January 20

Lake Wylie is at 97.1% of full pool and the lake has gotten more stained this week. Morning surface water temperatures have dropped into the upper 40s. 

The bass fishing continues to be somewhat improved on Lake Wylie, and tournament angler Reid McGinn of Fort Mill reports that the catch is still spot-heavy but they are also getting some largemouth. Numbers of fish can still be caught on Alabama rigs, and they have also caught some fish around points and channel swings in 10-20 feet with jerkbaits. 

However, the best fish – like those in the winning 15-pound bag Reid and his tournament partner had the previous weekend – have come shallow cranking in stained water. They have found a good bite on this pattern first thing, and then there also seems to be a mid-day feeding window. 

Before last weekend’s storms the catfish were biting really well on Lake Wylie, and Captain Rodger Taylor (803-517-7828) was still finding the best action anchoring and fan casting baits in 6-14 feet of water in the middle to upper creeks. Post-storm the fish may have moved out to a more normal pattern in the main channels, but so far that’s unclear.

More information to follow. 

January 6

Lake Wylie is at 98.7% of full pool and morning surface water temperatures are back to the mid-50s after getting close to 60 degrees. The main lake is still very clear while the backs of creeks have some stain. 

Regular readers may not expect to hear that the bass fishing on Lake Wylie has actually been pretty good recently, but tournament angler Reid McGinn of Fort Mill reports that the catch is that it’s almost all spotted bass. In one spot he caught 15 spotted bass on back-to-back casts, and the last few times he has been out it’s been typical to catch 20-30 spotted bass for every one largemouth. Harvesting some of them he has noticed that they generally have eggs.

With such a spot-heavy catch it’s not surprising that the best fishing has been out on the main lake, and secondary points and docks have been the most productive. That could become a trend going forward since spots generally prefer the main lake. Reid has also noticed that the bite is much better when the sun is out, again to be expected with spotted bass. 

The trick is getting to be finding better fish, and Reid expects that as it gets colder some bigger fish should start to stage up in the places they move to before getting into pre-spawn mode. Points and channel swings should hold fish, and the ideal depth range should be about 10-20 feet. 

Don’t expect to see any more schooling fish now that it has gotten cold, but as of the first of the year fish were on the surface!

Lake Wylie catfish continue to follow an unusual pattern, and Captain Rodger Taylor (803-517-7828) reports that right now the best action is still coming anchoring and fan casting baits in 6-14 feet of water.  This could change any day now, but right now the middle to upper creeks are fishing by far the best. The main channel is devoid of bait, and right now the bait is up the creeks with the birds. 

The best action has come on cut gizzard shad, and 14-20 pound fish are feeding pretty actively. Overall Rodger rates the bite fair to good.  

December 23

Lake Wylie is at 97.2% of full pool and morning surface water temperatures are about 54 degrees. 

Lake Wylie catfish continue to follow an unusual pattern for early winter, and Captain Rodger Taylor (803-517-7828) reports that right now the best action is coming anchoring and fan casting baits in 6-14 feet of water. This could change any day now, but right now the middle to upper creeks are fishing by far the best. The main channel is devoid of bait, and right now the bait is up the creeks with the birds. 

The best action has come on cut gizzard shad, and 14-20 pound fish are feeding pretty actively. Overall Rodger rates the bite fair to good.   

Up and down temperatures don’t seem to have helped the bass fishing so far, which isn’t a huge surprise to tournament angler Reid McGinn of Fort Mill. A good warm front in late February can usher in some great pre-spawn fishing, but this early in the winter it doesn’t typically help as much as could be expected. Perhaps that’s because Wylie is a shad lake, and even though one might expect some big bass to slide up and feed that never really materializes to the extent one might hope. But during warm spells it’s still worth throwing a jig around docks just to see. 

Overall catching larger fish is still pretty tough, although you can catch plenty of smaller ones. Particularly with the lake getting overrun with spotted bass you can catch lots of fish up to about a pound and a half. 

The best places to catch bass right now are points near the channel where fish periodically move up to feed, particularly early and late although there is also usually a mid-day feeding period. When they are sitting out in the channel they are more nomadic and harder to get to bite. 

Jerkbaits, Alabama rigs and single swimbaits are all working pretty well.

While there are a few reports of fish caught up shallow they seem to be extremely few and far between. 

December 16

Lake Wylie is at 97.3% of full pool and the lake is relatively clear.  Morning surface water temperatures are in the low 50s. 

There have been a couple of bags of bass over 15 pounds caught in recent tournaments, but in general tournament angler Reid McGinn of Fort Mill reports that catching larger fish is tough right now. But at the same time you can catch plenty of smaller ones, and particularly with the lake getting overrun with spotted bass you can catch plenty of fish up to about a pound and a half. Last weekend Reid caught 20 spots on back-to-back casts out of one hole with a jerkbait, but none of them were over 1 1/2 pounds. Although he did catch two at a time that would have gone 2 ½!

Even though Wylie is only a couple of hours up the road from lakes like Murray it is much colder, and perhaps because of that all the bait is out in the front half of creek channels and main lake river channels. In 20 plus feet of water there is wall to wall bait. As a result there is basically nothing on the banks.

The best places to catch fish right now are points near the channel where fish periodically move up to feed, particularly early and late although there is also usually a mid-day feeding period. When they are sitting out in the channel they are more nomadic and harder to get to bite. 

Jerkbaits, Alabama rigs and single swimbaits are all working pretty well right now.

While there are a few reports of fish caught up shallow they seem to be extremely few and far between. 

The patterns for catching catfish this fall are still different than in typical years, and Captain Rodger Taylor (803-517-7828) reports that right now the best bite is still coming deep in 40 plus feet of water out on the main channel ledge. When there is wind the fish have been feeding pretty well, and drifting with the wind has been the most productive pattern.

Shad continues to be the best bait. 

December 2

Lake Wylie is at 97.0% of full pool and the lake is relatively clear.  Morning surface

water temperatures are down to 54 degrees. 

The patterns for catching catfish this fall have been different than in typical years, and Captain Rodger Taylor (803-517-7828) reports that right now the best bite is still coming deep in 40 plus feet of water out on the main channel ledge.  When there is wind the fish have been feeding pretty well, and drifting with the wind has been the most productive pattern.

Shad continues to be the best bait. 

More information to follow.

November 19

Lake Wylie is at 97.1% of full pool and the lake is normal color.  Morning surface water temperatures are around 61 degrees. 

There are a few positive signs with the bass fishing on Lake Wylie, and in the most recent CATT tournament at least the winning weight was in the teens. However, tournament angler Reid McGinn of Fort Mill points out that when people are getting excited about 13 pounds that’s tough.  

Another minor sign of improvement is that catching numbers of small fish is getting easier, and tons of smaller spotted bass have been showing up. There has also been some schooling activity, and in a creek an angler caught 20 or 30 spots yesterday – with nothing over 2 pounds.

When temperatures finally drop Reid still expects the Alabama rig bite to come on and he hopes that some better bass will be caught. The best place to look is in 8-15 feet of water around drop-offs, creek channels and pockets where bait is piled up. Water temperatures are already where they need to be to start throwing an A-rig, although the action will get better once they drop into the 50s. 

The catfish bite has dropped off a little this week on Lake Wylie, and Captain Rodger Taylor (803-517-7828) reports that the best fishing has moved from the creeks back out to the main channel. They are getting the best fish in 44-48 feet on the channel ledge.

There are also some fish that can be caught in the creeks but that bite has gotten a lot less consistent. 

Threadfin shad have been the best bait, and overall Rodger rates the bite fair to good.

November 11

Lake Wylie is at 96.9% of full pool and morning surface water temperatures are in the lower 60s. 

The catfish bite remains very good on Lake Wylie, and Captain Rodger Taylor (803-517-7828) reports that up-and-down weather hasn’t really hurt the action. You can still catch good fish drifting in 28-34 feet of water on the main river channel or deeper flats just off the channel, and there is also a really good bite in the creeks where a lot of the bait has migrated. They are anchoring in 15 feet of water or less in the creeks and fishing with cut shad. 

The bass fishing remains pretty tough on Lake Wylie, but tournament angler Reid McGinn of Fort Mill hopes that we can see the light at the end of the tunnel with the  Alabama rig bite approaching.  The fall shad bite with buzzbaits, spinnerbaits and crankbaits has not been as good in the creeks as hoped, but traditionally once temperatures drop enough for an Alabama rig to be effective some of the better bass are caught.  The best place to look is in 8-15 feet of water around drop-offs, creek channels and pockets where bait is piled up.  Water temperatures are already where they need to be to start throwing an A-rig, although the action will get better once they drop into the 50s.

November 4

Lake Wylie is at 96.6% of full pool and morning surface water temperatures have dropped overnight from about 68 to 64-65 degrees. 

The catfish bite is very good on Lake Wylie, and Captain Rodger Taylor (803-517-7828) reports that out on the water today they are still killing the fish even after the hard cold snap. You can still catch good fish drifting in 28-34 feet of water on the main river channel or deeper flats just off the channel, but for right now the bite has migrated to more of a creek bite. They are anchoring in 15 feet of water or less and fishing with cut shad. 

That makes sense because tournament bass angler Reid McGinn of Fort Mill reports that the creeks are full of bait, but unfortunately that doesn’t mean the bass fishing has really turned on. In the Sunday Winter Trail winning weights are still barely in the double digits, even with some of the best fishermen on the lake fishing. Overall the conventional wisdom is that the fish are still in a weird transition period. 

Most of the action is coming in less than 10 feet of water on buzzbaits, spinnerbaits and crankbaits.

October 20

Lake Wylie is at 96.4% of full pool and the lake is still relatively clear although the water is stained brown in places. Morning surface water temperatures are in the lower 70s. 

Even though temperatures are cooling the fall turnover is not especially helpful for bass fishing on Lake Wylie, and tournament angler Reid McGinn of Fort Mill reports that with the turnover underway that’s just the latest reason why the fishing has been tough. 

The best pattern right now is to look for the cleanest water that is not tannic and try to fish docks in the area. Jigs were fishing pretty well, but shakey heads or something similarly finesse-oriented now seem to be working better. 

After a blip where the bite dropped to merely “good”,  Captain Rodger Taylor (803-517-7828) reports that the catfish are feeding very well again and he has found lots of nice 12-18 plus pound fish while drifting in 28-34 feet of water on the main river channel or deeper flats just off the channel. The drift bite has consistently been better (and of course easier) when there is some wind blowing, and when conditions are calm anchoring has been working pretty well. Concentrate on ledges and try to stagger baits between about 6 and 25 feet of water. 

Cut shad has been hard to beat. 

For now the creek bite has not been very good, but any time it should come on and so anglers should continue to drift in the creeks as shallow as about 15 feet.

 

October 7

Lake Wylie is at 96.8% of full pool and the lake is still relatively clear. Morning surface water temperatures are still about 79-80 degrees. 

We are getting to the time of year when the bass fishing on Lake Wylie should be improving, and tournament angler Reid McGinn of Fort Mill says that this weekend’s CATT event should be a good test of whether that is actually happening. With water temperatures still-high there are reasons to be pessimistic, but we will see. After an 11-pound daily average took first place in the 2-day BFL last weekend it wouldn’t take much for there to be some improvement. 

For now cranking 8-15 foot mid-depths leading into creeks and fishing a jig around docks have been the most effective ways to catch fish, and earlier this week Reid didn’t see signs of many bass in the creeks. However, that has to change soon and as fish move all the way back into creeks following bait a buzzbait or topwater plug should be productive. There should also be some fish caught fan-casting a Rattle Trap on flats with bait. 

On the other hand, Captain Rodger Taylor (803-517-7828) reports that the catfish bite is still very good. Catfish are starting to make a move into the creeks to gorge on small shad moving back. They are feeding very aggressively, and the best pattern has been drifting early to mid-morning with fresh gizzard shad. 

Fish sizes are slightly up with many fish in the upper teens and few in the low 20s, and they are also getting a nice mix of blues and channel catfish. 

September 30

Lake Wylie is at 96.7% of full pool and the lake is relatively clear. Morning surface water temperatures have dropped to about 80 degrees.  

It’s been a tough few months of bass fishing on Lake Wylie, and anyone expecting that to change with this past weekend’s two-day BFL on Lake Wylie was sorely disappointed. Tournament angler Reid McGinn of Fort Mill reports that 22 pounds over two days took first place, and anyone who cracked a double-digit bag really achieved something.  There are bass to be caught but right now big ones are few and far between. 

It seems that the winning patterns involved a mix of cranking 8-15 foot mid-depths leading into creeks and fishing a jig around docks, but very soon some new patterns should open up. As water temperatures finally cool bass should move all the way back into creeks following bait, and a buzzbait or topwater plug should be productive. There should also be some fish caught fan-casting a Rattle Trap on flats with bait. 

Luckily something is hot, however, and Captain Rodger Taylor (803-517-7828) reports that the catfish bite is still very good. Catfish are starting to make a move into the creeks to gorge on small shad. They are feeding very aggressively, and the best pattern has been drifting early to mid-morning with fresh gizzard shad. 

Fish sizes are slightly up with many fish in the upper teens and few in the low 20s, and they are also getting a nice mix of blues and channel catfish.

September 17

Lake Wylie is at 96.9% of full pool and water temperatures have dropped to about 81-83 degrees. 

The bass fishing is still very tough on Lake Wylie, and tournament angler Reid McGinn of Fort Mill reports that in the big 2-day Thursday Night Tournament Trail Championship only three boats were able to average ten pounds each day. And this was over an eight-hour stretch each night. 

It still seems that you have to be willing to do a little bit of everything to put together a bunch of bites, varying from fishing to offshore with finesse-oriented soft plastics to working the shallows with Pop-Rs, frogs, worms or jigs. 

Hope is on the horizon, however, and when water temperatures drop another five degrees into the mid-70s the shad should start to migrate into the creeks and the bass will follow them. The topwater activity should pick up and there should be a lot more fish caught on buzzbaits. 

Luckily something is biting, however, and Captain Rodger Taylor (803-517-7828) reports that the catfish bite is still really good. Fish remain scattered and on the move, and drifting (either aided by the wind or controlled by the trolling motor) is generally the best way to target them. Right now Rodger is really only anchoring at night and in the early morning, although that window will expand as the water cools.  

The best areas to fish are still main channel points in 15-25 feet of water and mid-lake flats in the 15-20 foot range. 

Cut gizzard shad is working very well, but some reports indicate chicken is just as effective.

September 2

Lake Wylie is at 96.9% of full pool and water temperatures are still in the mid-80s. 

The good news is that the catfish bite on Lake Wylie is very good, with Captain Rodger Taylor (803-517-7828) reporting that they are catching lots of smaller blues in the 6-12 pound range as well as the occasional larger fish in the 20-30 pound range. The best areas to fish are main channel points in 15-25 feet of water and mid-lake flats in the 15-20 foot range. Both drifting and anchoring will work, with the choice of tactic dependent on both time of day and whether the wind is manageable. Cut shad is working the best. 

The bad news is that the bass fishing is brutally tough on Lake Wylie, and in the last two Thursday night events the winning weights were 6.61 pounds and 11.17 pounds. The big fish were 2.33 and 3.86, respectively. 

There’s no consensus on why the fishing is so bad, but tournament angler Reid McGinn of Fort Mill reports that there is general agreement that you can’t really put together a limit fishing justshallow or just deep. You have to do both to scratch anything together.

Offshore you can fish soft plastics and hope for bites, and in the shallows you can try to catch fish with Pop-Rs, frogs, worms or jigs. 

The low weights are not the result of a lack of anglers fishing the tournaments, and for now they continue to get plenty of boats despite the conditions.