April 10

Lake Wateree is up to 97.8% of full pool and after more rain the lower lake is stained and the water gradually transitions to muddy up the lake.  Morning surface water temperatures are around 66 degrees. 

It’s a good and bad period for crappie fishing on Lake Wateree, andveteran tournament angler Will Hinson of Cassatt reports that the good part is that fish can be found about anywhere from the backs of creeks to deep on the main lake. That’s also the bad part, because with fish so scattered it can take some work to locate groups. 

There are a few fish still spawning, although not many, and these can be caught shallow with traditional spring-time fishing methods. There are also a decent number of post-spawn fish that are still hanging in the shallows, and yesterday while we talked Will was looking at a big school in 13 feet of water. But then there are other groups on the main lake that are 17-20 feet down in 30 feet of water. 

Overall fish that aren’t on the banks are mostly just roaming now, and only a few have set up on brush. Soon they will stack up on brush and be easier to locate, but for now unless you want to fish for stragglers around the bank the name of the game is fishing your favorite open water technique and covering water. 

The CATT tournament this weekend was much tougher, and tournament angler Dearal Rodgers of Camden reports that it only took about 16 pounds of black bass for the win. Pretty much everybody reported that it was hard to get bites, and even though they didn’t see many fish on the beds (water clarity is far from perfect) it seems likely that a bunch of fish were spawning. Others are coming off the beds, and all that can make for a tough bite. Another wave of fish should be up spawning this weekend, and Dearal advises down-sizing your baits and fishing slow and shallow. Fortunately a topwater bite should be coming as fish recover from the spawn and start to feed better. 

On the catfish front, Captain Rodger Taylor with Catfish ON! Guide Service (803-517-7828) reports that lots of 8-12 pound blue catfish can still be caught basically on the cut bait of your choice. The action is excellent for numbers of fish in warm, shallow bays, with 3-6 feet of water the ideal depth. Additionally, more and more fish are moving into the Cedar Creek section up the lake which should start to produce some big fish as temperatures rise and both bait and catfish head up that way. It’s a great place to start out the day anchoring and looking for a big bite.

Our family is travelling for our children’s spring break next week, but we will resume weekly fishing reports after the Easter holiday. 

April 3

Lake Wateree is at 96.9% of full pool and the lower lake is stained while up the lake is muddy.  Morning surface water temperatures are around 65 degrees. 

With most of the lake at 65 degrees or better, and daytime temperatures approaching 70 at times,veteran tournament angler Will Hinson of Cassatt reports that about half of the female crappie on Lake Wateree have already laid eggs and he expects most of the remaining fish to do so by next week. Right now you can catch fish about any way you want, and with tons of males on the banks and fish aggressive throwing jigs or minnows under a cork at shallow cover is a good pattern. You can also long-line troll or tight-line. 

Will has mostly been looking at fish on electronics (when possible with the pollen) and casting at them, and in 18-25 feet of water he is finding schools of pre-spawn and post-spawn fish mixed together.  Most of these are in the creeks or at the creek mouths, and there isn’t much activity back on the main lake yet. Fish Stalker minnows in Mountain Dew color have been his most productive bait. 

About the only way he isn’t catching fish is on brush or wood, and the few fish he has marked on stumps have been small fish. But soon that’s coming. 

In the CATT tournament this weekend tournament angler Dearal Rodgers of Camden reports that they tried to keep fishing for the group of deeper pre-spawn black bass they were targeting last week, and while they did catch some fish it was clear that the vast majority of the fish had gone shallower. The bulk of the bass are now spawning or very close to it, on either side, and spawning flats, docks in the backs, and shallow cover are the best places to look for fish. Flipping soft plastics is the best way to target many of them, although a spinnerbait can also work in areas with some color. It’s also worth throwing a buzzbait. 

On the catfish front, Captain Rodger Taylor with Catfish ON! Guide Service (803-517-7828) reports that lots of 8-12 pound blue catfish can be caught basically on the cut bait of your choice. The action is excellent for numbers of fish in warm, shallow bays, with 3-6 feet of water the ideal depth. Additionally, more and more fish are moving into the Cedar Creek section up the lake which should start to produce some big fish as temperatures rise and both bait and catfish head up that way. It’s a great place to start out the day anchoring and looking for a big bite.

March 27

Lake Wateree is at 97.3% of full pool and water clarity varies greatly.  Morning surface water temperatures are mostly about 60 degrees. 

The black bass fishing on Lake Wateree is really good, and tournament angler Dearal Rodgers of Camden reports that in Saturday’s CATT tournament there were lots of 17-18 pound bags. Fish are moving shallower, and even though the grass hasn’t really grown up enough to become a factor it’s a nice water level for flipping with lots of shallow cover in the water. Fish are scattered and there are plenty of pre-spawn bass to be found in the pockets, with lots of fish getting close to spawning and a few probably already on beds.

But Dearal and his partner Trent did something a little different on their way to first place and 20.8 pound, and they fished a creek bank that slopes from deep to shallow. First thing fish were moved up on the flat to feed, and by 8:30 they had 19 pounds. They had not hit a spinnerbait in three weeks, but this weekend they wanted it. As the sun got up the fish seemed to back off, but then early afternoon there was another feeding flurry where fish came back up on the flat to feed. 

Overall there are a lot of aggressive fish on the lake right now, and fish are pretty scattered with water temperatures mild and most of the lake in play.

On the catfish front, Captain Rodger Taylor with Catfish ON! Guide Service (803-517-7828) reports that lots of 8-12 pound blue catfish can be caught basically on the cut bait of your choice. The action is excellent for numbers of fish in warm, shallow bays, with 3-6 feet of water the ideal depth. Additionally, more and more fish should be moving into the Cedar Creek section up the lake which should start to produce some big fish as temperatures rise and both bait and catfish head up that way. It’s a great place to start out the day anchoring and looking for a big bite.

Crappie report to follow. 

March 19

Lake Wateree is at 97.8% of full pool and the lake is muddy from one end to the other.  Morning surface water temperatures are mostly about 59-60 degrees. 

The black bass on Lake Wateree are moving further into their spring progression, and tournament angler Dearal Rodgers of Camden reports that there are now more and more fish getting back into the coves and creeks including some goods ones. Still, on their way to a second-place finish in Saturday’s CATT Dearal and his tournament partner continued to fish for the main lake fish that had not moved up yet and found some good quality. They were mostly fishing rock and lots of docks, and they caught most of their fish on a jig and one big one on a spinnerbait. While the numbers weren’t great the main lake fish they found were generally sizeable.

But as the fish spread out you can catch more and more further back, and there are even some very scattered reports of a random fish here or there on the bed or at least close to spawning. For these fish that have gotten into spawning areas soft plastics like a shaky head or a creature bait like a brush hog are good options. For more aggressive pre-spawn fish a crankbait is a good option. 

Overall fish are getting spread out and soon there will be significant numbers of fish at all stages of the spawn. 

The Lake Wateree crappie are biting well, andveteran tournament angler Will Hinson of Cassatt reports that right now you can literally catch them about any way you want to fish. Fish are spread out and at various stages of the spawn, so there’s no specific spot or pattern you have to stick to.

Some fish are already on the bank spawning, others are staging in the creek runs, and some fish are still in deeper water. You can cast at the banks with jigs or minnows, long-line troll, tight-line, or cast at schools of fish you see on electronics. 

The fish are biting and it’s a very good time to crappie fish on Wateree. 

Finally, with a catfish update Captain Rodger Taylor with Catfish ON! Guide Service (803-517-7828) reports that lots of 8-12 pound blue catfish can be caught basically on the cut bait of your choice. The action is excellent for numbers of fish in warm, shallow bays, with 3-6 feet of water the ideal depth. Additionally, the Cedar Creek section up the lake should start to produce some big fish as temperatures rise and fish move into the river section, but on Captain Rodger’s last two trips they have only caught a 17-pounder fishing holes up that way. Howeer, there are certain to be giants around soon if not already. 

March 12

Lake Wateree is at 97.9% of full pool and the lake is fairly muddy.  Morning surface water temperatures were 54 degrees this morning. 

On the water as we write,veteran tournament angler Will Hinson of Cassatt reports that the crappie on Lake Wateree have made a big move towards shallower water.  Yesterday he was catching them 12-22 feet down in 30 feet of water, and there are still groups out there, but today he is also finding them back in 12 feet of water behind the bridge in Beaver Creek.  There are eight boats back there – on a Wednesday (!) – and they are all catching fish either tight-lining, trolling, or Livescoping.  Fish are from about four feet deep down to the bottom.   

Fish are aggressive and Will is only casting to them with Fish Stalker minnows in firecracker and Mountain Dew color. 

There are already some males on the banks looking around, and by this weekend there will be even more. 

This past weekend the black bass that tournament angler Dearal Rodgers of Camden was catching with his tournament partner in the CATT were still mostly on main lake docks in about 10 feet of water, and they were catching them on jigs. Water temperatures were 51-53 degrees, but by this weekend there is almost no doubt that they will have hit 55 or more (possibly well higher). When that happens there will still be fish hanging around docks on Wateree, but the best bite should be with a crankbait in 3-5 feet of water. Fish will be feeding up before getting ready to spawn, and the best place to look for them will be around rock. While some fish could have started to make a big move back into the creeks, for this weekend Dearal expects more to still be holding on the main lake. 

March 5

Lake Wateree is at 97.2% of full pool and before the rain today the lake had cleared somewhat.  It’s now just stained on the lower end but still muddy way up.  Morning surface water temperatures are 51 degrees. 

Bad news first – the cooler weather has hurt the crappie fishing on Lake Wateree, andveteran tournament angler Will Hinson of Cassatt reports that even though they were biting a little better yesterday than a day or two before it’s still very hard work. After starting to make a move towards the creeks at the end of last week fish backed out when the front arrived, and most of the better fish are now in about 30 feet. They are suspended about 8-22 feet down, with more on the lower end of that range.

Will is still looking at fish on LiveScope and casting at them with Fish Stalker jigs in Mountain Dew color, and slower tight-lining is working better than faster long-line trolling. Minnows will also catch fish.

The better news is with the black bass, and tournament angler Dearal Rodgers of Camden reports that in the CATT Saturday they had 19 pounds – and finished out of the money! Since then the cooler weather doesn’t seem to have backed them off or slowed the bite very much and fishing is overall very good.

Fish can be caught moving back into the creeks, into coves, and still on the main lake, and points, rock, boat ramps, and docks are all holding a lot of fish. But Dearal has found the best bite on main lake docks in about 10 feet of water. For now it still seems the bigger fish are holding a little deeper, and they have had the best success on jigs. 

February 26

Lake Wateree is at 97.4% of full pool and the lake is still muddy from end to end.  Morning surface water temperatures are about 48 to 51 degrees. 

Even after a couple of warm daysveteran tournament angler Will Hinson of Cassatt reports that crappie patterns have changed very little on Wateree, although fish are starting to move a little up in the water column. They are still mostly in about 30 feet of water in the mouths of coves and around the main channel, but now they are coming as high as about 8 feet below the surface. But while they are moving up in the water column they aren’t really moving more than a few feet shallower yet.   

Will is still looking at fish on LiveScope and casting at them, and in the conditions you still have to hold a bait right in front of fish to get them to bite. That means slower tight-lining would probably work better than faster long-line trolling. They are still catching fish on Fish Stalker jigs in Mountain Dew color, but minnows are also working.

Whether fish make a move shallower by this weekend just depends on how much water temperatures change, and even though they aren’t there today they could be by this weekend. 

Like the crappie,tournament angler Dearal Rodgers of Camden reports that the black bass have not moved much with just a couple of warm days - but he does expect them to get shallower by this weekend. They caught one off a dock yesterday but more fish should be around docks by this weekend, and they also expect most any rock to fish well as it is warmed by the sunlight. Look for fish to continue to be very point-related and not to move back onto the flats for a little while.

Spinnerbaits, crankbaits, jigs, and shaky heads are all good baits right now. 

February 19

Lake Wateree is at 97.8% of full pool and the lake is now muddy and trashy from one end to the other.  Morning surface water temperatures are about 48 on the main lake and as high as 50 in the backs. 

The water is high (peaking at about 98.7 before starting to fall) and muddy, butveteran tournament angler Will Hinson of Cassatt reports that crappie are still biting on Lake Wateree. Yesterday they caught plenty of fish but had to hunt for individuals as in the dirty water fish have gotten very scattered. They caught most of their fish about 10-16 feet down over 30 feet of water in the mouths of coves and around the main channel. 

Will was looking at fish on LiveScope and casting at them, and he noticed that you had to really hold a bait right in front of fish to get them to bite. They are not aggressive, and can’t see very far. That means slower tight-lining would probably work better than faster long-line trolling. They caught fish on Fish Stalker jigs in Mountain Dew color.

While fish are suspended right now as the water is a little warmer higher in the water column, snow or ice that drops the surface temperature could change that very quicky and put fish flat on the bottom. 

On Saturday the whole lake was not yet muddy for the CATT tournament, buttournament angler Dearal Rodgers of Camden reports that there is little doubt that black bass were and are still mostly in winter patterns. The fish that had moved up a little have pushed back out, and they are mostly related to main lake and main creek points and steeper banks. Their big fish came on a spinnerbait at 5-12, but after that they could only catch smaller fish on jigs for about 14 and a half pounds. 18-7 won so there are some better fish biting. 

February 12

Lake Wateree is at 96.9% of full pool and the water is still fairly clear; it usually takes several days after rains for Wateree to get dirty.  Morning surface water temperatures got up to 54 but are falling back to the low 50s.    

The crappie are still biting on Lake Wateree, butveteran tournament angler Will Hinson of Cassatt reports that he is seeing obvious signs that the pattern is changing. While fish are still in 14-30 feet of water along the river channel, they are starting to break up out of their bigger schools into smaller groups. Individual fish are likely to be the biggest. 

While Will is still casting jigs like “Hot Mess” (pink and yellow) at the fish, as the water cleared Mountain Dew and more natural colors have been working better. If it gets dirty again then the brighter hues will probably be better.

Will notes that there are also still a ton of fish being caught tight-lining minnows near the bottom along the old river channel at the top of the lake. 

Despite a few warm days, from what tournament angler Dearal Rodgers of Camden is seeing black bass are still basically in winter-time patterns – especially as it has gotten cold again – but they do appear to be feeding pretty heavily. There are lots of fish suspended around bait on the main lake, generally over deeper water as well as where the channel swings closer to the bank. He is also finding better fish point-oriented, and they will take crankbaits and jerkbaits. 

There are also some fish that have moved onto docks, but for now these are mostly smaller males. 

February 6

Lake Wateree is at 95.9% of full pool and the water has a little color.  Morning surface water temperatures have shot up to about 51-52 degrees. 

The crappie are finally biting again on Lake Wateree, andveteran tournament angler Will Hinson of Cassatt reports that they are getting far more active as temperatures rise. Yesterday they fished the main channel above Wateree Creek and found fish stacked up in 14-30 feet of water. To start the day they were on the bottom, but as temperatures rose three to four degrees they got within 8 feet of the surface. Other boats were successfully tight-lining minnows, but they were casting Fish Stalker jigs in “Hot Mess” (pink and yellow) and Mountain Dew colors. 

There are also some good groups of fish down the lake, and the river channel about anywhere will hold fish in the same 14-30 foot depth. You can also locate schools at the very front of the creek channels at the same depth, but it won’t be too long before fish head further back. 

With rising temperatures it’s also no surprise that the black bass bite on Wateree has improved, and tournament angler Dearal Rodgers of Camden reports that fish are moving shallower and biting a bit better. The cold front after the weekend is likely to back them off a bit, but for now most any shallow rock on the main lake is holding fish. Dearal is targeting rock in 4-5 feet of water, and looking for areas protected from north winds. He has almost exclusively been fishing crankbaits.

So far docks have not been productive for Dearal. 

January 28

Lake Wateree is up to 96.5% of full pool and the water is stained but not muddy.  Morning surface water temperatures are around 42-43 degrees.

The crappie fishing on Lake Wateree is still pretty tough, butveteran tournament angler Will Hinson of Cassatt reports that you can catch some fish if you can find them. Big groups of fish are roaming around in open water, but the best concentrations are in the old river channel from the state park up. Down the lake fish are very sparse.

Some fish are flat on the bottom in about 30 feet of water but generally they are not eating, and the more catchable fish are near the bottom in 16-22 feet of water. Tight-lining is catching some fish, and LiveScope fishermen are looking for big schools of fish and then casting to them. 

Fish are very lethargic after the snow and right now Will reports that minnows are working better than jigs. 

With temperatures in the low 40s it’s no surprise that the black bass bite on Wateree is slow, but tournament angler Dearal Rodgers of Camden reports that he, his son (on the USC bass fishing team), and Dearal’s tournament partner have caught some fish since the snow. However, in addition to it being a slow bite you have to work your bait very slowly. They have had the best luck fishing rock, particularly steep rock, with jigs and crankbaits. There may be some fish in brush but they have had better success in less than 7 feet of water targeting fish that have apparently moved up to feed. 

January 15

Lake Wateree is at 95.4% of full pool and clarity is pretty normal.  Morning surface water temperatures are in the mid-40s. 

The crappie fishing on Lake Wateree has gotten even tougher, andveteran tournament angler Will Hinson of Cassatt reports that fish haven’t really moved – they are still pretty much all in open water – but they have gotten very lethargic in the cold. Most of the fish are suspended about 18-25 feet down fairly close to the bottom, and in the river channel near Wateree Creek (a traditional winter spot) they are 22-24 feet down over 25 or so feet of water. They aren’t taking anything very well, but it’s a good bet to have minnows available and try to entice them with minnows, jigs, and jigs tipped with minnows. 

There’s little prospect of dramatic warming in the next week, but when it does eventually warm fish will first move up in the water column – staying in open water. But if it gets really warm they will also go shallower. However, with the temperatures predicted the best bet is that their next move will be even tighter to the bottom and to get even more lethargic. 

In contrast, despite the cold the black bass bite on Lake Wateree is better than normal for the winter. CATT owner Brett Collins reports that usually the fishing gets tough in the colder months, especially when it gets very cold, but right now there is a good bite shallow around docks and rocks with a crankbait and an Alabama rig in less than 6 feet of water. Fish the main lake or very front of creeks. 

He is frankly surprised that anglers are catching anything, but Brett does note that the population of big fish seems to be down and he wonders if the up-and-down water levels of the last several years have hurt the spawns. Regardless there are a good number of 13-14 inch fish around which should be good for the future. 

January 3

Lake Wateree is at 95.4% of full pool and the lake is dingy but not muddy on the lower end, while the upper end is dirtier. Morning surface water temperatures are around 46 degrees. 

The crappie fishing on Lake Wateree has gotten tougher again in the cold temperatures, and veteran tournament angler Will Hinson of Cassatt reports that it appears the last cold snap finally pulled the vast majority of the fish off brush and other cover. He did catch one fish yesterday on a stump and saw a very few on structure, but the vast majority of the fish are now out in open water. 

With the cold temperatures they seem to be lethargic, and most of the fish he is marking are right on the bottom. He did catch some suspended 22-24 feet down in about 30 feet of water. Will has been mostly fishing the lower lake, but in the Wateree Creek area they are 22-24 feet down in the river channel over 25 or so feet of water. Particularly with water levels very low there is almost no action inside the creeks. 

While overall Will found a slow bite, he did catch a full limit of good fish with some over a pound and a half yesterday. He only fished jigs and had the best luck with Fish Stalker in Mountain Dew color.  He is casting but you can also tight-line.  

It’s been a decent black bass bite on Wateree, and tournament angler Dearal Rodgers of Camden reports that the weather may change this but for now the action has been pretty good around docks. It could be that there are still some bream around docks, or that the last of the crawfish have not yet gone into hibernation. The best docks are closer to deep water and a jig has been working. 

The other major pattern is fishing a crankbait around rock, and while fish could be on flat rocky areas the best rock is steeper or at least on a shelf with deeper water nearby. Dearal notes that when rock is getting pressured clay banks, which will also hold heat, can be a good alternative. Clay itself holds heat but Wateree clay also has lots of small rocks in it. 

Finally, The Carolina Angler Captain Chris Nichols (704-860-7951) reports that the striped bass and catfish fishing remains strong on Wateree. Massive schools of bait are now bunched up in the old river channel and will stay there for around the next 45 days, and the striper are suspended 10-15 feet deep over 40-45 feet of water. The best way to catch them is free-lining live bait early and shifting to down-rods 12-15 feet down as the sun gets up. 

For cats drifting cut perch and shad in the river channel is the best pattern, and they will also take deeper live baits.