Fishing’s excellent for catfish, bass & crappie

With stabilized weather conditions, the fish at lakes Marion and Moultrie are doing what they’re supposed to be doing ... they are biting like crazy ... and that’s no April Fools’ joke.

The largemouth bass, catfish, and crappie have been the headliners for sure. But add to that some excellent shellcracker fishing and some decent fishing for bream and there’s a true smorgasbord of fishing opportunities right now.

With the more stable weather, there’s additional good news for those who enjoy fishing the rivers.

Conditions have improved considerably. Some of the rivers are beginning to return to good levels for fishing as well. Upstream, the Congaree and Wateree rivers are producing good action for several species. Below the Wilson Dam, the Santee River is also producing some good catfish action. Look for largemouth action to kick in pretty soon there as well. Some big catfish action is also being reported below the dam at Lake Moultrie.

As noted last week, barring another heavy rainfall, all is right with the spring fishing in our area in lakes and rivers.

The largemouth bass fishing is good and some large fish are now being taken. Much of the action has been in the shallow water areas
Largemouth bass action is being enjoyed on a wide variety of lures. Spinner baits, both single and double spin types; crank baits, worms, jigs and other lures are producing good catches. The key now is to get on the lake and fish. With the water level up, the largemouth are now able to get to places they’ve not been able to go for a while.

The crappie action is beginning to move toward shallow water with a number of fish caught in water less than 10-feet deep. However, good fishing remains by fishing over deeper brushpiles. Both minnows and jigs are producing good results. Most of the crappies are staging in deeper water and the deep water pattern has produced more consistent fishing for most anglers. Brush, logs and stumps in the 10-18 foot depth range have produced action with bright colored jigs such as chartreuse and yellow, as well as live bait, have produced crappie action.

The catfish action is best in fairly shallow water in both lakes Marion and Moultrie, especially on windy days. The wind will drive forage fish into the shallow flats and the big blues will feed heavily in those areas. However, some good fish are also being taken in deep water as well. The blue catfish action is best using herring and shad and for channel catfish, night crawlers have produced some good catches. A few flatheads are being caught on live bait or fresh cut bait being drifted.

The saltwater fishing news is also very good with good numbers of redfish and speckled trout being caught on live bait. In addition, along some of the near shore wrecks, some blackfish and sheepshead are also being taken in good numbers and sizes.