Captain Sam Jones (864-280-9056) reports that Lake Jocassee trout are surprisingly deep for this late in the year, and on recent trips he has been catching fish in 100+ (110, 115) feet of water.  Surface water temperatures are still in the 72 degree range and Jocassee trout fishermen are looking for 65, so they are having to fish very deep.  Fish should start to come up anytime now but the temperatures will have to drop – a couple of weeks ago they caught some as shallow as 85 feet, but everything since has been deeper.  Sam notes that yesterday he dropped a water sensor down and discovered that no thermocline has developed above the 110-115 foot range.

Right now Sam is concentrating his efforts on the dam and rock quarry areas out in the big water, and he is having the most success trolling large minnows on downriggers.  Every now and then they will pick up a fish on a spoon, but right now the catch ratio is about 4:1 in favor of minnows over spoons.  In addition to some nice rainbow trout they are also picking up some spotted and even smallmouth bass in the super deep water.

Lake Jocassee water levels are at 95.1% of full pool.

DHEC Fish Advisory – Only one meal per week of largemouth or spotted bass.