8/23/07
Catfish, bass bream top fishing news
By Terry Madewell

The dog days are here in earnest, with heat and humidly really bearing down. It seems to have taken a toll on fishermen as fishing pressure has slowed a bit according to most all reports received recently. However some of the fishing news remains very good.

The catfishing action has been good for blue, channel and flathead catfish. Plus the bream action has been good fishing around heavy cover. The fish are scattered but biting well. The largemouth bass fishing has stayed pretty consistent with good catches on plastic worms and top water lures for those willing to endure the heat and humidity.

Some of the best and most consistent fishing news has been on the catfish scene. As is typical for this time of the year, the warm water temperature has the catfish metabolism boiling I suppose. The channel and blue catfish are drawn to the smelly stink baits fishermen use and the flatheads are still biting live bait. Fish the ledges for the channels and blues with most of the action in the deeper water, but some fish are being taken in surprisingly shallow water.

At night the catfish do move to more shallow water and offer a chance to avoid the summer sun. The standard catfish baits are still producing, with cut bait best for blue catfish, and the big flatheads being taken on live herring as well as other forms of live bait such as bream, perch and shiners, and the channel catfish being taken on stink bait and night crawlers.

Bream fishing has continued to be good and fishing for scattered fish in the trees and weed beds has been productive. The action has occurred in water less than three feet deep for the most part. However, as the fish migrate from the beds you should still be able to fish deeper around the same general areas and make good catches. Crickets and worms have been the most productive baits for most anglers. Some late-evening fly rod, top water action has occurred as well.

Largemouth bass action is also quite good for those who stick with it for a while. Sometimes it takes a while to find the fish, but once you put a pattern on them, you can catch quite a few, according to most reports. When you find an area with some fish, stick with it for a while. Some fishermen are still having their best success by fishing deep water with plastic worms along the drops, ledges and points in the 10-20 foot depth range. Both Carolina- and Texas-rigged worms have been productive. Buzz baits have produced some action in shallow water as well.

Fishing for redfish, shark and flounder is still very good along the coast. Spanish mackerel are schooling near the jetties in the Charleston Harbor, and good fishing exists for sheepshead in the inshore areas, especially around rock jetties and bridge piers. Just offshore a bit, the spadefish are biting extremely well around the sunken wrecks.