July 20
Lake Wateree is at 97.44% of full pool, and the water color is good throughout the lake. Morning surface water temperatures are about 87 to 88 degrees.
Bass tournament anglerDearal Rodgers of Camden reports that theblack bassfishing is solidly into the typical summertime pattern for Lake Wateree. This means the fish are holding in deeper water, on long points, and offshore humps and ledges.
Dearal reports the deep-water bite is typical for Wateree at this time of the year, and most of the fish will be caught at 10-20 feet using deep-running crankbaits (getting down to 12-15 feet), Carolina Rigs, and football jigs. He added that downsizing lures is also a good idea, and Shakey Heads are a good lure choice as well.
Some quality bass may be shallow during early morning in areas where bream congregate, but this shallow water foray is short-lived, and they’ll return to deep water as the sun gets high. For this brief period, topwater lures, Senkos, wacky rigs, and floating worms are potentially productive.
Thestriper fishing at Lake Wateree continues to be excellent, and striper and catfish guideCaptain Justin Whiteside (803-417-0070) said the area from June Creek to the Lake Wateree Dam has the most stripers right now. The most productive fishing tactic is using vertical downline rigs, or freelines, loaded with either blueback herring or threadfin shad.
Captain Justin said stripers of all sizes are on a strong bite right now at Lake Wateree.
Anglers can get quality live bait at Suttons Landing in Taylor Creek on Lake Wateree, along with minnows, crickets, and worms.
Whiteside said the peak times for striper to feed heavily are early and late in the day, and schooling action is beginning to perk up. He has had some excellent late afternoon trips recently.
Thecrappie fishing at Lake Wateree remains very consistent, Will Hinson (Livescope Sonar Consultant; 843-618-5776) reports. He continues to catch crappie in the 18-to-27-foot range, and the common denominator for success is woody structure such as brush, logs, and stumps.
Will uses Fish Stalker jigs in the 1.5-inch size right now, with his favored color pattern being Mountain Dew. He said live minnows are productive for anglers not adept at fishing jigs in deep water, because the bite can be quite subtle during the heat of summer. The thermocline has set up at 27 feet, so most of the fish will relate to that depth and shallower.
Will reported that the summer pattern on Lake Wateree crappie is slightly different this year, with more crappie found up lake than in most years. The lower end of the lake has ample numbers of crappie, but he’s currently targeting the mid and upper portions of the lake where more fish seem to be this summer.
--Terry Madewell
July 8
Lake Wateree is at 98.1% of full pool, and the water color is good throughout the lake. Morning surface water temperatures are about 82-83 degrees.
The crappie fishing at Lake Wateree remains very consistent, although the fish have moved considerably deeper in the past couple of weeks. Will Hinson (Livescope Sonar Consultant; 843-618-5776) is catching plenty of crappie in the 18- to 27-foot range, and the common denominator for all is that they’re relating to woody structure in the form of brush, logs, and stumps.
Will is using Fish Stalker jigs in the 1.5-inch size, with his favored color pattern being Mountain Dew. But he notes that live minnows are also productive for anglers not adept at fishing jigs in deep water. The thermocline has set up at 27 feet, so most of the fish will relate to that depth and shallower. Above the thermocline is a good depth gauge for all species. But the depth of the thermocline can change as summer progresses.
Will Hinson has nothing but big smiles for the excellent crappie fishing on Lake Wateree.
Will said that when anglers find crappie on electronics, some of the active fish will relate to the top of the cover, but fish can be caught along the sides of the brush. In some instances, where he’s fishing laydowns or logs in deep water, the fish will relate much closer to the bottom, depending on the specific structure.
Crappie may be grouped in schools of 300-400 fish or in only a few fish, depending on the specific cover. Also, because of the intense heat, Will suggests icing your fish you plan to keep, as the water temperature makes it difficult to keep them in good shape in the live well.
Will reported that, unlike in most years, the summer pattern on Lake Wateree crappie is slightly different this year. He said more crappie are found up lake than in most years. The lower end of the lake has plenty of crappie for good catches, but more fish are usually found in this lower sector. Targeting the mid and upper portions of the lake is a good idea this summer.
The striper fishing at Lake Wateree continues to be excellent, and striper and catfish guideCaptain Justin Whiteside (803-417-0070) said the middle to lower end of the lake seems to have the most stripers right now. Productive fishing is using vertical downline rigs, or freelines, loaded with either blueback herring or threadfin shad.
Anglers can get quality live bait at Suttons Landing in Taylor Creek on Lake Wateree, along with minnows, crickets, and worms.
Whiteside said the peak times for striper to feed heavily are early and late in the day, and schooling action is beginning to perk up.
Finally, the white perch bite is outstanding on Lake Wateree right now, and angler Herb Thompson is making huge catches of this invasive species, and has been for the past several weeks. White perch have no size or creel limits, and plenty of these fish grow to excellent fillet size. Thompson is catching these fish on his homemade jigging spoons in water ranging from 10 to 22 feet.
He’s using his electronics to locate them on drops and ledges in the main lake area, and catching triple-digit numbers in the morning or afternoon is not unusual. White perch fight hard and make great table fare, and since they’re considered an invasive fish, removing them in large numbers is not harmful (perhaps helpful) for the native species.
Terry Madewell
June 30
Lake Wateree is at 98% of full pool and the water coloration is good throughout the lake. Morning surface water temperatures are about 81 to 82 degrees.
The striper fishing at Lake Wateree is as hot as this summer’s heat, maybe hotter, because striper and catfish guide Captain Justin Whiteside (803-417-0070) caught over 100 stripers one day recently, (total for two trips with many released) and that’s triple digit fishing heat anywhere.
Captain Justin said the fish are schooled in good clusters and when you find them the action is red hot. He has not witnessed any surface schooling in the past week but said he keeps rigs ready with topwater lures because the topwater schooling is going to get active soon.
Captain Justin Whiteside said clients are loading the boat with stripers at Lake Wateree.
Captain Justin said the action is occurring primarily in the lower half of the lake, from the June Creek area all the way past Clearwater Landing. He searches for schools of fish using his electronics, and when he finds them, he deploys both down rods fished at the depth stripers are marked and freelines with no weight. The two tactics are typically equally productive.
When he locates a school of fish it's common to have multiple hookups. On a couple of trips in the past few days, he’s had as many as five stripers hooked at once, with anglers having the fishing time of their life. The sizes of stripers caught varies from one school to the next, but he’s caught 10-pound fish on these trips, as well as small fish and most of the fish are in between those extremes. He takes great care to release the smaller stripers.
Suttons Landing in Taylor’s Creek, just above the state park, is the local sources for getting bait on Lake Wateree, and they carry blueback herring and gizzard shad, as well as minnows and crickets.
Crappie fishing is also excellent at Lake Wateree and Will Hinson (Livescope Sonar Consultant; 843-618-5776) is catching 20-packs of slabs on his personal trips, unless he takes a buddy and then it’s often a 40 pack, or he’s catching and releasing multiple fish. He using Fish Stalker jigs in the Mountain Dew color, further empowered by the sensitivity of HH Rods.
The crappies have moved deeper since the last report and many are now in a typical deepwater summer pattern of 15-25 feet deep, relating to woody structure.
June 16
Lake Wateree is at 97.9% of full pool, and the upper end is dingy while the lower lake has some stain. Morning surface water temperatures are about 80 to 81 degrees.
Bass tournament anglerDearal Rodgers of Camden reports that the best results in recent black bass tournaments seem to be coming offshore, but some anglers are having success fishing the grass, specifically the sawgrass areas around the lake.
Dearal reports the tournament this weekend was won by anglers fishing deep water and with the water temperature now at 80-degrees, this will likely be the dominant pattern for a couple months. He did report that an angler staying him him during the tournament who did catch fish in the shallows around the grass, with flipping being the primary tactic.
He said the deep-water bite is typical for Wateree at this time of the year and most of the fish will be caught at 10-20 feet using deep crankbaits, Carolina Rigs, and football jigs. He recommends working around points, ledges, and other structure. He added that later, in July, it may be important to downsize lures are fish get a bit finicky.
He emphasized that wherever bream are found in shallow water during June, especially when congregated on the beds, it a good shallow water target in low light conditions for bass. He considers grass beds, docks, isolated brush, or any cover near bream beds as potential targets for hefty bass to be in ambush mode. He says topwater lures, Senko’s, wacky rigs, and floating worms are all productive.
The striper fishing is still excellent on Lake Wateree andCaptain Justin Whiteside (803-417-0070) reports that in addition to catching stripers on down lines and freelines, some schooling action is occurring on some mornings and late evenings.
Captain Justin said early morning can provide topwater action on stripers.
He said the topwater schooling doesn’t occur every morning, but when it does, topwater lures and swim baits work well. When the fish are deeper, he’s using downlines and freelines fishing live bait.
Suttons Landing in Taylor Creek has live blueback herring, ideal for these stripers.
Captain Justin said the depths fish are marked range from 15-40 feet, but the fish are often suspended when they’re active and willing to bite. When he marks a lot of stripers hovering near the bottom in deep water, that generally means they’re likely not active. But check that area again later with your electronics because when they move up in the water column, they’re looking for grub.
Whitesides uses planer boards to spread his baits to cover more water effectively.
He said a lot of fish in the 3-6-pound class are caught, but fish over 10 pounds are being caught too.
June 4
Lake Wateree is up to 98.7% of full pool and the upper end is muddy while the lower lake has some stain. Morning surface water temperatures are about 78 degrees.
Even though water levels have shot up recently, tournament angler Dearal Rodgers of Camden reports that the best results in recent black bass tournaments seem to be coming offshore. That’s not unusual at this time of year, as when temperatures first get warm enough for fish to head offshore they are usually very aggressive. About 10-20 feet is the preferred depth range around points, ledges, and other structure, and crankbaits, football jigs, big worms, and more will catch fish. It’s usually not until July that you need to start downsizing as fish get more finicky.
At the same time as long as there are bream up, and particularly spawning, there will always be shallow bass in in June. This month they will get very shallow in flat areas, while by July they usually prefer shallow water that is close to deep water. Grass, docks with brush, or anywhere you find beds are very good areas to fish with topwater lures, Senkos, wacky rigs, and more.
Consistent with that report,tournament angler Will Hinson of Cassatt reports that fish are loaded up around brush – including crappie, shellcracker, and bass. It hasn’t gotten hot enough yet to put the fish all out on really deep stuff, and he is finding crappie from 8 feet of water flat on the bottom out to about 27 feet. Of course, the shallowest areas holding fish are on ledges close to much deeper water. Fish have left the creeks and moved to the main lake, and during June they will creep further out towards the center of the lake as it warms. When water temperatures get and stay in the low to mid-80s most fish will be in the 20-30 foot range with only small fish hanging in 15 feet during the hottest months. Some fish are that deep already, but overall fish are surprisingly shallow for June.
Fish Stalker jigs in Mountain Dew color should be hard to beat all month.
Finally, on the striped bass frontCaptain Justin Whiteside (803-417-0070) reports that this month he expects the fish to continue to be scattered in the mouths of creeks all up and down the lake. Herring from Sutton’s Landing in Taylor Creek (where you can pull up by boat) will catch fish on planer boards, free-lines, and down-rods, and the basic pattern is searching with planer boards and then fishing free-lines and down-rods (depending on the depth) when you locate fish. There will also be some fish schooling this month, so be sure to have something ready to throw out.
While there are a pile of smaller fish in the lake, there are also plenty of 10-12 pounders.
May 26
Lake Wateree is at 98.5% of full pool, and the lower lake is clear, while the upper lake has some color (but could change quickly from all the recent rain). Morning surface water temperatures are about 76 degrees.
Striper action at Lake Wateree is very good, reports Capt. Justin Whitesides (803-417-0070), and he's catching them throughout the lake. He reports that while stripers are now scattered, the best hotspots will vary daily, based on where he locates these fast-traveling schools of fish using his electronics. Once he locates the fish, he’ll work that area diligently. The best location may be in the Lake Wateree State Park area one day, or below Colonel's Creek the next.
Captain Justin said striper fishing is very good right now at Lake Wateree.
Captain Justin reports his best success is by fishing live threadfin shad he catches in a cast net, or anglers can purchase blueback herring at Suttons Landing in Taylor Creek, adjacent to the State Park. Captain Justin is fishing downlines, freelines, and pulling planer boards to cover as much water as possible right now. Depth and location will vary daily, but he's catching fish at depths of 12-22 feet. His most recent trip produced limits for all three of his clients.
Thecrappie fishing action is becoming much more stable and predictable, and tournament angler Will Hinson of Cassatt reports that the fish are on brush lakewide. His last few trips have been outstanding, and he’s catching crappie from one end of the lake to the other.
Will said the consistency of the bite has improved significantly over the past couple of weeks, and he’s catching a 20-pack on most every trip, often fishing just a few hours in the afternoon and evening leading up to Memorial Day weekend.
Will Hinson is a veteran crappie fisherman and tournament professional who usually fishes Lake Wateree multiple times a week. He’s also a Forward-Facing Sonar guru (Livescope Consulting; 843-615-5776), where he sets up, fine-tunes, and teaches the basics to other anglers.
Will is catching his fish at various depths, with some crappie holding on cover as shallow as 10 feet, but most of the fish will be found in the 12–18-foot depth range. He said those shallower fish will likely transition to deeper water over the next couple of weeks as the lake's water temperature rises quickly.
On his recent fishing trip, he fished the lower end of the lake near the Lake Wateree Dam and caught crappie at depths ranging from 12 - 22 feet, so the productive depth will vary by the area of the lake fished. Will is using Fish Stalker jigs in Mountain Dew color.
He said to match the hatch for crappie on Lake Wateree right now. With a lot of young-of-the-year forage in the lake, he’s downsized his crappie grub from a 2-inch Fish Stalker grub to the 1.5-inch version, and it’s making a noticeable difference in bites.
Terry Madewell
May 12
Lake Wateree is at 96.5% of full pool and the lower lake is very clear while the upper lake has some color. Morning surface water temperatures are about 72 degrees.
The weekend of May 8 and 9 was a special time for 39 kids who had the opportunity to fish for catfish, stripers and white perch on Lake Wateree with experienced anglers. Twenty-three of these kids were special needs children, and many had siblings on the boat with them. The event focused on providing them the opportunity to go fishing, many for the first time in their lives, and most experienced a fishing trip of a lifetime. Fishing was very productive.
Many kids caught their first, biggest, or most fish of their lives this weekend at Lake Wateree
Event Organizer and professional guide on Lake Wateree, Captain Justin Whiteside, said it is the 7th year for the annual event, which is also supported by the United Special Sportsman Alliance (USSA). The event is only possible because 23 boats of professional guides, tournament anglers, and experienced Lake Wateree fishermen generously donated their time and equipment to take the kids on a fishing adventure.
For the fishing update, Captain Whiteside reports that even with the lack of current in the lake, the fishing was awesome. Every child caught fish, some catching their first fish, and many catching their biggest or most. Whiteside reports that catfish, stripers, and white perch were taken in good numbers.
Fish were caught from one end of the lake to the other, and the catfish were caught on cut shad and white perch, via anchoring and drift fishing. Most of the stripers taken were by fishing live blueback herring and threadfin shad on freelines and down lines. The white perch action was phenomenal, producing hundreds of these hard fighting fish for the kids. Worms and spoons produced excellent white perch catches.
In addition, Chris Sutton, owner of Suttons Landing on Lake Wateree, caught and donated fresh bait for the 23 boats participating, in support of the event.
The event began on the evening of May 8 with a pizza party at the Richburg Fire Station, where kids, families, and fishing guides gathered to get acquainted. Overnight lodging for all participants, and their families, was provided that evening. Early on May 9th, they were transported to the Lake Wateree Baptist Church on Dutchman’s Creek, the host site for all of Saturday’s activities.
It’s important that the entire event was FREE to all the kids and their families. All needed funds were obtained from donations from businesses, and though local support. Plus, Captain Whiteside volunteered to shave his bushy head of hair for donations to the event. The head shaving alone generated over $3,400 in event support. It combined to provide a complete and free fishing experience for these kids and parents.
“It takes a team effort to pull this off, but it’s heartwarming to see the support from local guides and fishermen throughout this area to ensure this day went well,” Whiteside, said. “The guides are donating a day they certainly could have booked clients, and all the boats are generally providing all the equipment for the trip.”
The United Special Sportsman Alliance (USSA), works closely with Whiteside to make the event possible and they are a primary source finding the special needs children and families for the event. USSA Director Brigid O-Donoghue has been active in support of the event every year.
After fishing, everyone returned to Lake Wateree Baptist Church for a feast of hot dogs and hamburgers at the lakeside church pavilion for a special mid-day lunch. After lunch, all the kids received their own rod and reel, tackle box, and shirt, all provided by generous donations from people supporting this event. In addition, Captain Scott Peavy was able to acquire a children’s Bible for every child.
Whiteside said that with the 2026 event complete, he’s already planning the 2027 event (and growing a new head of hair) and is seeking support from anyone willing to help. Contact Captain Whiteside at 803-417-0070 to discuss how you can help with next year’s event. You can also support by contacting the USSA at 800-518-8019 orchildswish@gmail.com. Whiteside’s said anyone who knows of a special needs child that would enjoy this event to contact him with that information and he’ll each out to the family.
Terry Madewell
April 29
Lake Wateree is at 95.9% of full pool and the lower lake is very clear while the upper lake has some color. Morning surface water temperatures are about 70 degrees.
While the black bass fishing has been extremely tough for several weeks on Lake Wateree, tournament angler Dearal Rodgers of Camden reports that the cloudy weather this morning – combined with the fact that he fished up the lake in the dirtier water – made for some better fishing. As the lower lake got super clear it became very difficult to get bites there, and even when bass were blowing up on shad they wouldn’t take artificial lures.
But today was probably a unique day, and Dearal doesn’t really expect the fishing to stay this good – even though the upper lake will probably continue to yield better results. Through May he expects the shad spawn to continue, but unless water conditions change significantly it probably will be hard to catch fish around. Typically the pattern in May after catching fish feeding on shad early is to head to docks, but with the water levels low creek docks don’t have much water and so the main lake docks are already under too much pressure. The bottom line is that it looks like fishing could stay tough for the next month and you will have to continue to try to scratch out a few fish around grass, docks and points.
But the crappie fishing has picked up, andtournament angler Will Hinson of Cassatt reports that basically the fish are on brush now. Yesterday he caught 20 fish in short order over shallow brush with Fish Stalker jigs in Mountain Dew color.
In May fish will stay on brush but the type of brush will change, and when water temperatures hit about 75 degrees then they will mostly move off of shallower brush and onto deeper brush. They will still suspend over it, but then when water temperatures hit about 80 degrees they will get more down in it – especially during the day.
April 22
Lake Wateree is at 96.2% of full pool and the lake is still extremely clear. Morning surface water temperatures are about 70 degrees.
Even though water temperatures haven’t changed very much,tournament angler Will Hinson of Cassatt reports that a high percentage of crappie have moved onto brush by this point and at least the small fish are feeding better. While you will catch some bigger fish mixed in, it still seems like most of the better fish are recovering from the spawn. The best brush has been in 12-24 feet of water, mostly on the main lake but also at the mouths of creeks. Most of the fish are close to the bottom but some are suspended over the cover. Fish Stalker jigs in Mountain Dew and Glimmer Blue have been the best bet.
Fresh off the water this morning tournament angler Dearal Rodgers of Camden reports that the black bass fishing is still super tough on Wateree. That’s consistent with what tournament angler Stan Gunter saw in the CBC this weekend on Wateree, where about a quarter of the field didn’t weigh a fish and 13 pounds and change was good for a check. The best results seemed to come LiveScoping offshore, and while there was a massive shad spawn going on all over the lake it was so widespread it was hard to find bass eating shad. They managed a few fish off docks, points and humps, and a few people caught fish off the beds, but no traditional patterns were “good”.
April 16
Lake Wateree is at 96.4% of full pool and the lake is overall extremely clear. Morning surface water temperatures are about 70 degrees.
It continues to be a tough period for crappie fishing, although tournament angler Will Hinson of Cassatt reports that with fish mostly in a typical post-spawn funk right now at least slow fishing is normal seasonally for once this spring. Pretty much all the fish have spawned out now, and the big fish are hard to locate as they are generally laying on the bottom trying to heal up. The ones he is catching have sores from fanning beds and other spawning activity. Early and late are much better for big fish than mid-day, which is really a grind.
At the same time ½ to ¾ pound fish are everywhere, with some floating in open water and others stacking up on brush. In another week when temperatures should be up to about 75 they will most all head for the shade of brush.
Even though the bite is tough, Will and his granddaughter did manage to win the Take a Child Fishing tournament last week – pictured below.
The black bass fishing has also been shockingly tough in this spawning period, with tournament angler Dearal Rodgers of Camden reporting that in the last two events they have not even caught a limit after a string of good results in the pre-spawn period. The water is a bit down and so a lot of typical cover is exposed, and they also aren’t biting on docks. A lot of traditional spawning pockets are also too dry to hold fish. It’s a really challenging time to catch bass but hopefully soon things will turn around.
April 3
Lake Wateree is at 97.0% of full pool, and the lower end of the lake is clear, but from Beaver Creek and up the lake, the water is dingy. Morning surface water temperature is 65 degrees.
Like most of the lakes in South Carolina, the bass fishing is on fire right now at Lake Wateree, and tournament anglerDearal Rodgers of Camden said it's prime time for bass fishing. With the combination of the full moon phase this week, warming water, and the first week of April, Dearal said bass are making an out move to the shallows. This is the time to ‘beat the banks’ and anglers can look for spawners in the shallows, and in between targets, work for bass cruising the shallows. He recommends the Shaky Head, Wacky rig, and he also likes a white jig or white craw for this situation. The water below Beaver Creek is clear, and upstream from that point, it’s a bit dingier. Dearal said this weekend should be the prime time of the year for shallow water bass fishing on Lake Wateree. He also stressed that with such favorable conditions for the bass bite, it’s an ideal time to take a kid fishing and experience the fun of bass fishing in shallow water. It’s how he, and many of us, got hooked on the sport, and we can all pay it forward.
Striper action at Lake Wateree is good with fish mostly stacked in the mid-portion of the lake, according to Capt. Justin Whitesides (803-417-0070). Captain Justin reports the stripers are normally well up the lake in the current by this time, but the lack of current has them in this area. The stripers are scattered, with some on the main lake, others up the larger creeks. His success comes from pulling blueback herring, freelining on planer boards, and using down rods in the 15-20-foot depth range. Blueback herring and shad are available at Suttons Landing on Lake Wateree.
Catfish action has been good, and Captain Whiteside’s reports indicate that the bite is consistent throughout the lake. His best results have come from working the mouths of major creeks, drift fishing with gizzard shad or white perch. He also reports some shellcracker activity in the backs of creeks and coves.
Crappie fishing is tough right now on Lake Wateree, according to tournament angler Will Hinson of Cassatt. As Hinson reports, we’re in the “two-week funk” between the major spawn being completed in the shallows and before fish begin to orient to woody cover in the post-spawn phase consistently. Will said fish are still available by longline trolling the major creeks, and the depths will vary not only by day, but also by time of day. Also, spider rigging minnows near the bottom is effective. The fish may tend to rise in the water column later in the day, but may also be suspended over deeper water; however, Will said the truth of their location at any given time is found by diligent use of electronics to locate them, then present the jig or minnow at that depth. The fish are migrating to the brush and woody cover, and within a couple of weeks, the pattern should return to normal. For now, he said to focus on 8-to-15-feet of water, unless your graph shows otherwise.
March 25
Lake Wateree is at 97.2% of full pool and the upper lake is dingy while the lower lake is clear. Morning surface water temperatures range from about 59-62 degrees.
While crappie fishermen usually look forward to the spring all year, tournament angler Will Hinson of Cassatt points out that sometimes it just doesn’t live up to expectations. It appears from March that this is going to be one of those years. It’s hard to find very active fish and long-line trolling isn’t great, casting to the bank hasn’t been great, and the fish floating in open water (both pre- and post-spawn crappie) aren’t that active. Pollen is also making it hard to target them with LiveScope. You can still catch fish but it’s not very easy.
A number of explanations are offered, including water levels, but it seems likely that the extreme temperature variations disrupted the normal progression. Spring temperatures always go up and down, but the wild swings from the upper 80s to freezing seem to be a likely culprit.
Things may settle out and it may be a wonderful April as fish stack up on brush and binge, but March has certainly frankly been a disappointment on Wateree (and a lot of other lakes).
His son Fisher fished with Trent McLaughlin in this weekend’s CATT in place of tournament angler Dearal Rodgers of Camden, but once again the result was an excellent, this time second place, finish. It seems that most of the fish have now moved into the backs towards spawning pockets, with some already bedding and many pre-spawn. They are on docks, stumps, rock, laydowns and posts in coves, and it’s the time for fishing soft plastics. Almost everything they caught came on a shaky head.
March 18
Lake Wateree is at 97.4% of full pool. Morning surface water temperatures have dropped into the mid- to upper 50s.
The lake is off-limits totournament crappie angler Will Hinson of Cassatt with a Wateree tournament coming up this weekend, but even though he could receive information from anglers nobody has been this week. Therefore it’s a lot of speculation about what the crappie are doing, but Will guesses that except for some males that were committed to guarding beds most fish have pulled out of the very shallowest water. They should still be in the creeks and so he would fish out to the mouths and expects that long-line trolling should be very good. Will doubts they have gotten very deep and so he would continue to fish high in the water column.
More information to follow once we have it.
March 12
Lake Wateree is at 97.1% of full pool. Morning surface water temperatures are as high as the mid-60s in the backs.
Fresh off a first place finish with his partner Trent McLaughlin in this weekend’s CATT,tournament angler Dearal Rodgers of Camden reports that they landed 18.87 pounds of black bass fishing docks. They couldn’t locate many fish in the creeks although one creek run was loaded with male fish, and so they stuck to the main lake. While the fish were on docks they weren’t on the bottom to take a jig, and so they had to use a variety of different baits to target suspended fish.
After several more days of warm weather, then a cool snap, it will be interesting to see what they are doing this weekend.
But there’s no question what the crappieon Lake Wateree are doing, and tournament angler Will Hinson of Cassatt reports that the fish are all against the banks. With water temperatures shooting to 65-67 degrees in the backs it appears likely there will be just the one massive wave of spawning fish that is up there now, and there is really no other pattern besides casting jigs and minnows under a cork to the banks. Even getting as deep as 5 or 6 feet of water usually gets you away from the fish.
March 5
Lake Wateree is at 97.5% of full pool and most of the lake is relatively clear. Morning surface water temperatures are about 56-57 degrees.
Things are changing fast with the crappieon Lake Wateree, and tournament angler Will Hinson of Cassatt reports that fishing had been very slow until recently but now schools are starting to move back into the creeks. Now the best place to start out is in the warmest water in the backs, and long-line trolling, shallow tight-lining, and casting jigs at schools you see on LiveScope are all effective techniques. While he doesn’t believe any fish are on beds yet there could even be some males around the banks and so casting minnows or jigs to shallow cover is also an option.
The black bass fishing is also progressing fast on Wateree, and tournament angler Dearal Rodgers of Camden reports that he wasn’t able to fish Saturday but his tournament partner weighed in 15 pounds fishing alone. Fish are mixed between winter patterns and early spring patterns, and offshore LiveScoping and fishing with Alabama rigs and jerkbaits is still productive. At the same time, more fish are moving shallower and finally into the creeks and fishing around shallow rocks, docks, and other cover is effective. Despite the warm spell Dearal would still not advise fishing more than about half-way back in the creeks as that progression generally takes a little longer. Still, by this weekend the percentage of shallow fish is likely to have greatly increased.
February 25
Lake Wateree is at 97.5% of full pool and up the river is muddy while the mid-lake down is fairly clear. Morning surface water temperatures are about 50-51 degrees.
Despite still-cool temperatures black bass fishing is picking up as spring approaches, and tournament angler Dearal Rodgers of Camden reports that there were four 19 pound bags in Saturday’s Wateree Open tournament and they had 16 pounds which was only good enough for 10th place. There are lots of shad on the main lake that have gulls and white pelicans feeding on them and bass underneath, but they only caught one of these fish on a spinnerbait and never really figured out how to target them. All of their weight came on a jig fished around rock at a range of depths, from just a few feet of water out to 18 feet. Still, despite some fish very shallow everything came on the main lake.
But it remains a very tough crappiebite on Lake Wateree according to tournament angler Will Hinson of Cassatt, and Will believes it will take some improvement in the weather before the fish commit to moving shallower. From about Wateree Creek down to Dutchman Creek you can mark a few fish in the channel with most suspended 18-20 feet down and some a bit shallower, and these crappie will sometimes take jigs thrown to them or you can troll. However, in the lower lake it’s almost impossible to locate fish and they all seem to be flat on the bottom. About the only way to approach them would be spider-rigging right on the bottom and hoping to get on the fish.
February 18
Lake Wateree is at 97.5% of full pool and up the river is muddy while the mid-lake down is clear. There is some debris floating in the lake. Morning surface water temperatures are up to 53 degrees.
It’s a very tough crappiebite on Lake Wateree according to tournament angler Will Hinson of Cassatt, who jokes that you need “dynamite” to catch them. They did scratch out a decent number of quality crappie fishing yesterday, but had to work extremely hard to get there. Right now it’s very hard to mark fish on electronics which causes Will to speculate that most of them are lying flat on the bottom. They did see more singles and pairs higher in the water column above Wateree Creek in the dirtier water, and there were a very few fish 6-7 feet down in shallower water 10 or so feet deep. They also found some fish in front of Taylor Creek and some in front of Singleton Creek, with everything on the main lake.
Overall Will believes that fish are lying on the bottom but coming up at different times to look for food, and that’s when you have to pick them off when you can spot them.
Everything they caught was on chartreuse jigs and without sophisticated electronics it would not be an easy time to catch fish.
Luckily the black bass are a little further along than the crappie, and tournament angler Dearal Rodgers of Camden reports that this warm spell will only accelerate the number of fish moving up into 5 feet of water or less. There are still plenty of fish on rock in 10-15 feet of water, and the offshore LiveScopers are certainly catching fish, but more bass each day are getting around shallower rock and into staging areas preparing for a hard pre-spawn feed. For now Dearal advises sticking to the main lake, but that will change before too long. His preferred baits for targeting fish moving shallower are crankbaits, jigs, shaky heads, and Carolina rigs.
February 11
Lake Wateree is at 96.5% of full pool. Morning surface water temperatures are in the low 40s.
Unsurprisingly considering water temperatures got into the upper 30s during the last cold snap and have only slightly rebounded, tournament angler Dearal Rodgers of Camden reports that he is finding the best action on deeper, main lake rock. Fish will move onto shallower rock as temperatures climb, but for now he has been finding the best action on rock in 10-15 feet of water. Other baits will work but a shaky head has been hard to beat.
The other major way that anglers are catching fish is with forward-facing sonar, generally fishing jighead minnows for bass that are related to bait.
Unusually for him tournament crappieangler Will Hinson of Cassatt still hasn’t been back on the water since the snow, but reliable sources tell him that a few fish are starting to move into the mouths of creeks. Additionally, they are not as stuck to the bottom as they previously were and fish are starting to “float” more again. Still, the best place to look for fish is on the main lake, and tight-lining up the rivers with minnows is working well. Of course plenty of anglers are also casting at fish they see on forward-facing-sonar.
February 4
Lake Wateree is at 95.4% of full pool and the river run has some color to it. Morning surface water temperatures should be in the low 40s.
Since returning from the St. John’s River in Florida (where he finished in sixth place in a major event with his tournament partner Tommy Slice of Chapin), tournament crappieangler Will Hinson of Cassatt hasn’t been back on Wateree but he still believes virtually all the fish will be on the bottom. The lower lake fish were already in big schools very close to the lake floor before the first storm, and now the fish that were suspended up the lake are probably also there. Tight-lining the main channel near the bottom is the best way to catch these fish.
Expect fish to stay on the bottom and be lethargic until we have some warming.
On the black bass front, tournament angler Dearal Rodgers of Camden also hasn’t fished since the snow, but he expects winter patterns have only hardened. The best conventional pattern should remain fishing a jig or crankbait slowly around rock, while other anglers are fishing with LiveScope and throwing a minnow-type swimbait on a jighead at fish following bait in open water.
January 29
Lake Wateree is at 94.9% of full pool and the river run has some color to it. Morning surface water temperatures are in the lower 40s before this weekend’s predicted snow.
While tournament crappieangler Will Hinson of Cassatt hasn’t been on Wateree this week, and is in fact fishing the St. John’s River in Florida in much more pleasant conditions, by now he is almost certain virtually all the fish have headed to the bottom. The lower lake fish were already in big schools very close to the lake floor before the ice storm, but now the fish that were suspended up the lake are probably also there. Tight-lining in the river channel near the bottom is the best way to catch these fish.
Expect fish to stay on the bottom and get more lethargic as temperatures drop further.
On the black bass front, tournament angler Dearal Rodgers of Camden hasn’t fished since the ice, and probably won’t get a chance to fish before the snow, but he expects winter patterns have only hardened. Additionally, there may be some good fishing as the snow arrives but the bite will probably get tougher in the days following.
The best conventional patterns remain fishing a jig or crankbait slowly around rock, while other anglers are fishing with LiveScope and throwing a minnow-type swimbait on a jighead at fish following bait in open water.
January 21
Lake Wateree is at 94.8% of full pool and the river run now has some color to it. Morning surface water temperatures are 48-50 degrees down the lake but cooler on the upper end.
For now the crappie bite remains strong on Lake Wateree, and veteran tournamentangler Will Hinson of Cassatt reports that from the mid-lake down to the lower end many fish are still in giant schools sitting flat on the bottom often near structure but not on it. Some are still as shallow as about 12 feet on humps with others out to the 20s. Lower numbers of fish are suspended.
At the same time up the lake fish are generally just “floating”, with most suspended about 8-12 feet down in 25 feet of water in the river run. In both areas you can either cast using LiveScope or tight-line for the fish.
But Will suspects things are about to change, and if temperatures drop as much as some predictions indicate he expects it to drive almost all the fish to bottom and for them to essentially stop feeding for several days. If there is a lot of cold, muddy inflow that will be another, likely unfavorable, factor.
On the black bass front, tournament angler Dearal Rodgers of Camden has temporarily escaped to a warmer climate but reports that just before he left he did manage to catch a couple of big ones fishing the way he likes to fish with a jig and crankbait around shallow main lake rock that had warmed up in the sun. However, the predominant tournament pattern right now seems to be fishing with LiveScope and throwing a minnow-type swimbait at fish in open water.
January 8
Lake Wateree is at 94.8% of full pool and the whole lake is very clear for Wateree. Morning surface water temperatures are 48-50 degrees down the lake but cooler on the upper end.
The crappie bite is pretty phenomenal right now on Lake Wateree, but veteran tournamentangler Will Hinson of Cassatt reports that it’s a tale of two lakes. From the mid-lake down to the lower end fish are in giant schools of up to 800-900 fish just sitting flat on the bottom. They are often near structure but not on it, with some schools to be found in the mouths of all the zone’s creeks and others near the river channel. Will has seen fish on the bottom as shallow as about 12 feet deep (on a hump) down to about 22 feet.
When you locate these schools of fish you can cast jigs to them and limit out pretty quickly as they are feeding well.
The second pattern is for fish that are just “floating”, mostly 8-12 feet down in 25 feet of water. While Will has seen a few fish on the lower end swimming around and following this pattern, almost all of the fish he has seen doing this are up the river. Depending on whether anglers have forward-facing sonar they are either tight-lining minnows or using LiveScope to cast jigs (or minnows) for them.
On the black bass front, tournament angler Dearal Rodgers of Camden reports that this warm weather could be a boon for this weekend, as it should really get the fish relating to shallow rocks that heat up quickly. His go-to bait will be a crankbait. There should be some grass in the water and he will also be targeting that on the warming trend. He plans to stick to the main lake.
Overall, however, the fishing has been a little slow recently. The few big bags seem to have come fishing a minnow-type swimbait and looking at fish on LiveScope.
December 23
Lake Wateree is at 95.1% of full pool and water clarity is slightly stained up the river from the last rain. Morning surface water temperatures are 48-49 degrees down the lake but about 5 degrees colder on the upper end.
The crappie are doing some different things this week on Lake Wateree, but veteran tournamentangler Will Hinson of Cassatt reports that the most fishing activity is taking place up the river where there are large numbers of fish but they are highly suspended in open water. Many of these boats are using traditional tight-lining techniques but there are also people using LiveScope and casting jigs to the fish. Fish are at a variety of different depths, usually well off the bottom, and so you just have to keep looking until you locate them.
But there are also good fish to be caught down the lake, and some of these fish are actually surprisingly shallow. One hump in Colonel Creek is only 12-15 feet deep but loaded with fish, and Will has also found shallow humps on the main lake with fish. There is not bait sitting on these humps, but perhaps at times bait is swimming by. Other fish are still roaming in deep water, but unlike up the lake down-lake fish are all generally close to the bottom.
On the black bass front, tournament angler Dearal Rodgers of Camden reports that fish are concentrated on shad right now. With low water levels they are mostly on the main lake, and the best place to look for bait and fish is around rock. Steep banks with rock are ideal. Of course, there are also always some fish on docks. Shad Raps and jigs are probably the best two baits right now.
December 17
Lake Wateree is down to 95.0% of full pool and water clarity is above average. Morning surface water temperatures are in the upper 40s.
The crappie are starting to get in a single pattern on Lake Wateree, and veteran tournamentangler Will Hinson of Cassatt reports that all over the lake they have mostly moved off of brush and suspended. Depths are very unpredictable, though, but most of the fish are 8-18 feet down, often over deeper water. Up the lake they are mostly related to the channel edges, while down the lake they can be channel-related or hanging in some of the deeper coves with 30 or more feet of water.
The bite from about Dutchman’s Creek to Cedar Creek is very good, and both tight-lining with minnows and casting jigs using LiveScope are working very well. Overall Will reminds anglers that they need to fish “low and slow” this time of year as fish are in relatively deep water and somewhat lethargic.
Black bass report to follow.
December 3
Lake Wateree is at 95.7% of full pool and morning surface water temperatures have dropped to 52-53 degrees. Without significant rainfall the lake is very clear for Wateree.
With the water fairly low – and cold – on Lake Wateree tournament angler Dearal Rodgers of Camden reports that the best action for black bass is on the main lake. Fish are heavily point-related right now, and baits like jigs and shaky head worms that can be worked slowly are catching fish. There is also a decent bite with a crankbait like a Shad Rap. Main lake docks are also fishing pretty well, especially those close to points. A jig is the best way to target them.
The crappie are doing different things on different parts of Lake Wateree, and veteran tournamentangler Will Hinson of Cassatt reports that up the lake in the river fish are suspended pretty high in the water column at all different depths. They are scattered from about 12-30 feet deep, but they are no deeper than about 15-16 feet. You can either cast for them or tight-line with minnows well off the bottom.
Down the lake the patterns have not changed at all, and for now fish continue to relate to brush in 13-26 feet of water on the main lake. They are closer to the bottom and Fish Stalker jigs in Mountain Dew color have been working the best.
November 19
Lake Wateree is down to 95.3% of full pool and morning surface water temperatures have dropped to 55-56 degrees. At least up to mid-lake is clear.
While they are catching plenty of black bass on Lake Wateree, tournament angler Dearal Rodgers of Camden reports that right now they are having trouble finding big fish. Before the weekend better fish were in front of grass-lines taking lipless crankbaits, and they managed a 4-pounder there in the tournament Saturday, but with dropping water levels most of those fish seem to be pulling out.
Overall it seems as if fish are moving into their winter patterns, heading back to the main lake. They will be around rock, docks, and steep banks, and Dearal is not seeing fish breaking the surface any longer. Jigs and crankbaits should be hard to beat going forward.
The crappie patterns have changed less than the bass ones, although veteran tournamentangler Will Hinson of Cassatt reports that there are now more and more “floaters” just swimming slowly around in open water. Still the most stable, catchable fish are often on brush, and he is finding them on the main lake from about 13-26 feet of water. Most of them are near the bottom and they are finding good numbers and some big fish in this zone. Fish Stalker jigs in Mountain Dew color have been working the best.
There is also some good action tight-lining with minnows up the river.
November 5
Lake Wateree is at 96.7% of full pool and morning surface water temperatures are down to about 60-61 degrees. The water is very clear for Wateree.
All the rain last week essentially did nothing to give Lake Wateree a healthy stain, and tournament angler Dearal Rodgers of Camden reports that may be part of the problem with the black bass. They did have big fish in Saturday’s tournament, but overall the fish were finicky. They won’t take a spinnerbait anymore, and they weren’t on rock near docks. The only way they could catch fish was with a jig fished early around docks with brush, and then that bite totally died. They also still can’t catch fish off points, although they note that bass do seem to be mostly related to the bottom.
The crappie patterns on Lake Wateree are starting to change, and veteran tournamentangler Will Hinson of Cassatt reports that more and more fish are starting to just “float” in open water instead of relating to brush. They are still on the main lake at all different depths, and now schools are mixed between holding on brush in 10-30 feet and just swimming around. It doesn’t seem likely that fish will go into the creeks until after the new year.
Fish Stalker jigs in chartreuse colors are still working well.
October 29
Lake Wateree is at 97.2% of full pool and morning surface water temperatures are estimated to be in the mid-60s.
Before the rain there was still no change with the crappie patterns on Lake Wateree, and veteran tournamentangler Will Hinson of Cassatt reports that fish continued to spread out more on the main lake. They were catching fish on brush from 10 feet out to 30 feet, and the creeks were still holding mostly smaller fish. The upper lake was out-fishing the lower lake.
Will has not been on the water since the rains started on Sunday, but it could change things. Dirtying up the water could activate the bite, but if there is current the fish will try to avoid it. It’s also possible this could accelerate the later fall move where fish pull off of brush and start to “float” more in open water. Especially if there is current, expect fish to continue to relate to the bottom.
As of Saturday the black bass fishing was still similar, and tournament angler Dearal Rodgers of Camden reports that he and his daughter Sara caught fish but not the big ones and finished in fifth place in the CATT with 12.68. Fish are still concentrated in areas with shad, and they caught the most fish on shaky heads fished around docks. Dearal does wonder if points might have been the better pattern.
October 22
Lake Wateree is at 96.7% of full pool and morning surface water temperatures are around 69 degrees. The lake is clear for Wateree.
There’s no change with the crappie patterns on Lake Wateree, and veteran tournamentangler Will Hinson of Cassatt reports that better fish are still on main lake structure from about 12-30 feet.
But the black bass fishing has gotten a little better, and tournament angler Dearal Rodgers of Camden reports that he and his son Fisher had third place with 15.5 pounds in Saturday CATT. Fish are still concentrated in areas with shad, and it’s basically worth hitting any shoreline structure and even blank banks where fish could be suspended in the coves or creeks. They had their biggest fish on a buzzbait but caught their other fish on spinnerbaits around the banks.
October 16
Lake Wateree is down to 96.3% of full pool and morning surface water temperatures are around 71 degrees. The upper end is dingy while the mid-lake down to the dam is clear.
Coming off a third-place finish with seven fish for an impressive 11.11 pounds in a crappie tournament this weekend on Lake Wateree, veteran tournamentangler Will Hinson of Cassatt reports that fish continue to spread out more on the main lake. They caught fish around cover in 25-30 feet, but their biggest fish came from 15 feet and there are quality fish as shallow as 10 feet or even less. Again, the main lake is where the better fish are and the creeks are mainly filled with smaller fish. Jigs are working better than minnows right now, and the middle lake was the best section. The upper lake seems better than the lower lake.
Fish Stalker Slab Tail Jigs in chartreuse colors are working very well.
The black bass fishing continues to be a little tough, and tournament angler Dearal Rodgers of Camden reports that fish are still highly related to shad which means they are hard to pinpoint and moving around a lot. It’s not unusual for the fishing to get better once fish are more spot-oriented. Dearal is finding the best action in the first third of creeks but fish are all over the lake.
They are still not taking topwater baits as well as a week or two ago and he has caught most fish on a shaky head or spinnerbait fished around bait.
October 8
Lake Wateree is down to 96.5% of full pool and morning surface water temperatures are around 75 degrees. The upper end is dingy while the mid-lake down to the dam is clear.
The crappie continue to move on Lake Wateree, and veteran tournamentangler Will Hinson of Cassatt reports that this week he caught his biggest fish (1.71 pounds) in just 9 feet of water. The better fish are still on the main lake around structure, and they can be found from 9-10 feet of water out to 30 or more feet. Will has fished from Wateree Creek to the dam this week and found fish everywhere on the main lake. Again, mainly smaller fish have moved into the creeks.
As a general rule on the main lake smaller fish are suspended higher in the water column, while bigger fish are on the bottom below them. Often there is significant separation between the two groups.
Fish Stalker Slab Tail Jigs in chartreuse colors are working very well.
The black bass fishing has gotten a little tougher, and tournament angler Dearal Rodgers of Camden actually wonders if a fall turnover is taking place. The fish are still highly related to shad, which means they are hard to pinpoint and moving around a lot. It’s not unusual for the fishing to get better once fish are more spot-oriented. Dearal is finding the best action in the first third of creeks but fish are all over the lake.
Perhaps because of water conditions, they are not taking topwater baits as well this week and he has caught most fish on a shaky head or spinnerbait.
October 2
Lake Wateree is down to 96.6% of full pool and morning surface water temperatures are around 77 degrees.
With some slightly cooler water the crappie are beginning to make a little move on Lake Wateree, and veteran tournamentangler Will Hinson of Cassatt reports that some better fish are starting to move onto main lake structure (brush piles, stumps, downed trees, sunken boats, etc.) in 14-18 feet of water. They are still related to the bottom, and there are also still good numbers of fish on main lake structure in 16-25 feet.
There are also a decent number of fish moving into the creeks. Some of them are related to bridges, some are on brush, but they are still mostly smaller fish.
Fish Stalker Jigs in Ugly Green are working as well as anything.
In black bass news, coming off a third-place finish in Saturday’s CATT tournament, tournament angler Dearal Rodgers of Camden reports that the fish are definitely following the shad. Dearal fished in the creeks, and there were certainly fish there, but he thinks a substantial percentage of bait and fish are still on the main lake. Overall fish are pretty spread out right now.
A lot of pine straw on the water made it hard to throw a buzzbait, but they did weigh a couple of fish on the bait. Another one came on a spinnerbait, and then they caught five or six fish (two weighed) on a shaky head fished around docks. All the fish they caught were shallow and the other commonality was that bait pods were usually visible nearby.
