July 13

Lake Murray water levels are down to 357.61 (full pool is 360.00) and clarity is back to summer normal. Morning surface water temperatures are in the mid-80s. 

It’s a good summer bite for striped bass on Lake Murray, and Captain Brad Taylor with Taylor Outdoors (803-331-1354) reports that the bulk of the bigger fish he is catching right now are from Spence Island down. However, he is not finding them around the dam. For the most part they are in 50-70 feet of water on the bottom, and they are generally off the ends of ridges. Herring on down-rods have been the key.   

Captain Rocky Fulmer with Little River Guide Service (706-210-3474) adds that you can find plenty of fish 25-30 feet down, but he agrees that these are mostly smaller ones.  

For this week’s tip from Taylor Outdoors check out this short video on using a thumper box for Lake Murray striped bass. 

It’s an above-average bass bite for July on Lake Murray, and tournament angler Andy Wicker of Pomaria reports that one pattern is to fish shallow with a buzzbait just running the banks. This is better when the bream are bedding, but it’s been good even after the last full moon.  There are also a ton of fish suspended offshore on cane piles, but the hard part is catching them. At times they will take topwater baits, flukes, flutter spoons and more, but there are a ton more fish out there than will bite. 

While Andy is convinced that there are a lot of fish in deep brush or on deep rock right now, they have been surprisingly hard to catch.  Maybe he just hasn’t come on the right brush, but that is the one bite that seems below-average right now. 

Up the rivers Captain Brad reports that you can find crappie scattered around brush, bridges and even docks, and just yesterday the author took Brad’s advice and caught some good crappie around marina docks on a mix of minnows and jigs. However, Brad reports the bite isn’t wide open right now. 

Down the lake veteran tournament angler Tommy Slice reports that on the lower end around the dam, Lexington and Ballentine you need to look in brush in 28-35 feet on the main lake or at least in the mouth of creeks. The best brush is on drops and ledges. The bite is better with small minnows, but you can usually get away with jigs in the morning even on the clearer lower end. The right groups of fish will really eat, but others can be lethargic. 

It's a pretty good catfish bite on Lake Murray, and Captain William Attaway with Slick Willie’s Guide Service (803-924-0857) reports that fishing dip baits in 5-25 feet around secondary points, humps, and marker buoys is by far the best way to catch them. It’s getting to be the time of year when night-fishing is more productive than daytime fishing, but fish will still feed sporadically all day. You can also catch cats on herring, worms, shrimp and more, but usually nothing out-fishes dip baits. 

June 28

Lake Murray water levels are down to 358.07 after rising over 359 (full pool is 360.00), and while clarity is normalizing the whole lake is more stained than usual after last week’s rain. The Little Saluda has cleared much more than the Big Saluda which is pretty muddy. Morning surface water temperatures are around 80 degrees. 

It’s a good summer bite for striped bass on Lake Murray, and Captain Brad Taylor with Taylor Outdoors (803-331-1354) reports that he is catching fish in 40-60 feet of water on down rods. He saw some schooling activity yesterday, mostly 18-inch fish, but the biggest groups of fish are on the bottom. Right now they seem to be relating mostly to deep channels. As explained in the video below, the best fishing is in the big water within sight of the dam. 

Brad notes that until the sediment totally settles out fish may act a little differently from normal, and like a cup of water the sediments settles from the top to the bottom with the upper layer clearing long before the bottom does. 

For this week’s tip from Taylor Outdoors check out this short video on summer fishing locations on Lake Murray. 

It’s finally gotten hot on Lake Murray, and tournament angler Andy Wicker of Pomaria reports that as a result bass are finally starting to make a normal summer move. You can still find fish early on a buzzbait around the banks and grass, but after that it gets a lot tougher to catch fish shallow. Some fish will be around bream beds, but even they bite better very early.  Mostly smaller fish seem to be holding around docks.  

The better fishing during the day is out deep around brush, and you can catch bass dragging worm around brush piles in around 20 feet of water. And while there are probably a few fish suspended offshore, in general that bite experiences a lull after the first two weeks of June and doesn’t really turn back on until the water cools (with obvious exceptions like the last time the FLW Cup was here). Still, this year has been so behind that it’s worth looking. 

There are no Tuesday night tournaments this week or next week because of the Friday night Ironman event and then the holiday, but with fish finally getting on offshore brush the night bite should pick up for Friday’s tournament. 

The biggest change with the crappie this week is that due to water conditions fish are more likely to relate tighter to cover when they can’t see as well, but their locations haven’t changed much.   Up around the rivers you can still find crappie on brush in 20-26 feet, but veteran tournament angler Tommy Slice reports that on the lower end around the dam, Lexington and Ballentine you need to look in brush in 26-31 feet. The best brush is on drops and ledges. There are still some fish in the creeks, but they are making their way towards the main lake or at least the mouths of the creeks. The bite is better with small minnows, but you can usually get away with jigs in the morning even on the clearer lower end. 

There are a lot of post-spawn catfish that are willing to eat on Lake Murray, and Captain William Attaway with Slick Willie’s Guide Service (803-924-0857) reports that fishing dip baits in 5-25 feet around secondary points, humps, and marker buoys is by far the best way to catch them. It’s getting to be the time of year when night-fishing is more productive than daytime fishing, but fish will still feed sporadically all day. You can also catch cats on herring, worms, shrimp and more, but usually nothing out-fishes dip baits.  

June 22

Lake Murray water levels are at 358.50 (full pool is 360.00) and clarity is normal. Morning surface water temperatures are in the upper 70s.  

There’s not much change in the daytime pattern for striped bass on Lake Murray, and Captain Brad Taylor with Taylor Outdoors (803-331-1354) reports that fish are mostly on the bottom in 50-70 feet of water in the big water.  However, the pre-dawn pattern is a little different, and over from Clarks Hill for the hot early morning action Captain Rocky Fulmer with Little River Guide Service (706-210-3474) reports that on the lower end they are finding fish in 38-40 feet first thing. They are fishing main lake points from Shull Island to the dam with down-rods about three turns off the bottom, and they are getting limits before 6 a.m.  Most of the fish are in the 24-inch range.  

If you are out there every day you can stay on top of the fish, but Captain William Attaway with Slick Willie’s Guide Service (803-924-0857) notes that they are moving around more than usual. He’s finding them in 40-60 feet during the day but notes that for weekend anglers don’t be surprised if about the time you find a group of fish they move. 

For this week’s tip from Taylor Outdoors check out this short video on using cut bait. 

Unsurprisingly with this weather things are still running behind on Lake Murray with the bass, and tournament angler Andy Wicker of Pomaria reports that fish are still shallower than usual, especially early. At the same time there are a few fish suspending on offshore spots, but even though a couple of places are already loaded up with bass there are not many places like that. 

With a pretty good bream spawn going on around the lake there are also a lot of good fish shallow, and you can find large wolf packs of bass around bream beds. Running the banks with a Whopper Plopper, Pop-R or buzzbait can be a really good way to catch these fish. And with temperatures mild it’s also still worth fishing docks with a jig or worm – particularly if the sun ever comes out.   

As far as night fishing, the fish still don’t seem to have gotten on offshore brush and the best pattern is still either fishing lights or dragging a worm off points in 5-15 feet before dark.

Up around the rivers you can still find crappie on brush in 20-24 feet, but veteran tournament angler Tommy Slice reports that on the lower end around the dam, Lexington and Ballentine you need to look in brush in 26-31 feet. There are still some fish in the creeks, but they are making their way towards the main lake or at least the mouths of the creeks. Generally those fish are holding about 14-16 feet down, but if the sun ever comes up they will be tight to the brush. The bite is better with small minnows, but you can usually get away with jigs in the morning. 

There are now a lot of post-spawn catfish that are willing to eat on Lake Murray, and Captain William Attaway with Slick Willie’s Guide Service (803-924-0857) reports that fishing dip baits in 5-25 feet around secondary points, humps, and marker buoys is by far the best way to catch them. It’s getting to be the time of year when night-fishing can be really good, and if it warms up then it will also be a good way to beat the heat. 

June 15

Lake Murray water levels are at 358.11 (full pool is 360.00) and clarity is good. Morning surface water temperatures have risen into the mid-70s.

It’s still a deep pattern for striped bass on Lake Murray, and Captain Brad Taylor with Taylor Outdoors (803-331-1354) reports that’s unlikely to change for a while.  Fish are mostly on the bottom in 50-70 feet of water, and they are relating to both channels and ridges. There are some fish higher in the water column but they are mostly smaller ones. The same is true for the creeks, and Brad is mostly fishing within sight of the dam if not right in the extreme lower pool.

It's a down-rod bite with herring, and for brand new information about Lake Murray down-rod fishing and leader length check out this short video from Taylor Outdoors. 

Things are still running behind on Lake Murray with the bass, and tournament angler Andy Wicker of Pomaria reports that on their way to 19 pounds in a CATT tournament Saturday they actually caught two fish shallow on the herring spawn first thing. The fish were on the main lake off a point in 2-4 feet of water.  At the same time there are a few fish suspending on offshore spots, but even though a couple of places are already loaded up with bass there are not many places like that. 

With a pretty good bream spawn going on around the lake there are also a lot of good fish shallow, and you can find large wolf packs of bass around bream beds. Running the banks with a Whopper Plopper, Pop-R or buzzbait can be a really good way to catch these fish. And with temperatures still fairly mild it’s also still worth fishing docks with a jig or worm. 

As far as night fishing, the fish still don’t seem to have gotten on offshore brush and the best pattern is still either fishing lights or dragging a worm off points in 5-15 feet before dark.

At the lower end of the lake the crappie action is still good on brush in 12-15 feet with jigs, while Brad is very surprised that the fish aren’t really on bridges up that way right now. It also seems like there isn’t much bait around the bridges. 

On the lower end brush in about 25-28 feet is holding crappie.   

As it warms the catfish bite continues to pick up on Lake Murray, and Captain William Attaway with Slick Willie’s Guide Service (803-924-0857) reports that in 5-25 feet dip baits are working very well off points, humps and in coves. Cut herring will also work. There are a lot of fish focused on the spawn that won’t feed, but more also seem to be eating again this week.

June 7

Lake Murray water levels are at 358.11 (full pool is 360.00) and clarity is good. Morning surface water temperatures have risen into the mid-70s.

With temperatures normalizing on Lake Murray fish are starting to behave more typically for this time of year, and Captain Brad Taylor with Taylor Outdoors (803-331-1354) reports that he is pretty much doing all of his striped bass fishing in sight of the dam. That doesn’t mean he’s always close to the dam, and it’s also not to say there aren’t some fish in the deeper areas inside major creeks, but more fish are certainly grouping up in the big water. Brad has also heard of some fish coming back down the river that are being caught around Buffalo Creek. 

The best pattern has been fishing down-rods 50-60 feet deep on the bottom, and fish are mostly related to ditches and channels right now. But they have also seen some schooling over very deep water. 

For more information about Lake Murray down-rod fishing check out this short video from Taylor Outdoors. 

Even though water temperatures are warming bass still haven’t gotten into deep summer patterns, but tournament angler Andy Wicker of Pomaria reports that they are moving that way. During the day a lot of fish are starting to suspend, and you can find them schooling or call them up with topwaters. Right now they seem to mostly be in 10-20 feet, and a lot of times the action is pretty random.  They will get off points and around cane soon. 

Early there is a good bite around the banks with buzzbaits, and you can also fish bream beds all day with Whopper Ploppers or poppers. There are also fish holding on docks near bream beds that will take a worm.

The night tournaments are getting underway, and last night Team Wicker got third place with about 18 pounds. They aren’t catching fish off brush yet since the fish don’t seem to have gotten out there, and most of their weight has come dragging a worm off points in 5-15 feet before dark or fishing lights. 

The crappie action has heated up as fish start to group up on brush again, and Captain Brad reports that from what he is seeing they are coming off of bridges and docks right now. This morning they caught 38 crappie, with a lot of fish over a pound, on brush in 12-15 feet. It was mostly a minnow bite, but they did catch a few on jigs. 

On the lower end the key brush is deeper. 

As it warms the catfish bite is picking up on Lake Murray, and Captain William Attaway with Slick Willie’s Guide Service (803-924-0857) reports that in 5-20 feet dip baits are working very well off points, humps and in coves. There are a lot of fish focused on the spawn that won’t feed, but more also seem to be eating this week.

There are also a few fish starting to move out deeper than can be caught on cut bait. 

June 1

Lake Murray water levels are at 358.18 (full pool is 360.00) and clarity is good. Morning surface water temperatures are in the upper 60s over most of the lake. 

It’s strange times on Lake Murray, and Captain Brad Taylor with Taylor Outdoors (803-331-1354) reports that they are fishing April water temperatures in June. He is still finding the best striped bass bite in deeper water, and the best pattern has been fishing on the bottom in 50-60 feet of water off ridges with down-rods.

While Brad is still sticking mostly to the main lake, fish are also starting to move back into the creeks and you can catch them at the same depths at the front of major creeks. There has also been some schooling activity over deep water.  

It’s the very, very tail end of the herring spawn on Lake Murray, and tournament angler Andy Wicker of Pomaria reports that if you want to catch bass on herring there are only a few spots that will produce for a few minutes in the morning. In the evening some striper are feeding on herring shallow.

One group of fish is starting to move offshore and get on a suspended pattern, with some of the fish concentrated on structure like cane.  You can catch them on topwater lures or even a drop shot rig.  

But there are also a ton of bream around the banks and bedding, and anytime that is going on there are also plenty of bass up there. It’s a good time to throw a Whopper Plopper or buzzbait.  This week in the night tournament this was a productive pattern before dark. 

As with everything else the crappie are running behind, and Brad reports that water temperatures will have to get back into the upper 70s for the better fish to lock onto brush again. Basically fish are in a spring pattern, and bridges are holding good numbers of fish as are deeper docks. You can catch a ton of 10-inch fish on brush up the rivers in 15 feet, while down the lake those fish are more likely to be at depths in the 20s.

They are still catching a few fish on minnows, but jigs are working the best. 

The catfish bite is still off on Lake Murray, and Captain William Attaway with Slick Willie’s Guide Service (803-924-0857) reports that it seems that a large percentage of the fish are hyper-focused on spawning right now. You can still pick up some random fish, and putting dip bait sout in 5-20 feet is probably the best way to target them. 

Up the rivers Captain Brad reports that they are catching some channels pulling planer boards with catfish rigs in about 20 feet of water. The blues are MIA right now. 

May 25

Lake Murray water levels are at 358.05 (full pool is 360.00) and clarity is good. Morning surface water temperatures are in the upper 60s in the big water to low 70s in the creeks. 

Even with temperatures relatively cool and some fish occasionally schooling around points on the lower end, Captain Brad Taylor with Taylor Outdoors (803-331-1354) reports that he is still finding the best striped bass bite in deeper water. The best pattern has been fishing down-rods in 40-60 feet of water, and this morning when I was interviewing him for this report Brad had to hang up as they were running over a big school of fish on the bottom in 60 feet. When I called back forty-five minutes later they had caught thirty fish out of this school!

Fish are all over the lake, and there are fishing being caught from up the river – coming back down from the Greenwood Tailrace – to the dam – where a lot of fish are already getting in the lower pool. There have also been fish caught around Macedonia, while Brad has been finding the best action on the lower end above the big pool in the main lake and around the mouths of major creeks.  

Things with the bass are still running behind on Lake Murray, and tournament angler Andy Wicker of Pomaria reports that early in the morning you can still find some fish up shallow feeding on herring at the end of May. However, it’s more of an early morning bite and the action is much less widespread than earlier this month as it winds down.

Fish aren’t quite out on cane yet, and in this stage as the herring bite dies off Andy likes to fish a frog and buzzbait around shallow grass for bream eaters, particularly for the first two hours each morning. Very soon there should also be bass keying on bream beds. 

It’s also worth dragging a worm on points in 5-10 feet, and docks are holding some fish. 

Before water temperatures cooled off Brad reports that he was catching 60-80 crappie each day, but the fish backed off some when temperatures dropped. There are still some fish on brush in 8-15 feet of water up the rivers, and there are also plenty of fish on bridges and docks again. The best action there is in 8-10 feet. 

They are catching a few fish on minnows, but jigs are working the best. 

It should be getting very close to the catfish spawn on Lake Murray, and Captain William Attaway with Slick Willie’s Guide Service (803-924-0857) reports that perhaps that’s why the bite has really slowed down in the last week or two. He usually switches over to striper when the Murray catfish are really focused on spawning.  There have been some isolated reports of people catching channel catfish in the shallows, but in general the fishing has been very tough. Luckily this period doesn’t usually last long. 

If you are going to try dip bait is probably the best right now.

May 11

Lake Murray water levels are at 358.02 (full pool is 360.00) and clarity is fairly normal. Morning surface water temperatures are ranging from the mid to upper 60s to 70 with erratic temperatures.

Things are running behind on Lake Murray this year, and tournament angler Andy Wicker of Pomaria reports that usually by this stage of May the herring bite is mostly a  morning pattern. However, while certain areas and points are better than others, and it’s not as truly wide open as a couple of weeks ago, you can still catch bass that are on spawning blueback herring all day long. Of course the bite is better when there is some wind, and when the fish are schooling you can catch them on topwaters. Sometimes you can call them up, but swimbaits and flukes are also working.

A good secondary pattern is to fish for fry guarders around docks, and many of the fish that you catch just going down the bank with a buzzbait or Whopper Plopper are guarding fry. Fish could be around trees, shade lines, or most any cover, but by far the most fry on Lake Murray seem to be around docks. 

Captain Brad Taylor with Taylor Outdoors (803-331-1354) reports that he is still finding the best striped bass bite in deeper water on the main lake, and while you can certainly catch fish in the creeks he is sticking to the ends of points and ridges in the main body of water where he is marking fish. This morning they caught a pile of fish in 35 feet off the end of a ridge, and 30-50 feet is generally the best zone. Down-rod and planer boards are both working, and you can even get away with free lines but you need weight on them. 

While there should still be crappie around docks eating fry, in the last week the fish started to stack back up on brush so well that Brad hasn’t needed to look anywhere else. They are catching 60-70 fish per day on brush now, mostly on brush in 10-15 feet of water up the rivers. They are fishing so shallow that when a crappie takes a jig they can see it swirl on the bait. Expect to find the fish a bit deeper down the lake in the clearer water. 

With a $5000 first place catfish tournament this weekend on Lake Murray the lake should be covered up with anglers, but Captain William Attaway with Slick Willie’s Guide Service (803-924-0857) wonders if we are getting so close to the spawn that fish will be a little tougher to catch.  Regardless he is still finding the best action for blues in less than 10 feet of water. Cut gizzard shad are a good choice for big blues. 

The channel catfish bite is wide open right now, and you can fish from about 5 feet out to 20 feet with about any bait and catch fish.  Dip baits are starting to get really productive as the water heats up. Points, humps and islands all have fish, but really it’s hard to find an area which doesn’t hold channels.

May 4

Lake Murray water levels are back down to 357.96 (full pool is 360.00) and at the upper end the Big Saluda is dirty while the Little Saluda is pretty clear. Morning surface water temperatures are in the mid-60s.   

There are tons of baitfish spawning on the banks, and as a result tournament angler Andy Wicker of Pomaria reports that there is a wide open bass bite around all the spots where herring traditionally spawn – all over the lake. Interestingly, this year the shad seem to be in the same places as the herring and the fish are feeding on both. Topwater baits, flukes and shakey heads are all working off these points, and both main lake points as well as points inside the creeks are producing.

There are still a very few fish on the beds, but with a full moon tomorrow a final wave should come up.

Even though the baitfish are on the banks, the striped bass aren’t up there with them right now and Captain Brad Taylor with Taylor Outdoors (803-331-1354) reports that he is catching his fish out on main lake flats in 30-40 feet of water. It’s unclear why the fish aren’t shallower, but dropping water temperatures may have a lot to do with it. 
Brad is catching a few fish on down rods, but if he stops then generally they get eaten up by little fish. Pulling weighted planer boards has been more effective.

 

It's definitely a transition period for crappie, and with water temperatures well short of where they should be in May you can catch fish a lot of different ways. Brad reports that there are a pile of fish stacked up around bridges, and they should also be starting to get back on docks. They like to hang around docks in May because of all the fry in the water. Water temperatures are so cool that you can also catch fish trolling in the 15-20 foot range, basically in the reverse of the pattern when they were coming in. For that pattern you just want to cover water in the creeks. 

Both blue catfish up the lake and channel catfish all over the lake are pretty much on the banks, and Captain William Attaway with Slick Willie’s Guide Service (803-924-0857) reports that he is catching fish up to 35 pounds in less than 10 feet of water. Up the lake with warmer temperatures in the shallower sections the blues are getting close to spawning, while down the lake the fish seem to be further behind. 

Cut gizzard shad are working for everything, but a variety of cut baits will work for both species and channels will eat about anything. 

April 20

Lake Murray water levels are at 358.52 (full pool is 360.00) and the lake is stained but clearing. Morning surface water temperatures range from about 65 to 70. 

The main event on Lake Murray right now is obviously the Elite Series event, and veteran tournament angler Stan Gunter of Saluda reports that from what he is seeing this week bass are being caught a bunch of different ways. The herring are spawning in places but herring fish have been unusually hard to catch; calm conditions the last couple of days have doubtless not helped. Instead of power fishing anglers are having to drag a shaky head or drop shot in herring spots, even as some fish are still caught on topwaters, flukes and swimbaits. 

The shad spawn is also playing, with shad up shallow early around riprap, bank grass, and points – particularly in the middle to upper part of the lake (while the bulk of the herring are down-lake.) Topwaters, spinnerbaits, square-billed crankbaits and more will work for fish feeding on shad.

Of course there are also still plenty of bass that can be found on beds, and another group of post-spawn fish is guarding fry.

Bass at various stages of the spawn can also be found around docks and so they are very much in play.

While it’s too early to say what will be the winning pattern, you can clearly fish a lot of different ways right now.

When the striped bass are in the midst of their spawn the fishing can get a bit tricky, and Captain Brad Taylor with Taylor Outdoors (803-331-1354) reports that is going on right now. While there are certainly fish in the creeks, the better numbers seem to be off the main lake right now and with a finicky bite Brad is concentrating on the biggest groups of catchable fish.

In general they are off main lake points, either feeding on shad or herring that are up shallow. The better fish are in 8-10 feet of water, while as you get further out off the points towards 30 or 40 feet of water you get into schools of 12-15 inch fish. Note that some giant white perch are just under those deep schools.

Both free-lines and planer boards are working right now, and Brad notes that a lot of the better striper are coming out of grass where much of the herring spawn seems to be taking place. You can also catch them casting.

The striper that are spawning are generally in 18-20 feet of water running the bottom along ridges or flats off the main lake.  Cut bait is the best way to pursue them.  

The crappie are in an in-between period, and even though shallow spawning activity continues around the banks most of these fish that can be caught with a minnow or cork under a jig are smaller. The better, post-spawn fish are generally setting up on deeper docks to recover, laying deep in the water column or starting to return to brush. 

There have been a few good catches trolling up the rivers this week. 

Catfish report to follow, but channels are now abundant all over the lake in 5-15 feet of water. Worms, cut bait, minnows and more will all catch fish.

April 11

Lake Murray water levels are way up to 358.81 (full pool is 360.00) and the upper lake will be muddy for a while. Morning surface water temperatures have dropped substantially, and they now range from the mid-50s to about 60 degrees. 

The cold front affected the striped bass on Lake Murray, and Captain Brad Taylor with Taylor Outdoors (803-331-1354) reports that even though they are still set up on the same points they backed way up. They haven’t left because they know that soon the herring will be back up there, but they are also aren’t sitting in a few feet of water when there is nothing to eat. 

Most of the fish are in about 25 feet of water, with some on the bottom but others moving around. Fish are still scattered, and Brad has been fishing the mid-lake but plans to come down the lake today. 

Even though fish are at a depth where down-lines should work, they seem to want moving baits and so free-lines and planer boards are working much better.

A week or two ago there was a little bit of a cut bait bite up the river, but temperatures will need to get back into the upper 60s for that to turn on and stay on. 

The cold weather has also had some temporary effects on the bass, but tournament angler Andy Wicker of Pomaria reports that overall about half of all fishermen are targeting spawning fishing while another half are on herring fish. The herring spawn was pretty good before the cold front, and even though fish weren’t on all the shallow points they were on many of them. The creeks were fishing a little better than the main lake since they warmed faster.   That pattern will get going again within days.

The interesting new pattern to come out of the Major League Fishing tournament was the winner following schools of striper and targeting rogue bass that were with those schools with a drop shot rig. Gagliardi was mostly fishing in 10-15 feet, and it will be interesting to watch this pattern going forward. 

Unfortunately Captain Brad reports that the crappie fishing up the lake is going to be tough for several days with all this muddy inflow, and even though warm weather settles out faster there was a lot of rain and mud! Nonetheless, there will be some spawning activity throughout April, even though it will generally be smaller fish, and so you can both fish the banks as well as troll. There will also be some post-spawn fish setting up on deeper docks to recover, and some fish will be returning to brush.  

Once again there have been some blue catfish over 50 pounds caught this week, and Captain William Attaway with Slick Willie’s Guide Service (803-924-0857) reports that fish are still moving up the rivers as they head up towards spawning grounds. The spawn won’t actually start until late April or May, but the fish head that direction earlier. There are also some fish that are already very shallow, and a 55-pound fish was caught this week in less than five feet. 

It's also getting to be easy fishing for channel catfish all over the lake, and it’s hard not to catch a channel fishing around the banks. Worms, cut bait, minnows and more will all catch fish.