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The newest Lake Wylie fishing report can be found at: http://www.anglersheadquarters.com/ahq-insider-lake-wylie-ncsc-spring-2018-fishing-report/
February 16
Lake Wylie is at 97.0% of full pool and water temperatures are in the low to mid-50s. The water came up a couple of feet but then Duke dropped it about 2 ½ feet, and the end results is that much of the lake is heavily stained.
It’s good news to hear that the bassbite on Lake Wylie has turned on, and guide and FLW fisherman Bryan New (704-421-5868) reports that the fishing is actually the best it has been in a long time. Bryan says that this is the start of the pre-spawn period on Lake Wylie, and with lots of dirty water pretty much any shallow pattern you want to run is a good bet. You can fish flat shallow areas or steeper shallow areas that are closer to deep water, but for now the steeper areas are holding a few more fish. Spinnerbaits, crankbaits, jigs and chatterbaits are all working.
On the catfish front, Captain Rodger Taylor (803-517-7828) reports that fish are still being caught drifting the lower lake in 22-27 feet of water on deep flats just off the main river channel. Gut gizzard shad has been most productive.
February 9
Lake Wylie is up to 98.7% of full pool and with the warm rain water temperatures have risen to the low-50s in some creeks and the high-40s on the main lake. There is lots of dirty water in the creeks now.
There is certainly still a deep basspattern on Lake Wylie, and guide and FLW fisherman Bryan New (704-421-5868) reports that you can still catch fish around main river channel and creek channel drops on Alabama rigs, jerkbaits and jigs. However, with the influx of dirty water the biggest change is that a shallow pattern has come on board, too. Throwing a crankbait around shallow rocks will catch fish, and bass are also being caught on spinnerbaits and chatterbaits.
On the catfish front, Captain Rodger Taylor (803-517-7828) reports that fish are still being caught drifting the lower lake in 22-27 feet of water on deep flats just off the main river channel. Gut gizzard shad has been most productive.
February 1
Lake Wylie is at 97.6% of full pool and water temperatures are around 42-43 degrees. The main lake is still extremely clear, for the most part, but some areas like the South Fork have gotten very dirty with the recent rains.
Lake Wylie catfish are still concentrated on the lower end of the lake in their winter locations, and Captain Rodger Taylor (803-517-7828) reports that they are being caught drifting in 22-27 feet of water on deep flats just off the main river channel. The area from the Buster Boyd Bridge to Crowder Creek has been productive, and good numbers of fish in the 15-20 pound range have been caught recently. Gut gizzard shad has been most productive.
The bassfishing on Lake Wylie continues to be pretty strong, and guide and FLW fisherman Bryan New (704-421-5868) reports that the best areas are still around main river channel and creek channel drops. Fish are mainly suspending in about 10-12 feet of water off the edge of the drops, often with about 30 feet of water very close to where the fish are holding. Alabama rigs and jerkbaits have been working best, and Bryan has also picked up a few fish on jigs.
January 19
Lake Wylie is at 97.1% of full pool and water temperatures range from about 41-46 degrees. Some places are just slightly stained, with 3-4 feet of visibility, but overall visibility is very good. Guide and FLW fisherman Bryan New (704-421-5868) says Wylie is as clear as he has ever seen, and in one spot he saw an old sunken bridge – the top of which is 11 feet down!
As far as bassfishing, Bryan says that Wylie is actually fishing pretty well right now. One day will be really good, and the next just okay, but overall it’s a pretty good bite. A friend of his weighed 23 pounds in a recent tournament – one of those Wylie bags that only comes along every couple of years.
Yesterday Bryan caught fish from 5 feet on out to 30 feet, but they were mainly around any kind of sharp break. Main lake points, creek points, and areas where the main channel swings up against the bank are holding fish. Overall, fish are being caught on jerkbaits, Alabama rigs, grubs and sometimes jigs.
Despite the cold weather, Captain Rodger Taylor (803-517-7828) reports that there is a good deep water catfishbite on Lake Wylie and some big fish being caught. Fish are scattered in the mid- to lower-half of the lake on flats in the 20-30 foot range. The shallow bite has been non-existent, nor has the river channel been producing. Look for bait schools and drift with cut gizzard shad.
December 21
Lake Wylie is at 97.4% of full pool and water temperatures are about 49 degrees.
There’s not much change with the bass fishing on Lake Wylie, and guide and FLW fisherman Bryan New (704-421-5868) reports that fish are essentially still in the same deep pattern. Alabama rigs, jerkbaits, crankbaits and jigs are catching fish, with the best numbers in 10 plus feet of water.
No catfishchange reported by Captain Rodger Taylor (803-517-7828). Fish are still on the ledges in about 30 feet of water.
December 14
Lake Wylie is at 97.1% of full pool, and water temperatures have dropped after the cold weather. They range from about 47-54 degrees.
Bass fishing continues to slowly and steadily improve on Lake Wylie, and guide and FLW fisherman Bryan New (704-421-5868) reports that as temperatures have dropped in the last week and over the last couple of days better fish are being caught. The bite is still not good, and while an 18-pound bag was weighed in recently the 13-pound second place sack in the same tournament is more representative of a good haul right now.
The pattern is still about the same, and while there are some shallower fish all of the bigger schools of bass are in 10 plus feet of water near bait schools. Generally they are oriented to a creek or river channel, and looking for bait on your electronics is key to finding them. Alabama rigs, jerkbaits, some crankbaits and some jigs are catching fish.
On the catfish front, Captain Rodger Taylor (803-517-7828) reports that fish are still pretty scattered but sizes continue to improve. Right now the best fish are being caught on deeper ledges in about 22-35 feet of water, and perhaps because it hasn’t gotten quite cold enough they are not catching any big fish actually down in the channel itself.
December 1
Lake Wylie is at 96.4% of full pool, and water temperatures have dropped into the high-50s.
Finally, bass fishing is definitely improving on Lake Wylie. Guide and FLW fisherman Bryan New (704-421-5868) reports that even though the bite is not as far along as it should be at this time of year, numbers and sizes are both picking up as bait gets in the the areas where it is supposed to be in the fall.
Bryan is having the most success fishing in the creek channels or along the river channel, and while fish can be any depth from dirt shallow to really deep he is starting out looking in 10 feet of water or more. The best baits have been jerkbaits, Alabama rigs, jigs and crankbaits, and there is still a bit of a topwater bite. The key is being around bait in the right areas. You can’t look for birds diving to tell you where to fish quite yet, but that is coming.
On the catfish front, Captain Rodger Taylor (803-517-7828) reports that fish are still pretty scattered but they have been catching some nice fish up to the low-30s. While fish can still be found in a broad range of depths, the 12-20 foot range has been the best recently.