September 30

Lake Wateree is at 96.4% of full pool and morning surface water temperatures are around 78 degrees. Clarity is above normal. 

It’s unclear why, but tournament angler Dearal Rodgers of Camden reports that right now the bass fishing on Lake Wateree is brutally tough. A recent high school tournament was won with just 4 pounds, and it also only took single digits to win the last CATT! It’s not unusual to see 12- and 13-pound bags winning close to the fall turnover, but these weights are extremely low. Still it appears to be related to temporary issues and not the health of the fishery. 

Right now and in the fall generally the key to finding bass on Wateree is locating the bait, and shad should be getting very close to moving back into the creeks. Often the best fishing is in the creeks wind is blowing into. 

If you can’t get bites with a crankbaits or buzzbait in the creeks for now the best option may be targeting docks with a jig or shakey head, as these almost always hold some fish. 

There’s not much change in the crappie pattern on Lake Wateree, but veteran tournament angler Will Hinson of Cassatt reports that some of the brush piles are starting to holding less fish than a few weeks ago. Some of the smaller fish are also starting to move into the creeks. 

Still, the best fish are still on deep brush along the main river channel with 15-22 feet of water the target depth range. They are holding tight to brush and they will eat minnows as well as Fish Stalker Jigs in Mountain Dew color. 

The fishing for catfish continues to be very good on Lake Wateree, but Captain Rodger Taylor (803-517-7828) reports that the pattern is starting to change. The best fishing is starting to come drifting open areas in the mid to lower lake areas, particularly from June Creek to around Clearwater Cove. Drifting in 15-25 feet of water is the most productive pattern, and the best areas to look are areas with a lot of bait present and frequently where striped bass are feeding on top. The main channel, the mouths of creeks, and the open creek channel are often productive. 

Cut shad is probably the best bait followed by white perch, and there are lots of juvenile blue cats from 3-6 pounds being caught as well some fish in the mid-teens to 20 plus. 

September 16

Lake Wateree is at 96.3% of full pool and morning surface water temperatures are around 83 degrees. Clarity is above normal. 

The shad should be on the verge of moving back into the creeks on Lake Wateree, but tournament angler Dearal Rodgers of Camden reports that he isn’t seeing any signs of it yet. For now the better bass fishing is still out on the main lake, where even though there are still deep fish around ledges and points the shallow bite has been picking up.

The grass is very healthy right now and is holding a lot of fish, and they can be caught on a frog or buzzbait in the morning and during the day you can flip them with a crawfish or beaver. Grass points are especially good. 

Docks are also holding fish and a jig or shakey head is a good option. 

It’s still a little hard to catch big crappie on Lake Wateree, but catching numbers of ½ to ¾ pound fish is pretty easy right now if you know the location of deep brush. Fish are still stacked up along the main river channel, with 15-22 feet of water the best depth range. They are holding tight to brush and they will eat minnows as well as Fish Stalker Jigs in Mountain Dew color. 

There are also still a good number of fish holding around natural wood, be it stumps or downed trees. 

The fishing for catfish continues to be very good on Lake Wateree, with Captain Rodger Taylor (803-517-7828) reporting that the bite is especially productive between Taylor and June Creeks with fresh cut shad. The most productive depth is 15-20 feet. Most of the time the best action is found drifting, but early in the morning they are having success anchoring around areas of known Asian clam beds. 

September 1

Lake Wateree is down to 96.5% of full pool and morning surface water temperatures are in the mid-80s. Clarity is above normal. 

There’s not a lot of change in the crappie patterns on Lake Wateree, but tournament angler Will Hinson of Cassatt reports that most every brush pile in the lake is still loaded up with crappie. Shallower brush generally only has very small crappie, while the closer you get to the main river channel the bigger the crappie you encounter. The best man-made brush is in 12-25 feet of water along the main channel where you can catch a ton of 8-10 inch crappie. 

The biggest fish continue to come on the upper end of the lake around stumps and sunken trees in 12-22 feet of water.   Will has still been catching fish on Fish Stalker jigs in Mountain Dew and Glimmer Blue colors, including the big ones, but minnows will also work and may be better for some anglers. 

Note that there is still very little action inside the creeks except for around bridges which continue to hold some fish. However, this summer they seem to have more bream than crappie.

Extremely hot, very clear (for Wateree) water is making for some very difficult bass fishing on the lake, and tournament angler Dearal Rodgers of Camden reports that both the deep and shallow patterns are pretty slow. That can be seen in the weights from this Saturday’s CATT event where only 10.64 pounds took first place. Of course, that was with a three-fish limit – because the fishing had gotten so tough!

There are still a few fish being caught off grass in the morning with frogs and other topwater lures, and there have also been a few fish caught on worms around creek channel ledges, humps, and main lake points in areas with 15-25 feet of water.  

The one positive development is that there has been a little bit more schooling activity, usually in the morning or evening, around those some ledges and points. You will be fishing structure and then fish will come up on one side or the other where they have followed bait. 

The fishing for catfish continues to be very good on Lake Wateree, with Captain Rodger Taylor (803-517-7828) reporting that the bite is especially productive between Taylor and June Creeks with fresh cut shad. The most productive depth is 15-20 feet. Most of the time the best action is found drifting, but early in the morning they are having success anchoring around areas of known Asian clam beds. 

August 20

Lake Wateree is at 96.9% of full pool and morning surface water temperatures are in the mid-80s. 

While numbers of crappie can still be caught on Lake Wateree with the same patterns, in the last week tournament angler Will Hinson of Cassatt has also unlocked the secret to catching some bigger fish. Instead of fishing man-made brush, he found them on the upper end of the lake around stumps and sunken trees in 12-22 feet of water.

At the same time, you can still find crappie on almost every brush pile in the lake. Shallower brush generally only has 3-4 inch crappie, while the closer you get to the main river channel the better the crappie you encounter. The best man-made brush is in 12-25 feet of water along the main channel.

Will has still been catching fish on Fish Stalker jigs in Mountain Dew and Glimmer Blue colors, including the big ones, but minnows will also work and may be better for some anglers. 

Note that there is still very little action inside the creeks except for around bridges which continue to hold some fish. However, this summer they seem to have more bream than crappie.  

Unfortunately everything seems to have gotten a little tougher for bass fishing on Wateree in the past couple of weeks, and tournament angler Dearal Rodgers of Camden reports that both the deep and shallow patterns have slowed a bit. There have been a few grass bites in the morning with frogs and other topwater lures, and there have also been a few fish caught on worms around creek channel ledges, humps, and main lake points in areas with 15-25 feet of water.  

Overall time of day makes a big difference right now. There is a morning bite, the mid-day/ afternoon bite is almost non-existent, and then in the evening the bass fishing is often the best of the day. 

The fishing for catfish may have even gotten a little better on Lake Wateree, and Captain Rodger Taylor (803-517-7828) reports that the best action is coming fishing flats with Asian clam beds in 7-12 feet of water. Drifting shallow flats in the upper 1/3 of the lake will produce plenty of eating sized blues and channels in the 2-12 pound range.

To improve your chances of tangling with a big fish, the best pattern is to fish at night or early morning on points and vertical breaks in 6-15 feet of water. Gizzard shad and bream heads are working well. 

August 5

Lake Wateree is at 96.5% of full pool and morning surface water temperatures are in the low to mid-80s. 

The crappie fishing remains fair on Lake Wateree this week, and tournament angler Will Hinson of Cassatt reports that it’s not hard to find crappie on almost every brush pile in the lake. However, shallower brush generally only has 3-4 inch crappie, while the closer you get to the main river channel the better the crappie you encounter. The best brush is in 12-25 feet of water along the main channel, but even there it’s hard to find big fish right now. 

Will has still been catching fish on Fish Stalker jigs in Mountain Dew color, but minnows may be working a little better overall. 

Note that there is still very little action inside the creeks except for around bridges which continue to hold some fish.

The deep bite is still much better than the shallow bite according to tournament angler Dearal Rodgers of Camden, who reports that they just aren’t seeing many fish around the banks. However, the fishing is still good on creek channel ledges, humps, and main lake points in areas with 10-25 feet of water.  The best spots have 20 plus feet of water nearby, even if the fish are shallower.  

While jigs and crankbaits should work, Dearal is still having better luck with Carolina rigs and shakey head worms. 

Dearal also notes that sometimes the fish will come up schooling over the deep spots. 

The fishing for catfish is still good on Lake Wateree, and Captain Rodger Taylor (803-517-7828) reports that the best action is coming fishing flats with Asian clam beds in 7-12 feet of water. Drifting shallow flats in the upper 1/3 of the lake will produce plenty of eating sized blues and channels in the 2-12 pound range.

To improve your chances of tangling with a big fish, the best pattern is to fish at night or early mornings on points and vertical breaks in 6-15 feet of water. Gizzard shad and bream heads are working well. 

July 28

Lake Wateree is at 96.7% of full pool and morning surface water temperatures are around 84 degrees. 

Earlier in the summer tournament angler Dearal Rodgers of Camden was still finding a good shallow bite, but now LiveScope imaging confirms that it’s basically a graveyard in shallow water. There are few bass to be caught. 

At the same time the fishing is still good on creek channel ledges, humps, and main lake points in areas with 10-25 feet of water.  The best spots have 20 plus feet of water nearby, even if the fish are shallower.  

While jigs and crankbaits should work, this week Dearal has had the best luck with Carolina rigs and shakey head worms. However, from what he is seeing it is more about having a lure in front of the fish at the moment they decide to feed than finding the perfect lure. He has noticed that fish will all of a sudden turn on when he marks a school of bait passing through. 

Dearal also notes that sometimes the fish will come up schooling over the deep spots. 

There’s not much change with crappie on Lake Wateree this week, and tournament angler Will Hinson of Cassatt reports that catching smaller fish is still relatively easy as long as you fish near the river channel. 

Brush in 12-25 feet of water still seems to be holding the most fish, with some fish in the brush and others suspended a foot or two over the top of it. While jigs will work minnows may be better right now. 

There is very little action inside the creeks except for around bridges which are also still holding some fish.

The fishing for catfish is still good on Lake Wateree, and Captain Rodger Taylor (803-517-7828) reports that the best action is coming fishing flats with Asian clam beds in 7-12 feet of water. Drifting shallow flats in the upper 1/3 of the lake will produce plenty of eating sized blues and channels in the 2-12 pound range.

To improve your chances of tangling with a big fish, the best pattern is to fish at night or early mornings on points and vertical breaks in 6-15 feet of water. Gizzard shad and bream heads are working well. 

July 22

Lake Wateree is at 96.7% of full pool and morning surface water temperatures are around 84 degrees. Despite the rain at least the lower end still just has a normal amount of stain. 

For some time now the better bass bite on Lake Wateree has been shallow, but tournament angler Dearal Rodgers of Camden reports that – while some good fish can still be caught shallow, particularly early in the morning on topwater lures – the deep bite appears to be passing it. Fish are being caught on creek channel ledges, humps, and main lake points in areas near 20-25 feet of water. However, Dearal frequently finds that the feeding fish are suspended about 10 feet down off the depth break. They will also school on the surface at times and drift off the spots when they are chasing bait, and then they will return to the structure.

Carolina rigs, shakey head worms, jigs and crankbaits will all work, and it’s really just a matter of seeing what fish will eat on a particular day. 

There is no doubt that you can still catch numbers of crappie on Lake Wateree, and his last time out tournament angler Will Hinson of Cassatt reports that he got a limit of fish in around two hours. However, they were mainly smaller ones and he really had to work to catch them. Even though the brush was loaded with fish according to his electronics, he had to finesse them to make them eat.  He was using Fish Stalker jigs but it may be that minnows would have worked a bit better. 

Brush in 12-25 feet of water still seems to be holding the most fish, with some fish in the brush and others suspended a foot or two over the top of it. Bigger fish should still be closer to the river channel but even there they are hard to find, and generally the main lake or outside the creek mouths is the best place to look.   

There is very little action inside the creeks except for around bridges which are also still holding some fish.

The fishing for catfish has picked up on Lake Wateree, and Captain Rodger Taylor (803-517-7828) reports that the best action is coming fishing flats with Asian clam beds in 7-12 feet of water. Drifting shallow flats in the upper 1/3 of the lake will produce plenty of eating sized blues and channels in the 2-12 pound range.

To improve your chances of tangling with a big fish, the best pattern is to fish at night or early mornings on points and vertical breaks in 6-15 feet of water.  Gizzard shad and bream heads are working well.

July 8

Lake Wateree is at 96.8% of full pool and before the rain of the last 24 hours the lake was fairly clear from one end to another . Morning surface water temperatures are around 85 degrees.   

While tournament angler Dearal Rodgers of Camden won’t say that numbers of bass couldn’t be found offshore by some anglers, he continues to only catch a random fish or two on deeper structure. Of course, with a good shallow bite he spends more time near the banks fishing.

In the mornings there is still a good bite with topwater lures off points or laydowns, and when the sun gets up you can catch fish around docks flipping craws, worms or jigs. Some people are also targeting grass with a frog.   

Right now there is still a pretty good bream bed bite as the spawn continues, and you want to look around flat spots in coves with a jig or Senko. 

The best action on Lake Wateree is still for crappie, and tournament angler Will Hinson of Cassatt reports that the fish continue to bite very well. Fish are on brush in 12-25 feet of water, with some fish in the brush and others suspended a foot or two over the top of it. 

It’s not unusual find a brush pile holding 800 or 900 fish, but they are mostly in the 8-10 inch range. While crappie can be found from just outside the mouth of creeks to the main lake, the bigger fish are out towards the river channel. 

Bridges are still holding some fish, but since the bridges are in the creeks as it has gotten hotter the fish around bridges have mostly gotten smaller. 

While other people are catching fish on minnows, Will is exclusively fishing Fish Stalker jigs in Mountain Dew and Glimmer Blue. 

It’s still not a peak time for big catfish, but Captain Rodger Taylor (803-517-7828) reports that there is still a really good bite for 2-6 pound fish drifting the shallow flats in 8-12 feet of water with cut shad. 

As the spawn winds down more big fish should start to be mixed in on the flats, but if you want to improve your chances of catching a big cat the best bet is still to go to the upper end of the lake, hope for some current, and fish large baits close to drops and other steep vertical depth changes.

June 24

Lake Wateree is at 97% of full pool and after recent rains the lake is getting stained. Morning surface water temperatures are in the lower 80s. 

There’s little doubt right now that the best fishing on Lake Wateree is for crappie, and tournament angler Will Hinson of Cassatt reports that the fish are biting very well. The trick is pretty simple – finding brush in 15-22 feet of water on the main lake. It’s not unusual to catch a limit off one brush pile right now.

Generally the fish have been suspended pretty high in the water column, and over brush in the 20-foot range they have usually been only 10-12 feet down. This could be because of recent cool weather and rains. 

Minnows will certain work, but Will has been fishing Fish Stalker jigs in Mountain Dew, Glimmer Blue and black with a yellow tail. 

As they should all summer, Will also notes that bridges are holding some fish. 

The offshore bass bite has not been very good recently on Lake Wateree, but tournament angler Dearal Rodgers of Camden reports that with the water coming up a little and mild temperatures some shallow fish have been biting. First thing they are taking topwater lures off points or laydowns, and when the sun gets up you can catch fish around grass and docks flipping craws, worms or jigs. In the morning you can also get a reaction bite around the grass and docks with a spinnerbait, buzzbait or frog.

Right now there is also a pretty good bream bed bite, and you want to look around flat spots in coves with a jig or Senko. 

The offshore bite should come on again if they pull the lake down and/ or temperatures rise. 

It’s still not a peak time for big catfish, but Captain Rodger Taylor (803-517-7828) reports that there is still a really good bite for 2-6 pound fish drifting the shallow flats in 8-12 feet of water with cut shad. 

As the spawn winds down more big fish should start to be mixed in on the flats, but if you want to improve your chances of catching a big cat the best bet is still to go to the upper end of the lake, hope for some current, and fish large baits close to drops and other steep vertical depth changes.

June 10

Lake Wateree is at 97.6% of full pool and after recent rains the lake is getting stained. Morning surface water temperatures have risen to about 82 degrees. 

Out on the water right now going after catfish, Captain Rodger Taylor (803-517-7828) reports that there is a tremendous bait in the water. He is still finding a really good bite for 2-6 pound fish drifting the shallow flats in 8-12 feet of water with cut shad.  

Even though the spawn is still going on, there also appear to be a few more big fish feeding than a couple of weeks ago and they are catching some blues into the mid-20s mixed in with smaller fish.   

Of course, if you want to improve your chances of catching a big cat the best bet is to go to the upper end of the lake, hope for some current, and fish large baits close to drops and other steep vertical depth changes.

Big catfish are feeding better on Wateree than they were two weeks ago, but trying to catch better bass right now is really tough. Tournament angler Dearal Rodgers of Camden reports that in the CBC last weekend it took about 17 pounds to win.

About ten days ago the deep bite was pretty good, but recently it slowed down.  You can still fish offshore with worms, jigs and crankbaits around depth changes, but they are mainly catching small fish there.  

The better fish seem to be coming around grass, docks, or on points. The best pattern may be fishing mid-depth points with Carolina rigs as a lot of fish seem to be in an in-between stage right now. 

Overall it seems that the best action for numbers as well as big fish right now is in the crappie department, and tournament angler Will Hinson of Cassatt reports that fish are all over brush right now.  On recent trips it has been pretty easy if you know brush.   

Fish can be found over the entire lake from the mouth of creeks out to the main lake, and even though they will go deeper when it gets warmer right now they are still on some relatively shallow stuff. The best zone has been 12-18 feet of water. 

Fish Stalker jigs in Mountain Dew and Glimmer Blue have been working well, and some people are having success with plain minnows. 

Will notes that bridges are also holding some fish.