2/21/08
Fishing improving for several species
By Terry Madewell

The crappie reports continue to filter in with some good catches being made in a wide range of water depths. In addition some good largemouth bass news has been received as well as continued success on catfish. Overall, fishing conditions have been very good.

In fact, on some of the sunny, warm days some anglers have been checking our early season shellcracker holes, but only a few fish have been taken. But odds are good it won’t be long until some of the big shellcrackers begin to show up in angler catches.

In addition to good fishing on lakes Marion and Moultrie, there have been excellent reports of largemouth bass fishing in local ponds. Some largemouths in the 5-7 pound class have been reported caught in ponds recently. If you’ve got access to a pond or two, now is a good time to work a bottom-bumping worm or plastic lizard around some stumps and logs.

A few stripers have been taken recently by drifting live bait and also by trolling. The area near the dam on Lake Moultrie seems to have the best reports for live bait fishing and the mouths of some of the larger creeks on Lake Marion have produced some stripers by trolling deep diving lures.

A few nice blue catfish are beginning to be hooked in fairly shallow water. Most of the action is still in or at the edge of deep water. But early season, shallow water fishing for the big blues should improve quite a bit over the next couple of weeks. The bulk of the catfish action seems to in or near deep water. The best baits have been cut bait, shad minnows, cut perch or herring. Drifting has been very productive in some areas on the lower lake. Vertical fishing in deep water has been good in the upper lake.

For the largemouth bass in the lakes and the ponds, the water is still cold, but warming. Bottom-bumping baits still seem to be producing best, but some action has been reported on crank baits and single-spin spinner baits.

The crappie news good and some good catches are being made in water less than 10 feet deep. This is especially true on warm days, late in the evening after the surface temperature of the water has warmed. Coves and pockets right off the main creeks are prime targets for this late evening fishing. However, fishing minnows or jigs on deeper brush is still producing good crappie action as well. Live minnows in the small or medium size, as well as green, chartreuse or blue jigs have been productive, based on recent reports.

Saltwater fishing is good with good reports on both trout and redfish as far as inshore fishing is concerned. Offshore reports are for good bottom fishing for blackfish. The trout are being taken by casting or trolling 1/4 ounce jigs, or by using live bait fished two feet deep under a cork along the grass lines on a falling or rising tide. Live bait on the shallow flats has produced redfish.