October 2

Lake Murray water levels are at 357.26 (full pool is 360.00) and water clarity is fairly. normal. Morning surface water temperatures are still about 79 degrees. 

The fall turnover is now affecting the black bass fishing on Lake Murray, and veteran tournament angler Stan Gunter of Saluda reports that means he is targeting the banks in the creeks and rivers where there can be better oxygen levels. This week he has caught a a lot of fish flipping docks in the rivers and throwing a buzzbait, and the action has also been pretty good fishing around the grass.  But they are mostly 2-3 pound fish and smaller.  

The top weights in tournaments still seem to be coming from fishing offshore with forward-facing sonar down the lake and around Dreher Island.  Even though they aren’t biting very well there are still better fish to found around points, humps, and cane piles.

 

The striped bass are still spreading out all over the lake, and Captain Brad Taylor with Taylor Outdoors (803-331-1354) reports that a good number of fish have already made their way almost to Black’s Bridge. At the same time there are tons of fish in creeks all over the lake, but there is a particularly big push of fish into creeks from Buffalo Creek on up. A lot of these fish are schooling, and there are frequently black bass mixed in with them.  

Overall fish are related to channels and ditches, not points, and when they are schooling you can certainly cast to them with topwater lures. At other times covering water with free-lines and planer boards is Captain Brad’s go-to technique, although one of his captain colleagues is also having success fishing down-rods in 40-45 feet in the bellies of the creeks. 

The crappie patterns haven’t changed too much without a real decline in temperatures, and Captain Brad reports that up the lake there has been a really good bite on the bridges. Deep docks are also producing and of course there are some fish on brush. The best has been fishing about 8-12 feet down as below that there is a thermocline and not much life. 

Down the lake veteran tournament angler Tommy Slice of Chapin reports that fish have still not moved much, and the shallowest brush he can find fish on is in about 25 feet. The best action is still on deep brush piles in 28-35 feet of water at the mouths of major creeks. Down-sized rigs with small minnows are working the best, although small jigs will also catch some fish. The fish are still finicky.   

Somewhere in between, Captain Roland Addy with Carolina Crappie Guide Service (864-980-3672) reports that in the Crystal Lake area he’s marking plenty of fish on deep brush but struggling to get them to bite. He is also finding better action up the rivers. 

Finally, for catfish the best way to catch them is still fishing dip baits or cut herring on points, humps, and other depth changes. As temperatures cool the bite will get better all day long and more fish will live shallow. 

Our apologies for the sporadic fishing reports in recent weeks. We will do everything we can to get back on track with weekly updates, but one of our children is getting through a significant health challenge which has occupied a great deal of our time and kept us out of work.  

September 24

Lake Murray water levels are at 357.25 (full pool is 360.00) and water clarity remains high with little to no rain. Morning surface water temperatures are still about 80-81 degrees. 

The striped bass are spreading out all over the lake, and Captain Brad Taylor with Taylor Outdoors (803-331-1354) reports that a good number of fish have already made their way almost to Black’s Bridge. At the same time there are tons of fish in creeks all over the lake, but there is a particularly big push of fish into creeks from Buffalo Creek on up.  A lot of these fish are schooling, and there are frequently black bass mixed in with them.  

Overall fish are related to channels and ditches, not points, and when they are schooling you can certainly cast to them with topwater lures. At other times covering water with free-lines and planer boards is Captain Brad’s go-to technique, although one of his captain colleagues is also having success fishing down-rods in 40-45 feet in the bellies of the creeks. 

The black bass fishing remains tougher than normal for September, although tournament angler Andy Wicker of Pomaria reports that technically it should be described as feast or famine with a 24-pound bag winning a recent tournament. Meanwhile, second-place had 14 pounds. There are still vast numbers of fish suspended around points and cane piles, but they are just not eating very well. They will stare at flukes or topwaters, sometimes follow them, but rarely bite. 

It's hard to avoid the allure of so many fish stacked up offshore, especially when every now and then someone figures out how to catch them, but another pattern right now is to fish shallow early with a buzzbait. Or chase the fish mixed in with the striper. 

The crappie patterns haven’t changed too much without a decline in temperatures, and Captain Brad reports that up the lake there has been a really good bite on the bridges. Deep docks are also producing and of course there are some fish on brush. The magic depth has been fishing about 8-12 feet down as below that there is a thermocline and not much life. 

Down the lake veteran tournament angler Tommy Slice of Chapin reports that fish have still not moved much, and the shallowest brush he can find fish on is in about 25 feet. The best action is still on deep brush piles in 28-35 feet of water at the mouths of major creeks. Down-sized rigs with small minnows are working the best, although small jigs will also catch some fish. 

Finally, for catfish the best way to catch them is still fishing dip baits or cut herring on points, humps, and other depth changes. As temperatures cool the bite will get better all day long and more fish will live shallow. 

September 10 

Lake Murray water levels are at 357.61 (full pool is 360.00) and water clarity is above average. Morning surface water temperatures are down to about 80 degrees. 

After a trip out West hunting, Captain Brad Taylor with Taylor Outdoors (803-331-1354) returned to find that striped bass remained in a very stable pattern. There are still piles of fish at the front of mid- to lower lake creeks like Bear Creek, Beard’s Creek, and Hollow Creek, and while not constant there is a plenty of schooling activity going on. Most of the fish are about 30 feet down over 40-70 feet of water, and they are being caught on down-rods and free-lines. 

After an extremely strong late summer the black bass fishing has all of a sudden gotten much tougher, and tournament angler Andy Wicker of Pomaria struggles to offer an explanation considering that temperatures are mostly stable. While it should be too early for this to be happening, the lake is almost fishing like it’s turning over. Bass are just hard to catch. It’s not unusual for September to be a difficult month, but after so many weeks of good fishing (not typical for August) and no obvious change it’s hard to know why now.  Anglers in this weekend’s two-day BFL were left scratching their heads.  

When they do bite some big fish are being caught, mostly coming targeting suspended fish around offshore points that often feature cane piles. A secondary pattern is fishing the submerged grass with topwaters early and then soft plastics.

At least one angler in the BFL caught fish shallow but most people were fishing offshore.  

While there are some people catching crappie up the lake on brush, particularly brush on channel breaks, Captain Brad reports that bridges and deep docks are more productive right now. Overall the bite is just fair, and Brad doesn’t expect dramatic improvement until there is a chill in the air in the mornings. 

Down the lake veteran tournament angler Tommy Slice of Chapin reports that fish have still not moved much, and the shallowest brush he can find fish on is in about 25 feet. The best action is still on deep brush piles in 28-35 feet of water at the mouths of major creeks. Down-sized rigs with small minnows are working the best, although small jigs will also catch some fish. 

Finally, for catfish the best way to catch them is still fishing dip baits or cut herring on points, humps, and other depth changes. As temperatures cool the bite will get better all day long and more fish will live shallow. 

August 28

Lake Murray water levels are at 357.94 (full pool is 360.00) and water clarity is still a bit stained but clear in the lower lake. Morning surface water temperatures are down to about 81 degrees. 

The black bass bite can still be pretty fantastic on Lake Murray, and veteran tournament angler Stan Gunter of Saluda reports that it took 25 pounds to win the last CATT tournament. The top boats were fishing offshore for suspended fish that were eating upwards, but there were a lot of people fishing the same way who reported marking tons of fish but just having them eyeball their baits.  Stan believes that the fish holding on and around cane have been beat on so much that they are getting much more selective. 

Besides fishing topwater lures and flukes around points and depth changes with and without cane, there are also fishing being caught around deep grass. Early they can be caught with topwater lures, while during the day swimbaits and various soft plastics will work. 

There are also a few fish being caught on frogs around the bank. 

Right now we don’t have a fresh report on crappie up the lake, but down the lake veteran tournament angler Tommy Slice of Chapin reports that fish have not moved one bit but they are biting better. They are still on deep brush piles in 28-35 feet of water at the mouths of major creeks. Down-sized rigs with minnows are working the best, although some fish were also reported caught on small jigs this week.   

Finally, for catfish the best way to catch them is still fishing dip baits or cut herring on points, humps, and other depth changes. As temperatures cool the bite will get better all day long and more fish will live shallow. 

Striped bass report available as soon as we get it. 

August 21

Lake Murray water levels are down to 358.06 (full pool is 360.00) and water clarity is still a bit stained but clear in the lower lake. Morning surface water temperatures have rebounded to about 83 degrees on the main lake. 

The black bass bite is still good on Lake Murray, but tournament angler Andy Wicker of Pomaria reports that perhaps it’s not quite as good as when we had a couple of weeks of cool, rainy weather. The best thing going is still the offshore bite for suspended fish, and around points, humps, and cane piles in 15-25 feet topwater lures and flukes are both working. The biggest bags are coming out of the lower end. 

As we write veteran tournament angler Stan Gunter of Saluda is on the water, and so far he has about 20 pounds fishing exactly how Andy advises. Occasionally he is seeing fish break, but mostly he is having to call them up with topwaters. He is looking at fish on forward-facing sonar and some are relating to cane. However, he is surprised by how many are off the cane and just sitting in open water. 

He is only fishing the main lake today. 

There has been some great schooling action for striped bass this week, and Captain Brad Taylor with Taylor Outdoors (803-331-1354) reports that most of it is taking place mid-morning in the Goat Island area. He has also seen a little schooling in Hollow Creek.

The bulk of the fish seem to be in the creek mouths but adjacent to the main lake, and Captain Brad is catching them mostly in 60-70 feet while other captains are getting them in 40 or so feet. However, the commonality seems to be that most fish are 30 feet down. They are surface-oriented, and they are getting plenty of fish on down-rods but the better ones are coming on free-lines. 

There has been some improvement with the crappie, and Captain Brad reports that up the lake more fish are starting to be caught around bridges. They are also biting a little better on brush, and the best depth range has been 8-12 feet down. With the thermocline in that area at about 15 feet everything is feeding above that. 

Down the lake there has been some more improvement this week, and veteran tournament angler Tommy Slice of Chapin reports fish are still on deep brush piles in 28-35 feet of water at the mouths of major creeks but they are biting a bit better. Overall the best bite is still early although overcast days can extend that until the sun breaks, and down-sized rigs with minnows are working the best. 

Finally, the bite for big catfish has slowed down this week as temperatures rise and the freshwater inflow receded. Now the best way to catch fish is back to a summer pattern, fishing dip baits or cut herring on points, humps, and other depth changes. Fish are also back to moving shallower and feeding better at night. 

August 14

Lake Murray water levels are at 358.69 (full pool is 360.00) and water clarity is below normal. Morning surface water temperatures are in the upper 70s.    

When water temperatures dropped 10 degrees, tournament angler Andy Wicker of Pomaria reports that it kicked off a phenomenal black bass bite. In an open tournament this past weekend it took 25 pounds to win and there were six bags over 20 pounds, and anglers reported catching fish on a variety of different techniques. Lots of people caught fish out of the submerged grass, there were also fish caught shallow on shoals with essentially traditional spring-time herring methods, but the best bite was for offshore suspended fish. Around points, humps, and cane piles in 15-25 feet the topwater and fluke bite was very good, with the biggest bags coming out of the lower end. 

Dropping temperatures put the striped bass on the move the last ten days, and Captain Brad Taylor with Taylor Outdoors (803-331-1354) reports that now the best fishing has shifted back into the mouths of creeks. Two weeks ago they were already moving out of the lower pool, and now most of the creeks on the lower end and mid-lake have fish in the creek mouths. There are also plenty of fish further back in the creeks but they are small. In general the better fish are running about 30-40 feet down.

While down-rods continue to work, free-lines are also effective and there has been some good schooling activity in areas where fish are concentrated. 

The weather change has also moved the catfish, and Captain Brad reports that they are finding a fair number of flatheads, some blues, and lots of channel catfish suspended in the water column. These fish are taking live bait in the same areas where they are fishing for striped bass. 

At the same time up the rivers Captain William Attaway with Slick Willie’s Guide Service (803-924-0857) reports that there have also been some impressive catches, particularly of big flatheads. Areas where freshwater is coming into the lake are concentrating the fish and aggressive flatheads are ambushing prey. 

But there has been the least improvement with the crappie, and Captain Brad reports that up the lake the fishing remains tough. Fish are still grouped up on brush in 15-20 feet but not biting very well. 

Down the lake there has been some improvement with the cooler weather and freshwater inflow, and veteran tournament angler Tommy Slice of Chapin reports fish are still on deep brush piles in 28-35 feet of water at the mouths of major creeks but they have moved a little higher in the water column. It also seems you can catch a couple more fish in each area before they shut down. Overall the best bite is still early although cooler, overcast days can extend that, and down-sized rigs with minnows are working the best. 

July 31

Lake Murray water levels are down to 357.27 (full pool is 360.00) and water clarity is high. Morning surface water temperatures are in the mid- to upper 80s.  

The expression is that all good things must end, and for anglers who like catching striped bass very deep in the lower pool Captain Brad Taylor with Taylor Outdoors (803-331-1354) reports that bite appears to be wrapping up for the season. Perhaps overshadowed by a tragic death on the lake there has been very little reporting on this, but Captain Brad is seeing lots of fish dying and floating on the lower end. When that is happening the fish usually make a move, and he is now catching them suspended in 40-60 feet of water moving somewhat back up the lake. Most of the fish have been 25-30 feet down, presumably where they have found better water quality. He is catching almost all of his fish on free-lines. 

The catch has still been very reliable and fast, so for some variety they have been pursuing shellcracker after they get a limit of striper. They are catching them on hard bottoms in 10-20 feet of water dragging worms. While they are fishing the main lake, the creeks are also loaded with them and they seem to be about all over the lake at the right depth range.

Brad points out that – while the most easily fishable areas are clean, hard bottoms without a lot of weed – there are probably a ton of fish over grassy bottoms too. To pursue them you would likely need a slip cork or some other rig to keep the bait out of the weeds. 

Ordinarily they might look to crappie for variety, but the consensus remains that the crappie fishing is still very tough.  Captain Brad reports that the fish are on brush in 15-20 feet of water up the lake but they just won’t bite. 

And it’s about the same news down the lake from veteran tournament angler Tommy Slice of Chapin, who reports that crappie are also loaded up on deep brush piles in 28-35 feet of water at the mouths of major creeks.  However, it’s hard to catch more than one or two fish off a brush pile before they stop feeding, they are very particular about wanting only small minnows, and by about 9:00 they pretty much shut down.  

The author has also caught a few in covered marinas but it’s very, very slow. 

Unsurprisingly at the end of the July the black bass fishing is also pretty slow, and tournament angler Andy Wicker of Pomaria reports that in night tournaments they are having to work hard to catch a couple of fish off deep brush with worms.

There is a small window early in the morning where there is a suspended bite offshore with flukes and topwater lures around structure that frequently has cane on it, but that dies pretty quickly. After that there’s not much going on, especially since you have missed the early window for the shallow bite with a Pop-R or buzzbait.

About the best daytime plan is to fish a worm in offshore grass or the same deep brush that holds fish at night – or go sit in the air conditioning!   

But the catfish are still feeding on Lake Murray, although Captain William Attaway with Slick Willie’s Guide Service (803-924-0857)for channel catfish you pretty much have to fish early, late, and at night to get any consistency.  From the bank out to about 15 or 20 feet on an array of baits from cut herring to worms to dip baits to shrimp will work. Points and coves will hold fish, but they will also just roam the banks at night. Captain William also notes that some channels are suspending, and he has picked up some fish on herring while striper fishing. 

Finally, for still more variety Captain Brad continues to drift for large blue catfish off to the side of the river channel near very deep water. Dragging the bottom with cut herring or white perch seems to be working the best as he figures out this fishery. 

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 21

Lake Murray water levels are slightly down to 358.02 (full pool is 360.00) and water clarity is high. Morning surface water temperatures are in the mid to upper 80s.  

The Lake Murray striped bass continue to move deeper, and Captain Brad Taylor with Taylor Outdoors (803-331-1354) reports that while overall patterns have not changed much he is now seeing more fish in the 80-90 foot range. He is fishing from about Spence Island to the dam, and his boat has marked and caught fish over 100 feet down. Bait is living at 80 plus feet and so it make sense that striper can survive that deep.

While there are certainly some fish on the bottom over humps and ridges and long points, Captain Brad is also seeing a large number of fish suspending this year. 

It’s only a piece of the puzzle with the black bass, but veteran tournament angler Stan Gunter of Saluda fished a “frog” tournament on Murray this weekend. With a three-fish limit 12 pounds won, and the winning angler had a 6-pounder to go with two 3-pound fish. Most people fished around the bank including laydowns, grass, and other cover, and overall the bite was pretty tough with a lot of angler weighing two or less fish.

But Stan found a “walking frog” and fished offshore cane, and while they had a tough time hooking up on that particular bait they were surprised by how many fish were suspended offshore and willing to bite.  

The consensus is that the crappie bite is pretty slow right now, and Captain Brad reports that while he is still marking a ton of fish up the lake on the brush – mostly in 15-20 feet of water – getting bites is pretty tough. Jigs are very slow, while minnows are a little bit better. 

And it’s about the same news down the lake from veteran tournament angler Tommy Slice of Chapin, who reports that crappie are also loaded up on deep brush piles in 28-35 feet of water at the mouths of major creeks.  However, it’s hard to catch more than one or two fish off a brush pile before they are done, they are very particular about wanting only small minnows, and by about 9:00 they pretty much shut down.  

Finally, there’s no doubt that Lake Murray is still full of channel catfish and as long as you fish early, late, and at night you should get bites from the bank out to about 15 or 20 feet on an array of baits from cut herring to worms to dip baits to shrimp. 

But the interesting news this week is that Captain Brad has been catching some very large blue catfish in the middle and lower lake, mostly drifting off to the side of the channel. It seems that they are eating mainly white perch, and he expects more blues are not being caught by casual anglers is because they are holding in very deep water and you really have to be targeting them. 

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

July 10

Lake Murray water levels are slightly down to 358.17 (full pool is 360.00) and water clarity is normal. Morning surface water temperatures are around 85-86 degrees on the big water. 

The Lake Murray striped bass are doing what Lake Murray striped bass do in the summer, and while Captain Brad Taylor with Taylor Outdoors (803-331-1354) reports that he is still catching a few fish on free-lines as far up the lake as Dreher Island that are feeding along the edge of the channel at daylight , by now most of the fish are grouping up deep in the lower pool. Most of the fish seem to be in 60-80 feet on ridges and humps, but some are just suspended in schools over very deep water. In the morning they are generally higher in the water column but during the day they go deeper. The deepest he has marked a fish is about 80 feet down.

Down-rods are working the best in the deep water. 

With very limited black bass fishing activity around the Fourth and no tournaments that he is aware of, tournament angler Andy Wicker of Pomaria doesn’t have much change to report. Even on weekdays when there isn’t as much boat traffic the bite is much better early, but never great. While they are still catching fish on flukes around cane in 15-25 feet of water, the numbers have dropped off and less fish are hitting the surface. And the action slows pretty quickly as the sun gets up.   

Another productive way to catch fish, again early, is going down the bank and fishing a buzzbait. 

Finally, while Lake Murray bass fishermen are still adjusting to all the offshore grass, another good pattern could be fishing over the top of it early with something like a frog and then working the edges with soft plastics later.  

Unsurprisingly the crappie are getting more and more finicky in the summer heat, although Captain Brad reports that he is still marking a ton of fish up the lake on the brush – mostly in 15-20 feet of water. However, they have been pretty reluctant to bite. Jigs are very slow, while minnows are a little bit better. 

Unfortunately that’s consistent with the report down the lake from veteran tournament angler Tommy Slice of Chapin, who reports that crappie are also loaded up on deep brush piles in 28-35 feet of water at the mouths of major creeks.  They are way more finicky than last summer, and you can pick a couple off each good brush pile in the morning but then you have to move to the next. And by about 9:00 they pretty much shut down.  

Finally, on the catfish front Captain William Attaway with Slick Willie’s Guide Service (803-924-0857) reports that the preferred pattern is to fish at night around main points, secondary points, and in the backs of coves from 1 foot of water near the bank out to about 15 feet. Dip baits are the best bet, and if you have to fish during the day concentrate on humps, point, and other depth changes in about 30 feet.  Both the creeks and the bigger water hold channel catfish in the summer but – again – they roam and feed much more actively at night, or at least in low light conditions. 

July 3

Lake Murray water levels are slightly down to 358.21 (full pool is 360.00) and water clarity is above average with limited rain. Morning surface water temperatures are around 87 degrees.

It’s no shock given the summer heat, but tournament angler Andy Wicker of Pomaria reports that the black bass fishing has dropped off in the past couple of weeks. Even on weekdays when there isn’t as much boat traffic the bite is much better early, but never great. While they are still catching fish on flukes around cane in 15-25 feet of water, the numbers have dropped off and less fish are hitting the surface. And the action slows pretty quickly as the sun gets up.   

Another productive way to catch fish, again early, is going down the bank and fishing a buzzbait. 

Finally, while Lake Murray bass fishermen are still adjusting to all the offshore grass, another good pattern could be fishing over the top of it early with something like a frog and then working the edges with soft plastics later.  

There’s not a lot of change with the striped bass this week on Lake Murray, and Captain Brad Taylor with Taylor Outdoors (803-331-1354) reports that he is still catching fish 40-60 feet down in ditches off main lake flats. The Shull Island area has been really good for him, but there are also a ton of fish over humps on the lower end. Most of the fish he is seeing are in that 40-60 foot range, with some of them close to the bottom and others over much deeper water. He marked a big school of fish in 104 feet of water in Beaverdam Creek. 

Unsurprisingly they are catching everything on down-rods.

 

The striper bite has been so good, and it gets hot so early, that they haven’t spent a whole lot of time with crappie this week. However, up the lake Captain Brad is still marking a ton of fish on brush in 15 feet of water although they have definitely gotten more finicky. 

Down the lake veteran tournament angler Tommy Slice of Chapin reports that crappie are also loaded up on deep brush piles in 28-35 feet of water at the mouths of major creeks. In the mornings they are suspended 12-16 feet deep over the top of the brush, but after about 9 am they are sinking down in it – and the bite really slows. Down-sized minnow rigs are working the best. 

Catfish report to follow when holiday boat traffic subsides. But for now the best bet is to fish – carefully – at night as they don’t seem to be feeding well during the daytime.