Lake Wylie is at 97.3% of full pool.

Catfish: Good to very good. Captain Rodger Taylor (803-517-7828) reports that the catfish bite for both numbers of fish and big fish remains strong. In a recent tournament three fish weighing more than 100 pounds won the event, and a 47-pound fish was brought to the scales. The biggest fish have been caught by anchoring on vertical ledges in the main body of water, but numbers of fish have been caught fishing the deeper flats at the mouths of major creeks. Cut shad remains a productive bait. The catch rate remains approximately 80% blues to 20% channels/ other catfish species. As water temperatures warm the shallow pattern should get better and better and fish will be found more frequently up in 6-8 feet of water feeding.

Largemouth Bass: Fair to good.  FLW Professional and Guide Matt Arey (704-484-7715) reports that warm weather is really improving the bass fishing on Lake Wylie, and fish are just starting to go on a feeding frenzy as can be seen from the number of quality bags in recent tournaments. Matt believes there are basically two categories of fish right now, and the first group of fish is following the bait schools and gorging on threadfin shad which they have pushed into the backs of spawning pockets. These fish will be found in major creeks like Beaverdam Creek, Mills Creek, the Allisons, etc. Fish will be more active early and on cloudy days as the most feeding will occur in low light conditions, and they can be in one area one day and gone the next. Before long these fish will spread out and disperse as they get ready to spawn, but while they are grouped up anglers should “match the hatch” with small single swimbaits, grubs, four-blade spinnerbaits, jerkbaits, small grubs, and other baits in the 3” range. The second broad category of fish is feeding on crawfish and bream, and these fish are more likely to be related to cover like docks and riprap banks. These fish can be caught on jigs and crankbaits, and Matt likes to fish #5 or #6 Shad Raps or Speed Traps in crawfish patterns to catch them. While the two groups of fish may be almost distinct populations of bass, Matt believes that the second category of fish may be a little further along and closer to spawning than the bass chasing bait. He expects spawning activity to begin in the next 8-12 days.

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DHEC Fish Advisories: Due to PCB advisories visit http://www.scdhec.gov/environment/water/fish/Advisories/hartwell.htm before consuming any Lake Wylie fish.