunately Lake Jocassee is also full of bass, and while Sam reports that they are picking up some bass out deep in the main pool while targeting trout the better pattern has been pulling up shallower and trolling 20-35 feet of water in the Toxaway River. They are putting out some plugs too but the spoons are generally working better than crankbaits. 

When water temperatures drop significantly the trout fishing should really improve, usually about the time that DNR stocks the lake, and we should get into the best months of the year on Lake Jocassee.

October 6

Lake Jocassee is at 95.4% of full pool and water temperatures have dropped to about 73-74 degrees on the main lake. With no recent rains water clarity is very high. 

It’s questionable to call it a seasonal improvement since the water temperatures haven’t changed much down where the trout live, but Guide Sam Jones (864-280-9056) reports that the fishing has definitely picked up since the last report.  There is still the occasional trip where bass save the day, but generally they are catching trout every time they go out including some big fish up to 7 plus pounds.  

While they are marking bait scattered throughout the water column down to about 90 feet, the cold water starts in about 90 feet and almost all of the trout have been coming in 100+. Spoons continue to work as well or better than live bait, and the best fishing continues to be in the big water. When Sam decides to check the rivers, or wind forces them to fish up there, they only catch bass. 

As we get into October the bass bite changes a little on Lake Jocassee, and tournament angler Joe Anders of Easley reports that right now spotted bass and largemouth are roaming together and feeding on shad. The fish are fish are setting up from the mouth to mid-ways back in the creeks, and the best thing to do is to find shad on your graph and then fish the banks and points in that area. Even though you are fishing close to the shore, Jocassee is so steep that fish could be over 30 or 60 feet of water. Spinnerbaits, jerkbaits, swimbaits, Sebille Magic Swimmers and other baits that imitate shad will all work. 

As is clear from the trout report are still some fish that can be found offshore close to the bottom, and while these will mainly be spotted bass and smallmouth there could even be some largemouth mixed in. The depth range varies from 25-90 plus feet of water. Football jigs are hard to beat and spy baits will also catch fish.

September 25

Lake Jocassee is back up to 95.1% of full pool while water temperatures have dropped to about 77 degrees. Water clarity is still very high. 

The trout fishing continues to be slow, and while Guide Sam Jones (864-280-9056) reports that they are still marking a lot of bait in 70-110 feet of water the trout they are also marking are just not cooperating. The best bet still seems to be pulling spoons under the bait in 100-120 feet of water in the big water near the dam, but even tricks like fishing near tree tops aren’t making much of a difference right now.

Many a trip recently, however, has been saved by bass. They are picking up a bunch of spotted bass and the occasional smallmouth up to 4+ pounds in the same areas where they are trolling for trout, and there is also the occasional catfish mixed in. These fish are out in the middle of the big water related to nothing except bait.

While there may be bass in 100+ feet of water, tournament angler Joe Anders of Easley points out that is not a great pattern if you are trying to weigh live fish on the scales in a tournament! However, from what he has seen he can’t disagree that the spotted bass are deep, and they have been catching them in 60-70 feet of water dragging a football jig off points. 

The winning tournament weights are more likely to come from largemouth, and generally they are shallower.  Right now Joe thinks they are around the banks feeding on crawfish that are molting.  Fishing jigs and Carolina rigs in 15+ feet of water is the best pattern.

September 15

Lake Jocassee is down to 93.8% of full pool and water temperatures range from 80-82 in the big water but can be as warm as 84 in the creeks. Water clarity is very high. 

The bass fishing on Lake Jocassee is starting to pick up again, and Joe Anders of Easley reports that they won a tournament last week with 18 pounds – and then on Sunday a friend won with 21 pounds! Dropping water levels seem to have changed the bite, and as a lot of the fish have left the banks they seem to be eating more crawfish and less bream. The same fish that were strictly spitting up bream in the live well are now spitting up crawfish. They also seem to have pushed to the mouth of rivers. 

The best action has been in 15-65 feet of water off points with football jigs and Carolina rigs, with the largemouth coming on the shallower end.  A 9-pound fish was caught yesterday on a Carolina rig! The spotted bass have often been in 50 plus feet.

While 65 feet has been as deep as most bass fisherman are going to look, Guide Sam Jones (864-280-9056) reports that he recently caught a smallmouth in 104 feet and they have caught lots of 1-3 pound spots in 70 feet! The trout fishing has truthfully been a little slow, and many days the bass and small catfish have been what kept things interesting. Still there are some occasional big fish being caught like the 24-inch, 6-pound brown shown below, and most all of the trout seem to be in the 100-120 foot range. Sam has found the best action in the main pool and sometimes in the Whitewater and Toxaway channels, and when he has fished Jumping Off Rock and the Three Rivers area it has been even slower. Overall the water really needs to cool before things pick up, but for right now one useful tip is that you need to be fishing around tree tops to get bit as the fish are a little more structure oriented.

Sam is mostly pulling spoons, and when he does try live bait it’s hard to keep the small catfish off the line as they seem particularly fond of live shiners.