December 20

Lake Wateree is down to 94.4% of full pool and water temperatures are in the lower 50s.  

With water levels extremely low there has been limiting fishing activity on Lake Wateree, and tournament angler Will Hinson of Cassatt reports that Dutchman’s is one of the better (few) places to put in right now. But if you can get out there after crappie then the fish are from the state park up along the river channel, and they are mostly suspended 18-24 feet down over 24-26 feet of water. Tight-lining ugly green, yellow, pink and chartreuse jigs tipped with minnows has been the best pattern. 

 

There has also been limited bass fishing activity on Lake Wateree, but tournament angler Dearal Rodgers of Camden reports that there is a decent bite fishing rocky main lake points and steep banks. Crankbaits, jigs, Carolina rigs and shakey heads are all working. With the lake so low most anglers will find some of their spots out of water. 

In catfish news, Captain Rodger Taylor (803-517-7828) reports that there is still good fishing for blue catfish and channel cats on the drift from the state park to Clearwater Cove. Some large blues are also being taken between the islands just south of Colonel Creek in 25 to 44 feet of water.  Gizzard shad is the bait of choice if you can get it.

Also, look for striped bass action in the same areas as the blue cats.  Down-lining live shad or bass minnows 15 to 18 feet down should bring them to the boat.  When there is surface activity then you can cast bucktails at the fish.

November 24

Lake Wateree is at 99.2% of full pool and water temperatures are in the lower 60s.  From dam to dam the lake is dirty/ muddy. 

It seems a while ago that we were reporting that dropping water levels were making it hard to get a boat in on Lake Wateree, but last week tournament bass angler Dearal Rodgers of Camden reports that the CATT tournament had to be cancelled because of extremely high water.  While the levels have come down the lake is still high and muddy, and as a result most of the catchable fish are probably in less than 5 – and certainly less than 10 – feet of water. Even though water levels are now high when they got so low most of the fish pulled out of the back of creeks, and so Dearal suggests fishing the front section of creeks or the main lake. They could be in the back of some short pockets off the main lake, however.

In the muddy conditions big spinnerbaits, bulky jigs, Chatterbaits, and Rattle Traps are all good options. While fish are generally related to bait schools at this time of year, in the dirty water they could also be tight to rock or around grass. Right now those are probably better cover than wood and docks. 

Water conditions are just starting to settle out, but tournament angler Will Hinson of Cassatt reports that ripping current, mud and water over the dam put the crappie on the move last week. They started their seasonal migration up the river a little early this year, and now most of the fish are from the state park to the upper dam.

The best pattern has been tight-lining in 18-20 feet on the river channel tight to the bottom, and they should stay here for a little while.  Orange or chartreuse jigs tipped with minnows have been working the best.

In catfish news, Captain Rodger Taylor (803-517-7828) reports that there is good fishing for blue catfish and channel cats on the drift from the state park to Clearwater Cove. Some large blues are also being taken between the islands just south of Colonel Creek in 25 to 44 feet of water. Gizzard shad is the bait of choice if you can get it. 

Also, look for striped bass action in the same areas as the blue cats. Down-lining live shad or bass minnows 15 to 18 feet down should bring them to the boat. Soft plastics and buck tails cast to surface schools should also begin to work soon.

November 12

Lake Wateree is way down to 94.8% of full pool and water temperatures are around 66 degrees. Before the rain clarity was normal.

Dropping water levels have made it harder to get a boat in on Lake Wateree, but tournament angler Will Hinson of Cassatt reports that the crappie fishing is good if you can get on the water. The fish are scattered from one end of the lake to the other, but they have moved shallower onto main lake brush in 8-15 feet of water. There are also some fish chasing shad on the main lake, also in the 8-15 foot range, and long-line trolling has been the best way to target them.

Fish Stalker jigs in Mountain Dew, Blue Dew and glimmer blue have been working the best. 

The bass fishing has gotten pretty tough on Lake Wateree, and tournament angler Dearal Rodgers of Camden reports that low water levels have not pulled fish out of the creeks where they are chasing shad but they have made it harder to fish some of the better cover. In the last CATT tournament there were multiple teams that did not catch a fish, and 14 pounds was good enough for the win. Anglers are hoping for better conditions for the championship this weekend.

Square-billed crankbait should still work in areas with bait, but Dearal has found the most bites with a frog fished around grass even though the water is low. 

It remains a pretty good time to catch catfish on Wateree, and Captain Rodger Taylor (803-517-7828) reports that the best bet right now is to drift several particular areas in the down-lake areas where most of the bait can be found. One is the flat adjacent to June Creek that is about 21 feet deep, and you can also work the humps in 32-34 feet that are beside Beaver Creek. Another good section is the area below Colonel Creek with three islands that features a lot of bottom changes in 28-40 feet. This area is especially strong if you have a southeast wind. 

Gizzard shad is the best bait.

October 23

Lake Wateree is at 96.8% of full pool and water temperatures are in the lower 70s. The lake has gotten a little dirtier and the upper end is heavily stained. 

Without significant changes in conditions on Lake Wateree the crappie remain in a similar pattern, and tournament angler Will Hinson of Cassatt reports that they are chiefly on the main lake suspended just over brush in 12-22 feet of water. They can be found from one end of the lake to the other. One-rod jigging with Fish Stalker jigs in glimmer blue (monkey milk), Mountain Dew and yellow with black flakes is working the best. 

Fish are eating shad, but even though shad can be found everywhere the crappie usually stay out of the creeks in the fall. 

The shallow bass bite remains pretty good on Lake Wateree, and tournament angler Dearal Rodgers of Camden reports that fish are mostly in the creeks where they are chasing shad. The schooling action has been good at times, and when they are not schooling you can catch fish on square-billed crankbaits fished around the banks. The key is to make sure you are fishing in areas where there are schools of bait.

Even though water levels are relatively low, there are also still some fish that are in the grass. A frog is working well, and when the sun comes out you can flip a craw to them.  Swim jigs will also work. 

It’s a good but not great time to catch catfish on Wateree, and Captain Rodger Taylor (803-517-7828) reports that the best bet right now is to drift several particular areas in the down-lake areas where most of the bait can be found. One is the flat adjacent to June Creek that is about 21 feet deep, and you can also work the humps in 32-34 feet that are beside Beaver Creek. Another good section is the area below Colonel Creek with three islands that features a lot of bottom changes in 28-40 feet. This area is especially strong if you have a southeast wind. 

Gizzard shad is the best bait. 

October 9

Lake Wateree is at 96.7% of full pool and water temperatures are around 72 degrees. The upper lake is dingy while down towards the dam it just has a little color.

The shallow bass bite has gotten pretty good on Lake Wateree, and tournament angler Dearal Rodgers of Camden reports that fish have moved into the creeks where they are chasing shad. The schooling action has been good at times, and when they are not schooling you can catch fish on square-billed crankbaits fished around the grass.  The key is to make sure you are fishing in areas where there are schools of bait.

Even though water levels are down, there are also still some fish that are in the grass. A frog is working well, and when the sun comes out you can flip a craw to them.  The word has gotten out about swim jigs so bass are used to see them now, but they will also work. 

As water temperatures drop the crappie are on the move, and tournament angler Will Hinson of Cassatt reports that they are starting to make their way towards shallower structure.  The fish are still on the main lake, but they are suspended just over brush in 12-22 feet of water. They can be found from one end of the lake to the other. One-rod jigging with Fish Stalker jigs in glimmer blue (monkey milk), Mountain Dew and yellow with black flakes is working the best. 

Fish are eating shad, but even though shad can be found everywhere the crappie usually stay out of the creeks in the fall. 

The catfish bite remains pretty good on Wateree, and Captain Rodger Taylor (803-517-7828) reports that in the morning you can do well anchoring around mussel beds in 6-15 feet of water when there is not too much wind or wave activity. The better pattern is often drifting, however, and right now Rodger says the best drift is from June Creek to the islands below Colonel Creek. If you want to catch a big fish then the best bet is to anchor on a ledge and wait them out. 

Cut shad has been working the best.

September 24

Lake Wateree is back up to 96.6% of full pool while temperatures have dropped to the upper 70s or low 80s. The upper end is already muddy and the water is coming down. 

They dropped the lake in anticipation of extremely large amounts of rain, and while there was not as much water as feared tournament angler Dearal Rodgers of Camden reports that up-and-down water levels did affect the bass.  Dropping water kept them from getting in the very backs of the creeks, and the front to middle section of the creeks still continue to produce the best. There has been some schooling activity out in the middle of the creeks, and at other times square-billed crankbaits and topwater lures have been working closer to the banks. 

Soft plastics have also been catching some fish around docks, grass, stick-ups and shade. 

Overall it’s not yet an easy fall bite but hopefully that is coming. 

There’s not much change with the crappie this week, and tournament angler Will Hinson of Cassatt reports that pretty much every brush pile along the main channel or at the mouth of creeks still has fish – but the crappie have still not really moved into the creeks yet. 

The bigger fish are along the river in brush that is in 18-25 feet of water, while the fish that have moved into shallower brush in 10-18 feet at the mouths of the creeks are generally smaller. Both groups of fish are holding about a foot over the brush.  

One pole jigging with Fish Stalker jigs in Mountain Dew and Blue Dew has been working the best.

The catfish bite remains pretty good on Wateree, and Captain Rodger Taylor (803-517-7828) reports that in the morning you can do well anchoring around mussel beds in 6-15 feet of water when there is not too much wind or wave activity. The better pattern is often drifting, however, and right now Rodger says the best drift is from June Creek to the islands below Colonel Creek. If you want to catch a big fish then the best bet is to anchor on a ledge and wait them out. 

Cut shad has been working the best.

September 16

Lake Wateree is down to 95.3% of full pool and morning surface water temperatures are around 82-83 degrees. It’s dingy up the lake but from June Creek to the dam is clear for Wateree. 

Bass fishing continues to improve on Lake Wateree as temperatures drop, and  tournament angler Dearal Rodgers of Camden reports that fish are just starting to move into the creeks following the shad. A lot of the time these fish will come up to the surface in the middle of the creeks, but if they are not on top then fishing the bank with square-billed crankbaits or topwater lures is a good bet. There are probably still some fish out on the main lake but Dearal has not been targeting them. 

It’s gotten a lot easier to find crappie in the last couple of weeks, and tournament angler Will Hinson of Cassatt reports that pretty much every brush pile along the main channel or at the mouth of creeks has fish. The crappie have not really moved into the creeks yet. 

The bigger fish are along the river in brush that is in 18-25 feet of water, while the fish that have moved into shallower brush in 10-18 feet at the mouths of the creeks are generally smaller. Both groups of fish are holding about a foot over the brush.  

One pole jigging with Fish Stalker jigs in Mountain Dew and Blue Dew has been working the best and catching 60-70 fish in a few hours is not unusual.

The catfish bite remains pretty good on Wateree, and Captain Rodger Taylor (803-517-7828) reports that in the morning you can do well anchoring around mussel beds in 6-15 feet of water when there is not too much wind or wave activity. When the wind gets up the best option is to drift for scattered fish in 15-25 feet from the state park to Colonel Creek. Another good drift is from Rochelle to June Creek in about 18-21 feet of water. If you want to catch big fish then the best bet is to anchor on a ledge and wait them out. 

Cut shad has been working the best.

August 27

Lake Wateree is at 96.5% of full pool and morning surface water temperatures are in the mid-80s. Clarity is very good for Lake Wateree. 

As temperatures start to drop on Lake Wateree tournament angler Dearal Rodgers of Camden reports that bass fishing is improving, and they are starting to catch some suspended fish that are coming up to feed on shad. You can throw topwater lures at these fish, and they could be pretty much anywhere from points to pockets at any depth – although most of the time the action is in the creeks. The fish are generally in wolfpacks of 3-4 fish, and they will come up all day.

There has also been a decent deep bite around the typical ledges, points and humps in 8-20 feet of water. Crankbaits, jigs and worms will all catch fish, and right now the bite is a little better in the evening. 

Early in the morning the best bet is to fish topwater lures such as a frog around grass or a Spook or buzzbait off points. 

While locating crappie can be a struggle right now, tournament angler Will Hinson of Cassatt reports that once you can find them the bite is really good. Fish are around brush as shallow as 15-18 feet, or as deep as 28 feet, but they are not on all the brush right now. The key is finding brush out on the main lake close to the channel that has a good water flow over it. Fish can be found from dam to dam on the main water, but the creeks are not holding fish.  The only exception is that a few fish have been caught around bridges such in Dutchman’s Creeks. 

Fish have been holding very close to the bottom over brush, and one pole jigging with Fish Stalker jigs in glimmer blue and Mountain Dew has been working the best.

 

The catfish bite is pretty good on Wateree, and Captain Rodger Taylor (803-517-7828) reports that in the morning you can do well anchoring around mussel beds in 6-15 feet of water when there is not too much wind or wave activity. When the wind gets up the best option is to drift for scattered fish in 15-25 feet from the state park to Colonel Creek. If you want to catch big fish then the best bet is to anchor on a ledge and wait them out. 

Cut shad has been working the best.

July 29

Lake Wateree is at 96.8% of full pool and morning surface water temperatures are in the upper 80s. Clarity is very good for Lake Wateree. 

If you want to catch crappie on the banks, the heat of summer on Lake Wateree is not the time and place to do it. But if you are willing to fish deep, tournament angler Will Hinson of Cassatt reports that this is a pretty fantastic time for catching lots of big fish. 

Overall crappie have moved even deeper than earlier this month, and while a few can be found on mid-depth brush most of the fish have gotten on deep brush in 18-27 feet on the main lake. Early and late they will be on the top of the brush, but most of the day they will be down in it. Fish can be found suspended around brush from one of the lake to the other, and Will has caught them from dam to dam, but the creeks really only have small fish right now. The only significant exception to that is at night, when some better fish will move into the creeks and be caught around bridges with lights.

Minnows will work, but Will has had the best success one-pole jigging with 2-inch Fish Stalker jigs in Mountain Dew or blue glimmer.

The catfish are also biting well on Lake Wateree if you know where and when to look, and Captain Rodger Taylor (803-517-7828) reports that 2-6 pound blue catfish are biting well drifting cut shad in 8-12 feet of water on mid-lake flats. Larger blue catfish in the 15-22 pound range can be caught anchoring cut shad near mussel beds in 10-15 feet of water. 

Meanwhile, tournament angler Dearal Rodgers of Camden reports that the bass bite is very tough on Lake Wateree. While there are more fish deep around ledges and humps in 10-20 feet than a month ago, they are not biting very well on crankbaits, jigs, or worms. 

The shallow action has also been pretty rough, too, even though a few fish continue to be picked up around the grass or near bream beds. Topwater lures, frogs, Senkos and jigs are as good as anything.

In the last tournament on Wateree the winning sack came shallow and the second place bag came deep – but neither pattern was easy. 

July 1

Lake Wateree is at 96.8% of full pool and morning surface water temperatures are in the low 80s. Clarity is normal for Lake Wateree. 

While a few people are figuring out to catch 16 or 17 pounds bass fishing on Lake Wateree, tournament angler Dearal Rodgers of Camden reports that overall the fishing has been extremely tough. In particular the consensus seems to be that fish are not stacked up deep right now, and so the summer pattern of fishing around ledges and humps in 10-20 feet with crankbaits, jigs and worms is not really working.

What is left is mostly shallow fishing, and there are some fish being caught around the grass or near bream beds. Fish that are messing with bream can be caught all day on topwater lures, frogs, Senkos and jigs. 

However, the most exciting bite that Dearal has found has been fishing for a mixed bag of species in the evening including largemouth, white bass and striper. The fish are out on the main lake near points in areas where they can push bait up. You are looking for surface activity to locate the fish, but once found they will take swimbaits, squarebill crankbaits, Whopper Ploppers, Spooks or about anything.

The crappie fishing has been nothing short of phenomenal on Lake Wateree, and tournament angler Will Hinson of Cassatt reports that most of the brush on the lake is covered up in fish right now. The main exception is shallow brush or brush in the very back of creeks, but Will has found fish in brush from 12 to 22 feet deep from one end of the lake to the other. Generally fish are suspended within a few feet of the bottom, but not always. 

While you could get over the brush and fish vertically, Will has had the best success marking the fish, backing off and then casting 2-inch Fish Stalker jigs in Mountain Dew color to them.

There are also fish around the bridges in Dutchman Creek, Taylor Creek and Wateree Creek.  There may also be some fish on deeper docks.   

On the catfish front, Captain Rodger Taylor (803-517-7828) reports that blue catfish are biting very well on the drift. Most fish are relatively small but excellent eating in the 3-6 pound range. Larger blue catfish can be caught at anchor near mussel beds in 10-14 feet of water. Still, drifting you may pick up some fish in the low to mid-teens with the possibility of a bigger one. 

The mid-lake section is fishing very well and cut bream, shad and perch are all working.

June 15

Lake Wateree is down to 96.9% of full pool and morning surface water temperatures are about 82 degrees. At least up to Beaver Creek the water is very clear for Wateree. 

Conditions have gotten a little more normal for bass fishing on Lake Wateree, and tournament angler Dearal Rodgers of Camden reports that tournament activity is also picking up again on the lake. Still the bite is not wide open, and it is not taking more than about 18 pounds to win. 

There are fish that can be caught both shallow and deep, with shallow fish hanging around grass as well as around bream beds. Fish that are messing with bream can be caught all day on topwater lures, frogs, senkos and jigs. 

While the deep bite has not fully turned on yet, there are some bass starting to be caught around ledges and humps in 10-20 feet. Crankbaits, jigs and worms will all catch these fish. Any day now someone could get into a school of big fish offshore and wear them out. 

The crappie have gotten into a more traditional summer pattern on Lake Wateree, and tournament angler Will Hinson of Cassatt reports that they are on main lake brush again. He has caught fish in 12-22 feet on the main lake from the dam up to Beaver Creek on both sides, but there are almost certainly fish on the same pattern from one end to the other. As the sun gets higher they will push deeper to the bottom, and in lower light they will suspend more. 

All the fish Will has caught have been one-pole jigging with Fish Stalker jigs in Mountain Dew, glimmer blue, black and chartreuse and solid yellow.   

There are likely some fish around the bridges but the brush is so loaded that Will has not looked. 

On the catfish front, Captain Rodger Taylor (803-517-7828) reports that fishing is very good drifting mid-lake flats in 10-14 feet of water. Lots of small blues in the 3-6 pound range are being caught, and larger fish can be found anchored near mussel beds.