Winds hamper fishing
Fishing along the Carolinas coast is very good when wind and sea conditions are favorable.Unfortunately, strong gusts have frustrated anglers the past several days, especially those planning trips offshore.
Wind also has made fishing on many of the Piedmont lakes difficult. However, those battling the heavy breezes are making fair-to-good catches. Fishing Forecast | Tom Higgins
The Report
1. LAKE NORMAN: Catfish, mainly at night, on cut bait and crawlers. Largemouth on artificial worms, crankbaits, jerkbaits and skirted spinnerbaits. Crappie have moved deeper -- to around 20 feet down -- but continue to take jigs and minnows.
2. LAKE WYLIE: Largemouth, especially at night, on a variety of lures, including floating artificial worms. The fish have come off the spawning beds and are striking aggressively. Crappie, mainly on minnows, around cover 20 feet down. White perch 15 feet deep on sandy bottom on minnows, small jigs and spoons. Good numbers of catfish on crawlers and frozen baits.
3. LAKES BADIN, TILLERY, BLEWETT FALLS: Lots of white perch at Badin and Tillery. Crappie are deep at all three reservoirs, taking minnows and Kalin jigs in the june bug color pattern.
4. HIGH ROCK LAKE: Crappie on jigs, minnows and trolled grubs, sliders. Largemouth on artificial worms, crankbaits and pig-jig combinations. Scattered stripers and white bass.
5. LAKES HICKORY, RHODHISS: Continuing limit catches of crappie at Rhodhiss on both jigs, minnows. Improved for crappie at Hickory, mainly on minnows. Scattered stripers up lake at Hickory toward Rhodhiss Dam, mostly on live baits.
6. LAKE JAMES: Some limits of walleye at night on crawlers. Smallmouth bass around points and rocky bluffs on shiners and small crankbaits.
7. FONTANA LAKE: Limits of walleye at night by anglers fishing crawlers under floating lights. Smallmouth on jerk baits and shiners cast to the shoreline.
8. LAKE WATEREE: Plentiful catfish, including several in the 40-pound range, on crawlers, cut baits and stinkbaits. Largemouth on a wide range of lures worked from the shoreline out to water 20 feet deep. Crappie, moving deep after spawning, mostly on minnows. Bedding bream on crickets, earthworms.
9. LAKE HARTWELL: Stripers, hybrids in schools as they migrate back down the Keowee River from the stripers' spawning run. They're hitting bucktails and herring on the points in early morning. They're also striking in surface-feeding schools. The best largemouth action of the spring is taking place now for anglers casting to the shoreline with soft plastic lures in a shad color pattern. Crappie around shallow cover on jigs, minnows and twister-tail grubs.
10. LAKE JOCASSEE: Trout on spoons trolled 60-65 feet deep and on minnows drift-fished at the same depth. Largemouth and redeye along the banks on green artificial worms. Smallmouth to 7 pounds on plastic lures and Texas-rigged worms.
11. LAKE KEOWEE: Spawning largemouth in the backs of coves on artificial worms. Spotted bass up lake around Mile Creek and High Falls on buzzbaits, crankbaits and jerkbaits or live shiners. Crappie in shoreline cover on jigs, minnows.
12. LAKE MURRAY: Largemouth in good numbers around shallow structure and submerged cover, like fallen trees, on artificial worms of varying green shades. Stripers on free-lined herring, cut bait and trolled bucktails and Road Runner plugs. Bedding bream and shellcrackers on crickets, earthworms.
13. LAKE THURMOND: Largemouth along the shoreline on soft plastic lures in black and purple colors. Crappie in the 2-pound range on jigs, minnows worked 10-15 feet deep. Scattered stripers and hybrids on live herring.
14. SANTEE-COOPER RESERVOIR: Lake Marion: Largemouth around shallow cover on soft plastics and top water lures. Catfish to 50 pounds on cut herring fished in the shallows from Billups to Jacks Creek. Crappie around bridges and piers. Bream, shellcrackers along the banks. Slow for striped bass. Lake Moultrie: Largemouth around lily pads and primrose plants on a variety of lures, including top waters. Catfish on cut shad, herring and white perch. Stripers and crappie are in between spring and summer patterns presently, and few are being caught. Lots of shellcrackers, however, are being taken along the shoreline on crickets, earthworms.
15. OUTER BANKS: Nags Head Area: Spots at piers. Small blues, black drum, spots and trout at the Daniels Bridge on the Nags Head/Manteo Causeway. Oregon Inlet: Bigeye tuna to 153 pounds, wahoo to 76, plus dolphin, sailfish and yellowfin tuna offshore when sea conditions are favorable. Hatteras Island: Big blues in the surf at Ramp 44 and large whiting at Ramp 38 before high wind pushed breakers to the dunes Wednesday. Ocracoke Island: Sizable blues and some puppy drum in the surf before the wind began howling. Morehead City Area: Blue and white marlin, sailfish and wahoo offshore before the "blow." Bonito, Spanish mackerel just offshore. Reds, or puppy drum, in the marshes. King mackerel to 29 pounds, black drum, pompano at piers.
16. SOUTHEASTERN N.C. COAST: King mackerel and cobia offshore when weather and sea conditions allow anglers to reach them. Flounder, reds, trout in the creeks. Blues, flounder, spot and whiting at the piers.
17. S.C. COAST: Little River Area: Flounder, trout in Cherry Grove's creeks on mud minnows. King mackerel to 33 pounds and blues to 11 at Cherry Grove Pier. Grand Strand Area: Reds, or spottails, and trout in the creeks. Flounder in Murrells Inlet. Black drum and sheepshead around the artificial reefs and jetties. Blues, croaker, pompano, whiting and Spanish mackerel at piers. Georgetown: Blackfin tuna, dolphin, king mackerel, wahoo and yellowfin tuna offshore. Charleston Area: Flounder, puppy drum, trout in the creeks. Sheepshead at the artificial reefs and jetties. Blackfin tuna, dolphin, king mackerel and yellowfin tuna offshore. Hilton Head Area: Cobia in Calibogue Sound. Dolphin, king mackerel, wahoo offshore. Sheepshead at the artificial reef.
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Check & Clear 6
LOC: 38-54-14.60N / 097-14-09.07W
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