February 6
Lake Murray water levels are up to 354.23 (full pool is 360.00) and the whole lake is dirtier than usual, ranging from muddy up the lake and in the backs to stained down the lake. Morning surface water temperatures are about 48.
Another week, another massive win for Brad Rutherford and Kevin Malone, who bested the field to get a huge payday Saturday in the CBC on Lake Murray. With the BFL coming up Brad has one more Murray tournament before he’s off the lake until April, so he promises to share more next week, but once again square-billed crankbaits were the key. Specifically he caught them on the Berkley Square Bull in ghost red, and he thinks the fish are really on a crawfish bite right now. Perhaps that’s why he can’t get bit on an A-rig despite throwing it. They also caught some fish on a green pumpkin Powerbait Jig
They fished a different part of the lake Saturday but again concentrated on rocky points in less than 8 feet of water. That meant LiveScope didn’t play, and they only caught a couple of small fish that didn’t weigh on it.
Overall it was a tough day, and they only had 8-10 bites. Calm conditions and bluebird clear skies certainly didn’t help. However, the quality of Lake Murray bass is still very apparent and if they could have culled a 3 ½ pound fish with another big their weight would have been right back up around 30 pounds.
Good luck to Brad in the BFL next week and thank you for sharing!
February 2
Lake Murray water levels are up to 353.57 (full pool is 360.00) and the upper end of the lake is muddy and filled with trash while the lake gradually improves as you go towards the dam. Surface water temperatures are still in the upper 40s and lower 50s.
While there may still be some fish up there, Captain Brad Taylor with Taylor Outdoors (803-331-1354) reports that the rivers are so muddy and full of trash as to be basically unfishable – and dangerous for navigation. As a result most of the better action has been coming further down the lake, but even in areas like Buffalo Creek – where a lot of keepers have been found – you are constantly having to clean off your lines.
Keep your eyes open for loons and gulls in the front section of creeks or even further back, and pull free-lines and planer boards to target feeding fish.
Much like the striper the crappie patterns are being driven by water conditions and not seasonal factors right now, and as soon as water conditions straighten out Brad expects a wide-open bite tight-lining in the front of creeks up the rivers. There are fish in those areas now, but they are incredibly scattered.
The best pattern for right now is a winter pattern, fishing deep docks on steep banks that are holding a few fish. Jigs or minnows can both work.
With these conditions Captain William Attaway with Slick Willie’s Guide Service (803-924-0857) is continuing to stay away from Lake Murray for catfish.
Be sure to enter this week’s Pick ‘Em Contest to win up to a $500 gift card for the Angler’s Headquarters store!
January 30
Lake Murray water levels are up to 353.33 (full pool is 360.00) and the upper lake is basically muddy, the mid-lake is heavily stained, and lower lake is the clearest section. Morning surface water temperatures are in the upper 40s to low 50s.
With the big-money CBC coming up this weekend Lake Murray’s premier bass fishermen are understandably going to keep their cards close to their vest this week. But we were able to catch up with veteran tournament angler Chris Epting of Chapin, who with partner Johnny Mayer brought an incredible 29.63 pounds to the scales in this weekend’s CATT.
The weight was a shock after only a fair practice on Friday, and then when they didn’t catch a fish at their first three spots Saturday they weren’t expecting a huge day. On the fourth spot they caught four fish in the 2.5 to 3 pound range, but on the fifth spot they caught the 8.32 pound big fish. From then on they jumped from spot to spot and continued to pick off sporadic big fish, until they basically stopped fishing at 12:30 and just rode and graphed. The only place they spent long was where they caught the multiple small fish.
I didn’t try to pin Chris down about what type of spots he was catching fish in, but he said there’s no magic depth right now. He’s catching them both shallow and deep, but he thinks the low water is simplifying the patterns and areas where they can hold. There’s also not one magic bait right now, and they are catching fish on a “multitude” of baits including worms, spinnerbaits and crankbaits.
About the only thing that is fixed is the area of the lake he’s fishing in. They are only having success in the mid-lake area, and when they’ve tried to replicate what they are doing in the lower lake water conditions aren’t right. And the upper lake is too muddy.
We will learn more about patterns from Lake Murray bass fishermen once the CBC is in the rearview mirror, but with the weights Lake Murray has been consistently been producing for some time now – and particularly the last two weeks – Chris won’t be shocked if it takes another bag in the upper 20s to win. That’s particularly true if the water doesn’t come up too fast this week.
January 26
Lake Murray water levels have jumped further to 352.44 (full pool is 360.00) and another wall of mud is coming down the lake. Morning surface water temperatures are in the low 50s.
Unfortunately we are back to the same report it’s been for some time now, and Captain Brad Taylor (803-331-1354) reports that with a total washout yesterday (between local rain that washed mud from the banks, and rain further up the watershed that will come into the lake as muddy water) the lake is about to get even muddier. There have been a lot of fish from Buffalo Creek to Dreher Island, but Brad expects this whole new round of mud to push the fish down into areas like Hollow Creek and maybe even the main lower basin. When that happens the pattern is still free lines and double rigs, but the bite usually gets trickier in the deep water down the lake. Basically it’s just not as good, and the fact they feed on herring more doesn’t help.
Some fish may also be caught on down-lines.
As with the striper, the places that had been holding crappie are now almost completely blown out and – for example – the docks that had fish in Rocky Creek just aren’t worth fishing right now. The best reports have come from some random deep brush in bays on the Crystal Lake side, where you can try to beat out a fish or two.
However, as soon as we get away from this fast muddy current the fishing is about to get good. Brad says that tight-lining in the mouths of rivers and creeks up the lake is about to turn on.
While some people probably thought the muddy conditions were about to settle out, Captain William Attaway with Slick Willie’s Guide Service (803-924-0857) is nobody’s fool. He decdided to leave the catfish alone until the muddy conditions really settled out and the fish grouped up again. Now that decision is looking vindicated, and it should be some time before the fishing is up to par again.
January 25
Lake Murray water levels have shot up to 351.85 (full pool is 360.00) and the lake is stained to muddy. Morning surface water temperatures are around 50 degrees.
The 29.42 pound bag weighed this weekend by Pure Fishing’s Brad Rutherford and Kevin Malone in The Fishers of Men is the biggest bag so far this young year, and but it’s also hard to bet against it being the biggest bag weighed all spring. Which almost certainly means all year. No one we have talked to can remember a bigger bag in the last decade.
Luckily Brad was willing to offer some information about how he caught the fish, starting with location. They fished the mid- to lower lake, from Dreher Island down, concentrating on the main lake but also going into the mouths of some creeks. Cover didn’t seem to matter but they targeted wind-blown banks in less than 7 or 8 feet of water. At that depth LiveScope doesn’t do much so they just put the trolling motor down and fished, and they didn’t care whether an area dropped off or was flat. Again, wind was critical.
Everything they caught came on a Berkely Frittside crankbait, and all the red colors worked about the same.
January 20
Lake Murray water levels are at 350.25 (full pool is 360.00) and the lake is more stained than usual but visibility varies. Morning surface water temperatures are in the low 50s.
The rain has slowed and Dominion is not pulling Lake Murray as hard as it was a week or so ago, and as a result the rivers are clearing while the muddiest water seems to be hung up between about Dreher Island and Buffalo Creek.
Yesterday Captain Brad Taylor (803-331-1354) reports that he saw same schooling activity right in front of Riverwinds Landing, and there has also been good striped bass fishing pulling free-lines up both rivers in the channel. However, there has also been some good schooling activity right at the Elbow where fish continue to use the mud line as cover to ambush bait. Double rigs are working well as is the Willow Vibe.
Buffalo Creek has also been particularly good, with strong limits coming out of there. Fish have likely tucked into Buffalo to escape the mud and current then stayed there.
Finally, while we are used to thinking about herring as live bait for striper, at this time of year large shiners are often just as good – and much heartier. This week Andy with Lake Murray Hardware caught a nice limit pulling planer boards and shiners in Hollow Creek.
The best crappie fishing still seems to be in the upper half of the lake, and Captain Brad reports that he has seen some extremely good limits caught this week. The best action fishing seems to have come flipping deeper docks in Rocky Creek with jigs.
There has also been some good crappie action in the creeks just below Buffalo Creek on both sides of the channel (old Hamms and Shirey Branch). Like the striper, crappie have tucked into both of these creeks to escape the mud and current. In both areas the fish have been 8-12 feet down over about 28 feet of water, and sometimes higher in the mornings. Jigs and minnows are both working.
The catfish are still extremely scattered, and while you can probably pick up a few fish drifting the river channel Captain William Attaway (803-924-0857) is still giving them a break until conditions stabilize.
Bass report to follow.
January 13
Lake Murray water levels are back down to 350.27 (full pool is 360.00) and the lake is still stained but clearing. Morning surface water temperatures are in the low 50s.
The rain last night is a small set-back, but Captain Brad Taylor (803-331-1354) reports that even though you can still find muddy water all the way down to the Gap the current has slowed down and the water is starting to clear up the rivers. As a result yesterday he saw striped bass schooling at Riverwinds Landing under the birds. Double rigs with bucktails and ice flies will work, and you can also fish free-lines.
Besides looking for schooling fish up the rivers or elsewhere, another good pattern is to fish right at the edge of mud lines at the mouths of creeks. Hollow Creek has been particularly good. Striper often feed the best a boat length or two on the clear side of the mud line and use the dirty water as cover to ambush prey.
Lake Murray continues to produce good bass, and tournament angler Andy Wicker of Pomaria reports that in the Next Level Bass Anglers club tournament this weekend there were three bags over twenty pounds including a 22-pound bag caught by Darrell Shull. Andy’s father Steve Wicker had one of these sacks, but he reports that the fishing wasn’t easy and he only caught 6 or 7 fish all day.
Fish continue to be scattered between shallow and deep, and Steve caught two or three fish on a shallow-running crankbait fished around rock, one or two on jigging spoons around bait in 30 feet, and one on a jig fished around brush.
There are also some bass feeding on bait under birds, particularly in the middle section of the lake.
As the lake gets more stable the crappie fishing is picking up, and Brad reports that some limits are being caught around deeper docks in creeks like Rocky Creek. Docks in 18-20 feet have been good. Fish are tucking out of the current there and wintering on the steep banks.
Fish are also starting to get out in the main channels again, and with a couple of warm days Brad expects tight-lining to get good in the main rivers. You can already catch some fish this way around Black’s Bridge. Minnows continue to work well.
Even as the water starts to clear it’s not helping the catfish bite, and Captain William Attaway (803-924-0857) reports that the muddy conditions over the last few weeks got the fish so scattered that it’s been really tough to find concentrations. This past week he marked a few fish, sat for hours, but did not get any bites. Until conditions stabilize and fish group up better again he is giving Murray catfish a break!
January 5
Lake Murray water levels have at least temporarily shot back up to 350.85 (full pool is 360.00) after yesterday’s rain and there is extremely muddy water coming down the rivers. Morning surface water temperatures are in the low 50s.
Two days ago the striped bass fishing was wide open around Black’s Bridge, and Captain Brad Taylor (803-331-1354) reports that in just a few hours they caught several limits pulling free-lines. The birds were working it hard, and you just as easily could have caught them casting double rigs. However, in just a couple of hours of intense local rain yesterday morning the river got as muddy as Brad has seen it in the last year (because of the exposed banks) and it is even muddier this morning. That will certainly change the bite for at least a few days.
The combination of muddy water and intense current in front of Riverwinds Landing this morning will push the fish down the lake towards Rocky Creek or Buffalo Creek, and they will tuck in out of the current. However, don’t be scared of the mud line as they will often feed the best a boat length or two on the clear side of it and use the dirty water as cover to ambush prey.
The biggest downside to all these changing conditions, besides moving the fish around a lot, is that they frequently feed in cycles and there may only be two or three good days each week.
There are fish in lower lake areas like Ballentine but numbers are generally lower.
Up-and-down water temperatures have not been favorable for the bass fishing, and tournament angler Andy Wicker of Pomaria reports that the action has been really hit-or-miss lately. Even when he is finding fish they often have lockjaw. A warming trend in late February or March is often favorable, but on Murray in early January it’s just destabilizing.
The best action for fish feeding around bait seems to be in the middle section of the lake, and here you can find more bass feeding around birds diving on bait. At times they are catching more bass than striper under the birds, and there has also been a good jigging spoon bite in 20-30 feet in that area. Alabama rigs can also be very good.
The shallow action has been the most unpredictable, and some days fish will hit a crankbait while other days they will not. An upside for shallow fishing is that there is more dirty water all over the lake, but there is also less good shallow cover with levels way down.
Even more than the striper Brad reports that the crappie are trying to stay out of the current, and that means that the river section is not holding many fish right now. Generally fish have tucked into creek mouths, and some areas like Adam’s Camp Bridge are holding a lot of fish. During cold spells the fish hold tighter to the bottom, but then when it warms they suspend out more. Tight-lining minnows and jigs has been a good technique.
Up-and-down water temperatures seem to have overall hurt the bite, and even when you mark schools they are frequently extremely difficult to convince to eat.
Muddy water is also affecting the catfish, and Captain William Attaway (803-924-0857) reports it is scattering the fish out and making them a little harder to catch. Instead of drifting he is trying to anchor now, hoping it gives the fish something to hone in on. Additionally, with all the incoming water he is targeting the mouths of creeks where food is being flushed into the lake.
Gut gizzard shad and white perch are the best baits for big fish, while herring will generate better numbers.
William notes that there is a strong population of monster blues in the lake, and a 71-pound fish was caught recently!
December 22
Lake Murray water levels are down to 350.66 (full pool is 360.00) and they are pulling water so fast that the rivers are clear again. With low water levels local rain beating on the banks will quickly stain or muddy the water in the immediate area, however. Morning surface water temperatures are in the low to mid-50s.
It’s a really good striped bass bite right now on Lake Murray, and Captain Brad Taylor (803-331-1354) reports that within a couple of miles of Riverwinds Landing there has been very good schooling the last couple of days. For right now the Big Saluda is fishing better than the Little.
While plenty of fish are being caught casting double rigs, Brad has been pulling live bait with heavy lead to get the herring down 18-20 feet. The baits that he leaves within a few feet of the surface are not getting touched.
There’s little rhyme or reason to where the fish come up right now, and yesterday he fished a school on one side of the river, which then crossed over the channel and went down the other side. A good depth range has been 30 feet but they have also been much shallower at times, and with no sun all the water is the same temperature so fish can come up anywhere.
Right now the loons, cormorants, striper and gulls are all working together to corral the bait.
The bass fishing has been all over the place recently, but the consistent thing has been that some really good fish are being caught. To underscore the point, veteran tournament angler Chris Epting of Chapin had 27 pounds Saturday. While Chris is always a hammer, it’s also a testament to the quality of the fishery right now.
Tournament angler Andy Wicker of Pomaria reports that bass are being caught both shallow around rock on crankbaits and deep around bait in 25 plus feet of water on jigging spoons. This cold front may push more fish deep, but for now there has been a really solid bite both places. Offshore brush has also produced with a jig.
Like the old winter striper fishing mantra, the birds will often guide you to the fish. This fish was caught on an idiot-proof pattern when the author saw five herons working a short stretch of bank as well as two loons diving!
It's still a decent crappie bite, although Brad advises that things are about to change with the very cold weather coming in and he expects fish to move deeper and closer to the bottom.
As of yesterday he is still fishing on the upper end of the lake around brush in the 12-15 foot range, with crappie sometimes on the bottom and sometimes suspended from 4-10 feet deep. Creeks and coves are fishing better than the main rivers. Again, in the coming days expect fish to suspend less and move to the deeper end of this range and beyond. Jigs are still heavily out-fishing minnows but that could also change.
Finally, remember that as long as this strong current continues it’s important to get out of it to catch crappie.
The catfish are still in the same areas where they have been, but Captain William Attaway (803-924-0857) reports that even though cold weather often groups up the fish – as he likes – muddy water will have the opposite effect and scatter them out. Throw in some extreme (for Murray) current in the upper lake and it’s hard to know which effect will be the strongest.
Drifting in the river channels with cut gizzard shad, white perch, and bream should be the best pattern, although at times the fish will get up on the flats. You can also get a ton of bites, including big fish, on cut herring, but more small ones will also bother you.
December 16
Lake Murray water levels are slightly up to 350.97 (full pool is 360.00) as there has been a ton of rain in the last 24 hours. Morning surface water temperatures range from the mid- to upper 50s.
The combination of a significant precipitation event and Dominion pulling a ton of water through the lake means that water conditions are changing quickly on Lake Murray, but Captain Brad Taylor (803-331-1354) reports that there are a few general principles to remember with striped bass fishing. First, at this time of year fish like to be up the rivers, and last weekend saw some big catches up the Little Saluda. In addition to a ton of limits there was a 16-pound fish and an 18-pounder caught. Second, while fish do avoid the muddy water they aren’t scared to get near the mud line. In fact, they will use it like cover to ambush prey. Third, even when the main lake gets muddy because of a ton of freshwater coming down the rivers, fish can usually still tuck into the creeks and avoid the worst of it.
General patterns remain about the same, and casting double rigs in areas where the birds are working is very productive. It’s also a good time to be pulling free-lines and planer boards. With such swift current in the main channel fish are generally getting off to the sides of the channel, and creeks like Big Hollow as well as some of the creeks on the lower end are also productive.
It's been a decent crappie bite, although Brad advises that it’s even more important to get out of the strong current to catch crappie than striper. He is fishing on the upper end of the lake around brush in the 12-15 foot range, and they are finding fish sometimes on the bottom and sometimes suspended from 4-10 feet deep. Creeks and coves are fishing better than the main rivers.
At times fish can be a little funny about biting right now, and jigs are heavily out-fishing minnows.
December 15
Lake Murray water levels are down to 350.88 (full pool is 360.00) and there is a lot of muddy water moving down the lake. Morning surface water temperatures range from the mid- to upper 50s.
It’s a wide-open striped bass bite on Lake Murray, and Captain Ron Davis, Jr. reports that fish have moved down the lake and are now schooling at the Elbow. They can also be found in Rocky Creek, Buffalo Creek and Plantation Point Cove. They are trying to get below the mudline, but even though the surface is clear where the fish are feeding because Dominion is pulling so much water there is a mudline 15-20 feet down. As a result the shad are holding at 10-15 feet, and the striper are about 15 feet down.
Due to these conditions you have to fish shallower, and the fish don’t go down to the bottom between feeding periods. The best bait has been the double rig with a bucktail and an ice fly and they are killing it.
As would be expected there are several different patterns for bass right now, and veteran tournament angler Stan Gunter of Saluda reports that one group of fish is being caught very shallow on crankbaits around rock. Other fish are in clear water so shallow you can seem them, and one buddy of Stan’s has been sight-casting to fish against the bank with a wacky-rigged Senko.
But overall the deep bite seems to be a little more consistent, and in 15-18 feet they are catching fish around brush and rock. Perhaps this could be because deep fish are less affected by weather, but dropping water levels could also be making shallow fish finicky.
Underscoring that point, tournament angler Andy Wicker of Pomaria reports that the shallow crankbait bite has been horribly inconsistent. Over the weekend a tournament was won with 19.5 pounds shallow cranking, but Thursday pre-fishing the same team could not get a bite that way.
Note that there has also been some sporadic schooling in the creeks.
Crappie and catfish reports to follow.
December 1
Lake Murray water levels are down to 352.57 (full pool is 360.00) and clarity is down. It’s already stained but depending on rain in the Upstate the upper lake may get dirty. Morning surface water temperatures range from the high 50s to about 60.
It’s been a really good striped bass bite on Lake Murray, and Captain Brad Taylor (803-331-1354) reports that up the rivers fish have been pushing bait up on the banks and they have been slaying them. Free-lines and planer boards have both been working very well, but you could also catch the fish casting anything just under the surface. They have been in such shallow water that if you were throwing a bucktail it could only be about ¼ ounce.
As far as finding the fish there are now lots of birds, and you just need to keep your eyes open. When the birds are sitting it’s a good bet the fish aren’t active, but if they are flying bait is up.
While there are a ton of fish up the rivers, that doesn’t mean you can’t catch them in other places. Crystal Lake, Beard’s Creek, and even the extreme lower lake always holds a wad of fish in the winter, but they are usually trickier to find. Part of this is because numbers are lower, but also because they are more likely to be roaming and feeding deep.
Finally, Brad notes not to expect a wide-open bite every-day in the winter. This time of year it’s not uncommon for them to bite really well one day and then slower the next.
The bass fishing has been decent recently on Murray, and tournament angler Andy Wicker of Pomaria reports that in the Black Friday tournament they took third place with 15 pounds while there was a 20- and an 18-pound bag ahead of them. It seemed that anglers were doing a little bit of everything, and they caught a couple of fish shallow on rock with a crankbait, several offshore on brush in 10-15 feet with a jig, and even found some fish schooling.
In general the shallow crankbait bite has been the best thing going recently, and Steve Wicker and Maurice Barnette took first a week earlier with just under 18 pounds off rocky points. However, it seems that you have to have some wind for that pattern to produce.
In the last week or so the crappie fishing on Lake Murray has gotten really good, and Captain Brad reports that they seem to be getting off some of their fall stuff and stacking up on shallow brush. On brush in 10-12 feet at the mouths of creeks off the main river channel he has whacked them recently. Even though lake levels are down and it is usually deeper, they still seem to be relating to the same cover as normal at this time of year. Both jigs and minnows are working.
There are still some fish on bridges and docks, and when there is high pressure systems fish may be more likely to relate to that type of cover.
It continues to be a decent bite for catfish on Murray, but Captain William Attaway (803-924-0857) reports that for it to get really good water temperatures will have to drop a little more. For now he is still finding big blues and channels on the flats as well as down in the river channel up the lake, and it needs to get colder for them to really group up and concentrate in the channel. Drifting with cut gizzard shad, white perch, and bream is still the best pattern – with the latter two the toughest. You can get a ton of bites, including big fish, on cut herring, but smaller fish will drive you crazy.
In the middle and lower lake the best bet is still to anchor in 20-30 feet of water on humps and secondary points with cut herring for channel catfish.
November 17
Lake Murray water levels are down to 353.65 (full pool is 360.00) and clarity is a little stained. Morning surface water temperatures are down to about 62-64 degrees.
Every year right before Thanksgiving bait begins to wad up in the rivers, and Captain Brad Taylor (803-331-1354) reports that this year is no exception. The striped bass are already starting to school just a little, and he expects that in the next few days it will get good casting double rigs with flukes and ice flies. Gulls and loons are just starting to show up, but numbers are low right now.
For now he is still mainly pulling free-lines and planer boards over the river channel, and the depth where the fish sit on a particular day is pretty random. Brad points out that lighter line will trigger more bites this time of year.
While there are a ton of fish up the rivers, that doesn’t mean you can’t catch them in other places. Crystal Lake, Beard’s Creek, and even the extreme lower lake always holds a wad of fish in the winter, but they are usually trickier to find. Part of this is because numbers are lower, but also because they are more likely to be roaming and feeding deep.
After a tough month or so of tough bass fishing starting around October, tournament angler Andy Wicker of Pomaria reports that it’s pretty clear that the action has picked up. The last big tournament had 22 pounds for the win, a couple of other bags in the high teens and a bunch of weights over 15 pounds. The fish are finally feeding again!
So far shallow patterns have been the most productive, and in the mid-lake section people are throwing a crankbait or Alabama rigs around rocky points in 8 feet of water or less. As temperatures drop there is also starting to be some better action in 20-35 feet with a spoon in the creeks. These fish are related to bait schools in or off the channels and not to any particular cover or structure.
It's still warm enough that you can get away with throwing something like a buzzbait on the surface but that shouldn’t last too much longer.
There’s still not too much change with the crappie, as even though surface temperatures have dropped temperatures in deeper water have not moved enough to really affect the fish. The biggest change is that Captain Brad reports that some people are starting to troll for fish up the rivers and picking up some good ones that way.
Docks, bridges and brush in the 12-20 foot range are still the best place to look, and for right now fish are heavily related to the channels. Minnows and jigs will both work.
It continues to be a good bite for catfish on Murray, and Captain William Attaway (803-924-0857) is disappointed that he won’t be able to fish for blues and big channels up towards the rivers this weekend as he will be guiding on Santee. However, based on what he has seen this week he expects the colder weather to continue to push fish deeper, and instead of sitting on the flats beside the river channel they will probably spend more time in the actual channel. He has caught them as deep as 70 feet. Drifting with cut gizzard shad, white perch, and bream is still the best pattern – with the latter two the toughest. You can get a ton of bites, including big fish, on cut herring, but smaller fish will drive you crazy.
As we move towards the winter flatheads are more likely to eat cut bait as they try to fatten up for winter, but live bait fished around brush is still the best. During the day they will stay deeper and you need to put the baits right on their noses to get them to eat, while at night they will swim shallower and search more.
In the middle and lower lake the best bet is still to anchor in 20-30 feet of water on humps and secondary points with cut herring for channel catfish.
November 10
Lake Murray water levels are down to 354.00 (full pool is 360.00) and clarity is normal. Dissolved oxygen content is finally about the same at the surface and on the bottom. Morning surface water temperatures are still about 65-67 degrees but starting to drop.
The best news on Lake Murray this week is that the bass fishing has picked up substantially, and tournament angler Andy Wicker of Pomaria reports that in recent CATT and TBF tournaments there have again been bags approaching 20 pounds and it’s taken about 15 to get paid.
Most of the better patterns have been shallow, and since the water is still warm you can literally go down the bank and throw a Whopper Plopper and a buzzbait all day. A lot of fish are visible cruising the banks.
You can also work a crankbait around rock and boat ramps, and there are still plenty of fish being caught on docks with jigs and shakey heads. However, with dropping water levels they seem to be holding on a little deeper docks in at least 4-5 feet of water.
As it gets colder then more fish will group up around deeper brush and rock, but down the lake there is still a decent offshore bite on a drop shot around grass.
Patterns are on the verge of changing with the weather moving in this morning, but Captain Brad Taylor (803-331-1354) reports that as of yesterday afternoon striped bass are still in a pretty stable fall pattern. In the river and creek channels they are getting good catches pulling unweighted free lines over the main channel. His boat is mainly fishing up the Big Saluda and catching 10-20 keepers each morning.
In the creeks crisscrossing the belly of the ditches in about 30 feet of water has been the best bet. Bait relates to the channel, and the suspended fish are around bait and will come up to take a free-lines. Often you will see swirls in areas with fish.
With water temperatures still pretty warm the late fall schooling pattern has not kicked in yet, but you can still find some fish schooling intermittently. Like clockwork that always seems to really get going around the week before Thanksgiving, and Brad expects that this year will be no exception.
With water temperatures essentially in a holding pattern the crappie also haven’t moved much, and Captain Brad reports that up the rivers where the best concentrations can be found they are still in the 15-20 foot range. Docks and bridges are still the best place to look for them, but the fishing is still below average. Water temperatures need to drop a few degrees to activate a better bite – and they will!
In the lower lake most of the fish are pretty suspended right now, and again it will take a cold snap to put them tighter to cover.
The good catfish bite continues, and Captain William Attaway (803-924-0857) reports that while he is still marking fish everywhere including up the rivers the best bite continues to be further down the lake between Dreher Island and where the rivers split off. Drifting the 50-foot range continues to produce big blues in the 20-30 pound range as well as large channels in the 8-10 pound range. He is still fishing with cut gizzard shad, white perch, and bream – with the latter two the toughest. You can get a ton of bites, including big fish, on cut herring, but smaller fish will drive you crazy.
As we move towards the winter flatheads are more likely to eat cut bait as they try to fatten up for winter, but live bait fished around brush is still the best. During the day they will stay deeper and you need to put the baits right on their noses to get them to eat, while at night they will swim shallower and search more.
In the middle and lower lake the best bet is still to anchor in 20-30 feet of water on humps and secondary points with cut herring for channel catfish.
Overall William expects this cold weather that is coming to really push the fish, and particularly the blues up the lake, into a fall feeding binge!
November 3
Lake Murray water levels are down to 354.52 (full pool is 360.00) and clarity is normal. The extreme lower lake finally appears to have turned over. Morning surface water temperatures are about 65-67 degrees.
The striped bass have moved into a pretty traditional fall pattern, and Captain Brad Taylor (803-331-1354) reports that in the river and creek channels they are getting good catches pulling unweighted free lines over the main channel. His boat is mainly fishing up the Big Saluda and catching 10-20 keepers each morning.
In the creeks crisscrossing the belly of the ditches in about 30 feet of water has been the best bet. Bait relates to the channel, and the suspended fish are around bait and will come up to take a free-lines. Often you will see swirls in areas with fish.
With water temperatures still pretty warm the late fall schooling pattern has not kicked in yet, but you can still find some fish schooling intermittently.
There’s still not much good news with the bass on Lake Murray, and tournament angler Andy Wicker of Pomaria reports that 80-degree weather is doing nothing to hasten the end of the turnover blues. It is turning into a very, very extended slow period for bass fishing.
The shallow bass fishing is a little less affected than the deeper fishing, but nothing is good right now. While there are some bass grouped up around docks, and some fish can be seen cruising the banks, dropping water levels are also making shallow fish skittish.
Once the turnover wraps up Andy reports that it will be possible to catch fish off points, humps and cane piles. However, they are more likely to come on subsurface baits like jerkbaits or underspins. A drop shot has also fished pretty well this year.
Like Andy, veteran tournament angler Stan Gunter of Saluda is only seeing tough conditions on Lake Murray. Both anglers are hearing reports of good fishermen going and not getting a single bite.
With water temperatures essentially in a holding pattern the crappie haven’t moved much, and Captain Brad reports that up the rivers where the best concentrations can be found they are still in the 15-20 foot range. Docks and bridges are still the best place to look for them, and the fishing has not been very good the last few days. Water temperatures need to drop a few degrees to activate a better bite.
In the lower lake most of the fish are pretty suspended right now, and again it will take a cold snap to put them tighter to cover.
It looked like his run of strong catfish action was going to end recently, and Captain William Attaway (803-924-0857) marked plenty of fish in the 20-35 foot range in the rivers but could not get them to bite this past weekend. However, he moved down the lake and started drifting the 50-foot range and managed to get a mess of medium-sized channels as well as two blues and a flathead all over 20 pounds. Everything came on cut gizzard shad and white perch.
As we move towards the winter flatheads are more likely to eat cut bait as they try to fatten up for winter, but live bait fished around brush is still the best. During the day they will stay deeper and you need to put the baits right on their noses to get them to eat, while at night they will swim shallower and search more.
In the middle and lower lake the best bet is still to anchor in 20-30 feet of water on humps and secondary points with cut herring for channel catfish.
October 26
Lake Murray water levels are at 355.12 (full pool is 360.00) and clarity is normal after very little rain. Morning surface water temperatures are still about 68 degrees by the dam and around 66 on the upper end.
It’s been a good striped bass bite on Lake Murray, and Captain Brad Taylor (803-331-1354) reports that on the upper end in the Big Saluda anglers are catching a ton of keeper-sized fish around Riverwinds Landing. They are pretty much all coming on free-lines, and for the fish to really start schooling in that area temperatures will have to drop.
There are also fish in all the other creeks and still a notable number in Hollow Creek. The best creek pattern seems to be crisscrossing the belly of the ditches in about 30 feet of water. Bait relates to the channel, and the suspended fish are around bait and will come up to take a free-lines. Often you will see swirls in areas with fish.
There are striper schooling intermittently in all the creeks and even some by the dam on the Lexington side.
More crappie information to follow from Captain Brad, but the Black’s Bridge area has still been particularly good. Work the pilings carefully to find fish.
Overall fish are related to the channel in the 15-20 foot range, regardless of what structure you are fishing – from docks to bridges to brush.
It’s still a really tough bass bite on Lake Murray, and tournament angler Andy Wicker of Pomaria reports that weights were down in the World Bass Tournament this weekend. The fall turnover and not dropping water levels is the culprit, and Andy thinks that the fact that temperatures have risen again is prolonging the turnover. It’s warmer now that when he fished the BFL regional two plus weeks ago and so the water just can’t settle out!
While all the fishing is affected, right now the shallow bass fishing is less affected than the offshore bite. As proof of that, veteran tournament angler Stan Gunter of Saluda reports that the tournament this past weekend was won with a buzzfrog. You can also find some suspended fish in the middle of creeks that will take a jerkbait, but it requires a lot of looking with electronics. 12-16 inch bass are also schooling in the backs of some creeks on the lower end.
The offshore topwater bite is done for the year, but once the turnover wraps up Andy reports that it will be possible to catch fish off points, humps and cane piles. However, they are more likely to come on subsurface baits like jerkbaits or underspins. Some people have also had success with a drop shot offshore recently.
There’s finally some good news with the catfish on Lake Murray, and Captain William Attaway (803-924-0857) reports that in the rivers he is finally finding a better bite. It’s hard to explain why since water temperatures are moving the wrong direction, but on the last two trips he has caught very good numbers of big channel catfish in the 10 plus pound range as well as blues up to 30 pounds. Everything is coming in the 20-35 foot range drifting with cut bream and white perch. If he could get gizzard shad easily, or had herring, they might like that even better.
In the middle and lower lake the best bet is still to anchor in 20-30 feet of water on humps and secondary points with cut herring, shrimp, or nightcrawlers.
Some big flatheads can also be caught on live bait around brush. During the day they will stay deeper and you need to put the baits right on their noses to get them to eat, while at night they will swim shallower and search more.
October 21
Lake Murray water levels are at 355.42 (full pool is 360.00) and clarity is picking up again. Morning surface water temperatures are about 68 degrees by the dam and around 66 on the upper end.
The striped bass fishing has been good again this week on Lake Murray, and Captain Brad Taylor (803-331-1354) reports that there are still a ton of fish in Hollow Creek. There are also a bunch of fish in most of the major creeks, but the biggest change is that more fish have moved into the rivers and particularly the Little Saluda.
Every day there is schooling activity, but it is random and intermittent. If you aren’t able to catch them coming up then it’s mostly a free-line and planer board bite. Generally fish have been over the main channels of the creeks and not up on the flats, and you should usually start out looking in around 35 feet and work your way back in the deeper run. Most of the fish have been somewhere around 15 feet down.
With conditions pretty stable the crappie fishing has stayed very good this week, and Black’s Bridge has fished particularly well this week even though fish are still moving around a lot.
It’s still basically the reverse of a May pattern, and all the bridges and deeper docks up the lake can hold fish. You can also catch some fish around brush, but fall fish are more of roamers and docks and bridges are really where you want to be. Fish are pretty channel-related, and the best action has been the in the 15-20 foot range with the fish generally 5-12 feet down.
To target the bridges basically you want to work the pilings, and if you have good electronics that can narrow the search. Both jigs and minnows will catch fish but right now the bigger ones seem to be coming on jigs.
Unfortunately we are still in a transition period with the catfish on Lake Murray, and Captain William Attaway (803-924-0857) reports that even though he is marking a lot of fish in 20-30 feet up the river channels the bite hasn’t picked up. Based on experience it will probably be another week before the bite turns on again, and he is looking for water temperatures to get to the mid-60s and below.
In the middle and lower lake most of the channel catfish fish remain deeper, and the best bet during the day is still to anchor in 20-30 feet of water on humps and secondary points with dip baits, cut herring, shrimp, or nightcrawlers. At night fish will cruise the shallows and so you can also put baits in 5-10 feet of water or less.
Some big flatheads can also be caught on live bait around brush. During the day they will stay deeper and you need to put the baits right on their noses to get them to eat, while at night they will swim shallower and search more.
Bass report to follow.
October 13
Lake Murray water levels are at 355.87 (full pool is 360.00) and clarity is below normal as the lake turns over. Morning surface water temperatures are about 70 degrees by the dam and around 68 on the upper end.
Over the course of the last ten days tournament angler Andy Wicker of Pomaria has probably spent more time bass fishing on Lake Murray than he wants to think about as the bite fell off a cliff during the same period. When he first started practicing for the BFL Regional he says the bite was as good as he had ever seen, but as the lake started to turn over every day he had to watch it get worse. Between Monday and Wednesday of practice he watched it change particularly drastically. The fish were stacked up and suspended on offshore points, brush and cane piles, but as the week went on they just stopped biting and no longer wanted topwater baits and flukes. Even the shallow water bite fell off, although the most catchable fish are still probably shallow. Andy did have a few good bites on a Whopper Plopper and a buzzbait.
Winning boater Tyler Trent of Nathalie, Virginia was also targeting offshore fish, and he also suspected that they would take topwater lures but only caught a couple that way. He reports that every fish he weighed in came on a drop-shot rig with a 6-inch green-pumpkin straight worm. He was targeting cane piles, brush piles and stumps 10-15 feet down in 20-30 feet of water for the first two days. The final day he caught a few fish suspended around baitfish in open water.
Based on history Andy predicts the fishing will stay tough for 2-3 weeks or even longer, and when conditions finally settle out the offshore topwater bite will be done for the year. Some fish will still be set up in the same areas, but it will be a totally different bite with something like a jerkbait.
Water conditions are not affecting the striped bass as negatively, and Captain Brad Taylor (803-331-1354) reports that there are a ton of fish in Hollow Creek. There are also a bunch of fish up the river in the Buffalo Creek area, and most of the major creeks are also holding some groups of fish.
Every day there is schooling activity, but it is random and intermittent. If you aren’t able to catch them coming up then it’s mostly a free-line and planer board bite. Generally fish have been over the main channels of the creeks and not up on the flats, and you should usually start out looking in around 35 feet and work your way back in the deeper run. Most of the fish have been somewhere around 15 feet down.
With conditions pretty stable the crappie fishing has stayed very good this week, and Brad reports that on the upper end of the lake the fish are moving a lot but still biting really well. It’s basically the reverse of a May pattern, and all the bridges and deeper docks up the lake are fishing really well. You can also catch some fish around brush, but fall fish are more of roamers and docks and bridges are really where you want to be. Fish are pretty channel-related, and the best action has been the in the 15-20 foot range with the fish generally 5-12 feet down.
To target the bridges basically you want to work the pilings, and if you have good electronics that can narrow the search. Both jigs and minnows will catch fish but right now the bigger ones seem to be coming on jigs.
Unfortunately we have gotten into a transition period with the catfish on Lake Murray, and Captain William Attaway(803-924-0857) reports that even though he is marking a lot of fish in 20-30 feet up the river channels the bite has really slowed down. Based on experience it will probably be about two weeks before the bite turns on again, and he is looking for water temperatures to get to the mid-60s and below.
In the middle and lower lake most of the channel catfish fish remain deeper, and the best bet during the day is still to anchor in 20-30 feet of water on humps and secondary points with dip baits, cut herring, shrimp, or nightcrawlers. At night fish will cruise the shallows and so you can also put baits in 5-10 feet of water or less.
Some big flatheads can also be caught on live bait around brush. During the day they will stay deeper and you need to put the baits right on their noses to get them to eat, while at night they will swim shallower and search more.
October 6
Lake Murray water levels are down to 356.12 (full pool is 360.00) and clarity is just a little below normal. Morning surface water temperatures are about 71 degrees by the dam and around 69 on the upper end.
It’s still a really fun time for striped bass on Lake Murray, and Captain Brad Taylor (803-331-1354) reports that a lot of people are catching them on top as well on free lines. There has intermittently been excellent schooling activity around Dreher Island, Hollow Creek and Bear Creek, and at this time of year the key to catching the fish is really to cover water while you keep your eyes open for schooling fish and birds. The fish have moved up a little shallower, and when they aren’t on the surface the 20-30 foot range is the best place to look. Fish are on the move so much that it’s hard to say that they are in the front, middle or backs of creeks – it just depends on where the bait goes on a particular day.
The crappie fishing has gotten very good in the past week, and Brad reports that on the upper end of the lake the fishing has really, really turned on. It’s basically the reverse of a May pattern, and all the bridges and deeper docks up the lake are fishing really well. You can also catch some fish around brush, but fall fish are more of roamers and docks and bridges are really where you want to be. Fish are pretty channel-related, and the best action has been the in the 15-20 foot range with the fish generally 5-12 feet down.
To target the bridges basically you want to work the pilings, and if you have good electronics that can narrow the search. Both jigs and minnows will catch fish but right now the bigger ones seem to be coming on jigs.
The catfish bite remains good, and Captain William Attaway (803-924-0857) reports that up the lake the action for blues and channels continues to get better in the river area. More fish are starting to bite in the Little Saluda, and you can catch fish either drifting the flats or the main channel. A variety of cut bait will work but many days herring is still king.
In the middle and lower lake most of the channel catfish fish remain deeper, and the best bet during the day is still to anchor in 20-30 feet of water on humps and secondary points with dip baits, cut herring, shrimp, or nightcrawlers. At night fish will cruise the shallows and so you can also put baits in 5-10 feet of water or less.
Some big flatheads can also be caught on live bait around brush. During the day they will stay deeper and you need to put the baits right on their noses to get them to eat, while at night they will swim shallower and search more.
October 3
Lake Murray water levels are down to 356.35 (full pool is 360.00) and clarity is normal. Morning surface water temperatures have dropped to around 71 degrees by the dam.
As predicted some monster bags of bass were caught in the Fishers of Men District Championship this Saturday on Lake Murray, and Mike Watson and Craig McFadden managed to smash them with 25.49 pounds and an average of more than five pounds! There were two other bags over 20 pounds and several more in the high teens.
As expected most people were fishing cane and other offshore structure, and tournament angler Reid McGinn of Fort Mill (finishing in 10th place) said that they spent most of their time offshore and weighed suspended fish caught on 5 different lures that all came off offshore structure in 15-20 feet of water. They got them on a fluke, two topwater lures, a Sebille, and a spoon.
But what really confirms the pre-tournament predictions is that the winning team was having depth finder issues and so were forced just to put the trolling motor down and fish the banks. They caught everything they weighed on a buzzbait, confirming that there really were some good ones up shallow. Reid also lost about a five-pounder on a buzzbait, which would have been their biggest.
