6/21/07

Fishing very good for bream, bass and catfish
By Terry Madewell

Despite some heavy, gusty and lightening-filled thunderstorms scattered over many areas during the previous week of fishing, anglers dodging the storms have done very well. Last weekend did bring a lot of heat and humidity, but some relief from the storms.

Fishing remains very good for several species, particularly catfish and bream. The action on largemouth bass has been and still is very good despite the high heat and humidity.

Despite this intense heat recently, the bream action remains surprisingly good. A couple of anglers found some good bream in water three to four feet deep. They had to work slower and be more patient than they did during the peak of spring fishing but that was the tactic that punched their meal ticket. However once a hotspot of bream was located, the action certainly sped up considerably. The size of the largest fish was still very good in terms of size, but not as big as were being caught earlier in the year.

In addition, several anglers made limit catches on area lakes, not just Marion and Moultrie, with some really big bream being caught around the mayfly hatches. Around these areas, the live bait, fly rods, popping bugs and small beetle spin spinners are all producing.

All three major species of catfish are being caught right now with blue catfish and the flatheads orienting to deeper water in the main lake area. The channel catfish, which are averaging about 2-6 pounds each, are being taken along the drops and ledges in 12-20 feet of water. The best baits for the channel catfish are stink baits and cut shad. Cut bait has been best for blue catfish, and the big flatheads are being taken on live bait, such as herring as well as bream, perch and shiners.

Several anglers have enjoyed some excellent largemouth bass fishing action on a variety of lures; however the slow moving worms have produced the majority of the action according to most reports. Early morning top water action has been good; however midday action is best by fishing cover such as brush piles or deeper water along the ledges using plastic worms. Some hefty fish continue to be caught in these areas on plastic worms and 3/8 ounce chartreuse spinner baits.

Striper action is fair and anglers fishing live bait in the deeper areas of the lakes reported good results. Both lakes Marion and Moultrie are producing good catches on live bait fished along the drops.

Good reports have been received from the coastal areas, particularly around Georgetown on redfish, flounder, trout and sheepshead. Best results for flounder have been trolling the ledges with mud minnows and for redfish the action has been best fishing live bait along the grass beds on the outgoing tide. Good action is also reported on sheepshead around the jetties and bridges and for black drum and a variety of other species in the surf.