January 6

Lake Jocassee is at 96.1% of full pool and the lake is clear. Morning surface water temperatures are 54-56 on the big water.   

Before the cold front the bass fishing had already gotten brutally tough on Lake Jocassee, and tournament angler Joe Anders of Easley reports that did not change after temperatures dropped. It only took 11 ½ pounds to win the last tournament on the lake, and fish seem to have totally disappeared from the river channels. About the only way that they have been able to catch them is on a Ned rig or an Alabama rig in 50-90 feet of water. The key spots seem to be long points right where the timber line starts.

Many a bass trip has been salvaged recently with a big trout, just as some trout trips have been salvaged by spotted bass.  

It’s that time of year where the trout can be anywhere in the lake, and Guide Sam Jones (864-280-9056) reports that is why anglers are picking them up on crankbaits, jerkbaits and more – often in very shallow water. With the fish extremely spread out that doesn’t make for ideal trout fishing conditions if you want to target them specifically, though, and Sam reports that it’s hard to decide where to troll. They caught a nice 4-pounder in 70 feet near the dam this week, and the winners of the last JOC trout tournament were apparently fishing points and humps in the Whitewater River. Artificial lures do appear to be out-fishing live bait. 

They also continue to catch some nice yellow perch, one of the best-eating freshwater fish, while trout fishing. 

December 23

Lake Jocassee is at 93.8% of full pool and the lake is clear. Morning surface water temperatures are 54-56 on the big water and 59-61 in the backs.   

The bass are still heavily related to forage on Lake Jocassee, and tournament angler Joe Anders of Easley reports that one group of fish is up shallow where they are feeding on newly stocked trout and bream. Big swimbaits and jerkbaits will both work. 

There is also another group of fish that are related to bait in the main river and creek channels in 40-90 feet of water. Some of them are suspended and some of them are on the bottom, but the key to finding the fish is locating the bait. Swimbaits, Pulse jigs, underspins and Alabama rigs are all working well. 

Now that water temperatures have gotten low enough that DNR can stock trout it is almost a certainly that the trout fishing will turn on, and perhaps Joe’s most exciting catch recently was a nice 4-pound trout which he caught in three feet of water below a waterfall! The fish took a jerkbait. 

It makes sense that the fish was up there because Guide Sam Jones (864-280-9056) reports that water conditions are such that the trout can be anywhere in the lake right now. They are marking a ton of fish in the prime trolling depth of 30-100 feet, but so far they are still catching more bass than trout on plugs and spoons. That could change very soon.  

December 16

Lake Jocassee is at 92.1% of full pool and the lake is very clear. Morning surface water temperatures are in the high 50s. 

The bass are biting on Lake Jocassee, and tournament angler Joe Anders of Easley reports that fish are related to the main river and creek channels in 40-90 feet of water. Some of them are suspended and some of them are on the bottom, but the key to finding the fish is locating the bait. Big swimbaits and jerkbaits are working well, and they are also catching some fish on underspins and deep-running crankbaits. In low light conditions an Alabama rig is working well.

Most of these are spotted bass, but there are also some big largemouth being caught on oversized swimbaits near the banks. 

With water temperatures still pretty high the trout fishing has not quite changed on Lake Jocassee, and Guide Sam Jones (864-280-9056) reports that when water temperatures drop and hold just a few degrees lower the annual stocking will take place and the fishing should improve. Whether this is a function of the weather or if the stocking itself has a significant effect is disputed, but every year the action gets better around the time when DNR stocks trout.

For now fish are still very deep but that should change soon.

December 2

Lake Jocassee is at 92.8% of full pool and the lake is very clear. Morning surface water temperatures are around 61 degrees on the big water.

Things may be close to changing with the trout fishing on Lake Jocassee, and Guide Sam Jones (864-280-9056) reports that when water temperatures drop and hold just a few degrees lower the annual stocking will take place and the fishing should improve. Whether this is a function of the weather or if the stocking itself has a significant effect is disputed, but every year the action gets better around the time when DNR stocks trout.

Even though surface temperatures have dropped for right now they are still marking lots of fish super deep in the 100-120 foot range near the dam. However, it has still been hard to get the fish to bite and spoons, plugs and minnows are all working about the same.  With a Jocassee Outdoor Center trout tournament coming up the second Saturday of this month it will be interesting to see the results. 

For now the main catches on Sam’s boat are still bass, which are pretty consistently being caught about 40-50 feet down. 

More information to follow. 

November 19

Lake Jocassee is at 93.0% of full pool and the lake is still even more clear than usual. Morning surface water temperatures are around 66 degrees.

The trout bite on Lake Jocassee is stable, and Guide Sam Jones (864-280-9056) reports that fishing is typical for November with only occasional bites. With several more warm days this week surface temperatures have only dropped one degree and fish are still super deep in the 100-120 foot range of the big water. Sam is marking fish at Whitewater and near the dam, but due to time of year and perhaps with contribution from an over-abundance of bait they just won’t bite very often. Spoons, plugs and minnows are all working about the same. 

Jocassee anglers who want to get a rod bent can still look to the bass, and tournament angler Joe Anders of Easley reports that they are suspended and feeding up in the river channels, at the mouths of rivers like the Toxaway and occasionally off the end of main lake points. Targeting them is about locating schools of baitfish on your electronics, or with the help of birds, and then counting down baits to the right depth. Fish could be 20 feet down over 120 feet of water.  

The Alabama rig can be a good way to cover water, and counting down swimbaits is also effective.   

At times fish will also be caught on a jig offshore, and with a limited numbers of points that reach out into the lake you can narrow down the places to fish it.

November 11

Lake Jocassee is at 93.8% of full pool and the lake is even clearer than usual. Morning surface water temperatures are around 67-68 degrees. 

The trout bite on Lake Jocassee has slowed a little bit more, and Guide Sam Jones (864-280-9056) reports that fishing is typical for November with only occasional bites. With several warm days this week surface temperatures have held steady and fish are still super deep in the 100-120 foot range of the big water.  Sam is marking fish at Whitewater and near the dam, but due to time of year and perhaps with contribution from an over-abundance of bait they just won’t eat very often. Spoons, plugs and minnows are all working about the same. 

Fortunately Lake Jocassee also has bass, and tournament angler Joe Anders of Easley reports that they are starting to suspend and feed up in the river channels, at the mouths of rivers like the Toxaway and occasionally off the end of main lake points. Targeting them is about locating schools of baitfish on your electronics, or with the help of birds, and then counting down baits to the right depth.  Fish could be 20 feet down over 120 feet of water.  

The Alabama rig can be a good way to cover water, and counting down swimbaits is also effective.   

At times fish will also be caught on a jig offshore, and with a limited numbers of points that reach out into the lake you can narrow down the places to fish it.

Finally, Sam notes that some bass are being caught burning a fluke just under the surface way up the rivers. 

November 5

Lake Jocassee is at 93.3% of full pool and the lake is very clear. Morning surface water temperatures are around 67-68 degrees. 

The trout bite on Lake Jocassee continues to be slow, which Guide Sam Jones (864-280-9056) reports is par for the course in November. Many years ago they stopped doing a trout tournament in November because so few keepers were weighed in. Even though surface temperatures are dropping fish are still super deep in the 100-120 foot range of the big water, and they are only picking up a fish here-and-there. A combination of time of year and the over-abundance of bait is probably weakening the bite. Sam is marking the most fish around Whitewater, although there are still fish at the dam too. Fish still aren’t showing much preference between Sutton and Apex spoons and live bait isn’t working any better.

While they are still picking up a few bass trolling for trout in very deep water, or while pulling lures back up to the surface, the deep bass bite is slower than last month. 

Full bass report to follow from tournament angler Joe Anders of Easley.

October 21

Lake Jocassee is at 94.6% of full pool and they are pulling so much water through the lake that water clarity is unusually high despite all the rain, even in areas that are not usually clear.  Morning surface water temperatures are around 74 degrees. 

There aren’t many surprises in the fall trout bite on Lake Jocassee, and Guide Sam Jones (864-280-9056) reports that the fish are doing almost exactly what he expects for this time of year. Fish are still super deep in the 100-120 foot range of the big water, and they are picking up a fish here-and-there but not great numbers. It usually isn’t until water temperatures drop in December and they stock more fish that the bite really gets hot again, although the full moon isn’t helping since so many fish feed at night.  

For now the fish aren’t showing much preference between Sutton and Apex spoons, and they are willing to eat bigger and more normal-sized spoons again. There is an incredible amount of bait in the water and no one is really fishing live bait right now. Surprisingly the catch has been almost all rainbows recently while the browns have been absent.

While they are still picking up a few bass trolling for trout in very deep water, or while pulling lures back up to the surface, the deep bass bite has slowed down a little since all the rain.

Full bass report to follow from tournament angler Joe Anders of Easley.

October 8

Lake Jocassee is at 95.9% of full pool and clarity has been unusually high – although the rains are beginning to reduce it. Morning surface water temperatures are still around 76-77 degrees. 

Despite pouring rain that kept him off the water, tournament angler Joe Anders of Easley reports that it still took 19 pounds to win the Thursday night bass tournament last night on Lake Jocassee, with the big bags coming shallow. The winning team had a sack of largemouth that came just going down the bank and throwing topwater lures. This is not unusual in the fall when it gets close to the turnover, and Joe says that at that time fish customarily go shallow or very deep. 

That is exactly consistent with the report from Guide Sam Jones (864-280-9056), who says it has been a little tricky to get the trout to bite but luckily spotted bass have stepped in to provide the action and some good eating.  All of a sudden a lot of bass have showed up in the 80-120 foot range where they are still marking the trout in the big water near the dam or at the mouth of the Whitewater.  Bigger Sutton spoons have been best for both trout and bass right now.

September 30

Lake Jocassee is around 95.4% of full pool and clarity is extremely high. Morning surface water temperatures are around 77 degrees. 

Water temperatures have not cooled off enough for the trout to move shallower, and Guide Sam Jones (864-280-9056) reports that the fish they are catching are still coming in 100 plus feet of water by the dam or in the main body of water where the Whitewater River comes in. There have been some bigger ones but most of the fish are in the 3-4 pound range, and they are also catching a good number of spotted bass deep right now. For some reason big Sutton spoons are working the best at the moment. 

New bass fishing report to follow from tournament angler Joe Anders of Easley.

September 17

Lake Jocassee is up to 95.4% of full pool and clarity is normal. Morning surface water temperatures are around 80-82 degrees. 

Last night makes 5 out of 6 Thursday night bass tournaments on Lake Jocassee that tournament angler Joe Anders of Easley has won in a row, with the off-week being last week when another team landed a monster 9.77 pound largemouth to go with some other impressive fish. The bite was a little slower last night and Joe only had about thirteen pounds, with the second place team just under 11. 

While there are still some fish being caught out deep in 40-45 feet on a jig, from what Joe is seeing it looks like the fish are moving shallower again and the offshore bite is slowing down as some of the shad appear to be transitioning away from the depths. His main weapon in the evenings has been a jerkbait, while if he were fishing in the mornings he would probably spend more time with a buzzbait in low light conditions. It gets dark so fast now that the low light window is really short in the p.m. Flukes are also working well. 

There’s not a lot of change in the trout fishing, and Guide Sam Jones (864-280-9056) reports that they are catching a few big ones but overall the bite has been pretty slow.  It’s about right for the season.  All of the fish that they are catching are still in 100 plus feet of water, either by the dam or in the main body of water where the Whitewater River comes in.  Sutton and Apex spoons both seem to be working about the same.

September 3

Lake Jocassee is at 94.2% of full pool and morning surface water temperatures are in the lower 80s on the main lake.    

Last night makes three straight first place finishes for tournament angler Joe Anders of Easley in the Thursday night bass tournaments on Lake Jocassee, and he reports that fish are being caught on a combination of shallow and deep patterns. Last night he caught a monster 7.86 pound largemouth on a buzzbait in two feet of water, and lots of other anglers are also fishing topwater lures around the banks. 

However, what seems to be separating the top bags is that they are comprised of fish caught both shallow and deep. Last week Joe’s bag was anchored by a monster spotted bass (his personal best) weighing 6.88 pounds, and these fish are coming suspended offshore in schools in up to 90 feet of water. The huge spot came almost 70 feet down, and like most of the offshore fish it was in a big group of 30 or so others. Often they are over timber, and you pretty much have to mark them on your electronics to target them. From there it’s a matter of counting a spy bait or swimbait down to the right depth, and usually the bass will take it on the fall. 

Joe has found the best action at the mouths of the rivers. 

Usually at this time of year the trout fishing slows down on Lake Jocassee until it really cools off, but Guide Sam Jones (864-280-9056) reports that typically if you put the hours in you can catch a big fish. That hasn’t been the case for the last couple of weeks, but after 20 years of guiding on the lake Sam isn’t worried. Sam knows there are plenty of big ones swimming around and they could turn on at any point.

All of the fish that they are catching have been in 100 plus feet of water, either by the dam or in the main body of water where the Whitewater River comes in. Sutton and Apex spoons both seem to be working about the same.