7/19/07
Fishing good for bream, catfish and bass
By Terry Madewell

While it may be hot and muggy, fishing success continues to be good on lakes Marion and Moultrie. Mid-July does test the mettle of many fishermen, but most are reporting that from dawn up until 11 o’clock or noon, the heat is bearable. Take a few hours’ break and it gets reasonably comfortable again the evening.

Based on several reports, the early and late largemouth bass fishing has been quite good. The bream fishing remains very good and some very good catches have been made recently. Plus, the catfishing news is still very good and some good nighttime action has been reported as well recently. Lots of channel catfish in the 1-5 pound class have been taken recently.

The Santee River from below the Wilson Dam all the way down to the Highway 41 Bridge near Jamestown is also producing good bass, catfish and bream action, based on reports received this week. Successful anglers are reporting the need to look for fish action near or in deep water or in the moving waters of rivers. Deeper water and current in the rivers are key factors in fishing success for some of the species, particularly largemouth bass and catfish.

Good top water and shallow water worm fishing exists for largemouth bass early and late in the day in shallow water. Buzz baits, floating minnow imitators, floating plastic worms and popping plugs have all been effective. A few very large fish have been taken recently.

Most of the action seems to be found by fishing heavy cover such as brush piles or deeper water along the ledges. Some quality fish continue to be caught in these areas on plastic worms and 3/8 ounce chartreuse spinner baits, according to several reports received recently.

The action on catfish is still good and more anglers are now fishing at night. This method is generally very effective from now throughout the rest of the summer. Very good catches of decent sized channel catfish are being made using a variety of stink baits and night crawlers. Catches of big blue catfish has been made on cut bait including bream, herring and shad. The big flatheads are being taken on live herring as well as other forms of live bait such as bream, perch and shiners. Some anglers are drifting whole shad or herring and if the bait is fresh, they are catching both big blues and flatheads in this manner.

Striper action remains fair on live herring and shad in the deeper areas of the lakes. Both lakes Marion and Moultrie are producing some good catches on live bait fished along the drops, but the best fishing is generally very early in the day. Most anglers report early is better than late right now.

Bream fishing is still productive using crickets around some form of cover such as trees, brush, weeds or docks. Some nice limits of fish are being taken by anglers working along the shoreline, hitting al the weedy points and pockets and picking up fish scattered along the way. Some good action is being enjoyed along the mayfly hatches as well using fly rods and popping bugs. Beetle spin spinners and other tiny lures have been effective when fished around cover.

Sheepshead, redfish and flounder fishing is very good at the coast. Sheepsheads are still being taken by using fiddler crabs and the flounder are best taken by trolling mud minnows. Good action is also reported on speckled trout on live bait.