3/15/07

Despite moving waters, bass, catfish being caught
By Terry Madewell

Even with the rush of water flowing into Lake Marion, the largemouth bass fishing has actually been pretty good. According to a few anglers I’ve talked to, the fish are scattered and they have to hunt them down. But the good news is that they can be caught on a variety of lures. There are some areas that have not muddied up too bad, so the fishing has been pretty good there.

In addition, the catfish action has been good in water ranging from fairly shallow down to 20 feet deep. Cut bait has been the best bait for catfish action.

A few big bream and shellcracker also have been caught, but that action will likely get much better during the next few weeks.

Water levels are still changing as the heavy influx of water continues to pour as lakes and rivers above us dump their water into the upper end of Lake Marion. So the specifics of where and how to be successful will be a day-to-day adjustment with the changing conditions.

Just go fishing. It’s March and fishy things should be happening on lakes Marion and Moultrie.

The crappie had really begun to make a strong move and some heavy roe laden females had been caught. In some of the protected areas that did not get real muddy, the action is still pretty good. A few more days of warm weather and little rain and the crappie should turn on strong.

The fish were beginning to scatter into some of the large creeks. Good catches were being made in the mouths of many of the creeks but fish were beginning to pile into the creeks into staging areas in 6-12 feet of water. Most have been caught on minnows, but look for small jigs to begin producing as the water temperature warms back up. Brightly colored jigs such as chartreuse might work well in dingy water.

The largemouth bass fishing has been good on spinner baits and worms worked around the cover. The back of creeks and coves are producing a few good fish right now. The brightly colored spinner baits – chartreuse and yellow – have been producing some large bass and should continue to do so.

Big catfish are caught all year on lakes Marion and Moultrie in shallow water. The flats near deep drops from Wyboo Creek up lake to the I-95 bridge have been good for catfish, especially blue catfish on cut bait.

Fishing for a variety of species of fish along the coast is still good. Redfish are being taken in the flats on gold spoons and live mud minnows. Speckled trout are being taken on one-quarter ounce green jigs as well as on mud minnows. The offshore fishing for bottom fish has perked up with black sea bass, grouper and some snapper being taken out of the Charleston area.