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The newest Lake Wateree fishing report can be found at: http://www.anglersheadquarters.com/ahq-insider-lake-wateree-sc-fall-2019-fishing-report/

August 21

Lake Wateree water levels are at 97.6% of full pool, and water temperatures are about 85 degrees. The lake remains clear for Wateree.

With the recent hot weather bass fishing is pretty tough again on Lake Wateree, and FLW fisherman Dearal Rodgers of Camden reports that from what he has seen fish remain mixed between shallow and deep.  The best shallow action he has found has been coming on steeper banks and around rocks and grass, and topwater baits that mimic a shad have been working the best.

While Dearal has not had a lot of luck with deep fish, it is clear from his graph that they are still out there off points, ledges and humps.  The best suggestion is to really finesse down your approach.

Crappiehave moved a little deeper, and veteran tournament angler Will Hinson of Cassatt reports that fish are related to the river channel around brush in 18-26 feet of water.  They can be found from one end of the lake to the other, although Will has been concentrating his angling outside of the middle section of the lake.  Fish remains flat on the bottom and they are taking Fish Stalker jigs in Mountain Dew and army green.

July 29

Lake Wateree water levels are at 97.0% of full pool, and water temperatures are about 86 degrees. The lake is clear for Wateree.

With cooler temperatures bass fishing seems to have improved a little on Lake Wateree, and FLW fisherman Dearal Rodgers of Camden reports that there has particularly been some improvement in the shallow bite.  There continues to be a decent topwater bite first thing, and fishing jigs and shakey head worms or Texas-rigged worms off the front of docks in 5-10 feet of water has also been working.

The deep bite is also still pretty good, and fish are off points, ledges and humps.  They will take shakey heads, a Carolina rig, jigs, or even crankbaits if they are aggressive.

Crappieremain in a similar pattern, and veteran tournament angler Will Hinson of Cassatt reports that fish are still related to the river channel around brush in 12-23 feet of water.  They can be found from one end of the lake to the other, but the biggest concentrations seem to be between Colonel Creek and Dutchman’s.  There are also a bunch of fish within 1000 yards of Clearwater Cove.  Fish are flat on the bottom and they are taking Fish Stalker jigs in Mountain Dew and army green.

July 19

Lake Wateree water levels are at 96.9% of full pool, and water temperatures are 90 degrees and above. The lake is relatively clear.

Even though it’s gotten hot, veteran tournament angler Will Hinson of Cassatt reports that crappie have not gone terribly deep.  As expected they are related to the river channel, and they are around brush in 12-23 feet of water.  Fish can be found from one end of the lake to the other, but the biggest concentrations seem to be between Colonel Creek and Dutchman’s.  Fish are flat on the bottom and they are taking Fish Stalker jigs in Mountain Dew and army green.

Unsurprisingly bassfishing has gotten tough on Lake Wateree, and FLW fisherman Dearal Rodgers of Camden reports that while there could be some shallow bite for him there has been very little action around the bank.  Most of the fish seem to be deeper right now, and fish are setting up off points, ledges and humps.  They will take shakey heads, a Carolina rig, jigs, or even crankbaits if they are aggressive.

June 24

Lake Wateree water levels are back up to 98.6% of full pool, and water temperatures are around 82-85 degrees.  The lake has a very slight Wateree stain to it but overall looks very good.

There are certainly still some fish shallow on Lake Wateree, but FLW fisherman Dearal Rodgersof Camden reports that better numbers of fish can be found deep where the CATT tournament was won this weekend with about 20 pounds.  And as a result of changes to water levels and water temperatures they have now gone properly deep, for Wateree, into the 10-20 foot range.  Fish are setting up off points, ledges and humps and they will take a crankbait, jig or Carolina rig.

On the crappie front, veteran tournament angler Will Hinson of Cassatt reports that the pattern is unchanged except that fish are getting even more solidly on brush.

June 20

Lake Wateree water levels have been on a roller coaster but are now down to 97.3% of full pool, and water temperatures are 85-89 degrees.  The lake is muddy on the upper end, and relatively clear on the lower end.

Water conditions are changing virtually by the minute on Lake Wateree, but FLW fisherman Dearal Rodgers of Camden reports that if you get on the bass right now you can absolutely smash them.  Earlier this week Dearal and his son Fisher caught 30 fish between 2-6 pounds in an afternoon of fishing, and they found them stacked up in a few spots.

In the morning there is some good topwater action and any shad (buzzbait, Pop-R, Spook) or bream (frog) imitation will catch fish shallow.  There is also some good offshore fishing, but it does not seem that the fish are on very deep structure.  Dearal and his son found them mainly in 5-6 feet, and the deepest structure that has produced has been in the 10-foot zone. It seems that fish are staying shallower than in the past on Lake Wateree.  Crankbaits are working well “offshore.”

Water conditions have certainly affected the crappiefishing on Wateree, and veteran tournament angler Will Hinson of Cassatt reports that high water has scattered the fish out. They are just now beginning to settle down on brush in the 15-22 foot range.  One pole jigging with Fish Stalker jigs in Mountain Dew or army green has been the best pattern.  Early and late fish are suspended over the brush, but then they will drop down in it when the sun is up.  Fish can be caught from one end of the lake to the other as long as you stay near the river channel.

The Colonel Creek and Dutchman Creek bridges do continue to produce some fish.

June 6

Lake Wateree is down to 97.1% of full pool, and water temperatures have already hit the mid to upper 80s.  The water is pretty clear for Lake Wateree.

Even with the heat crappiefishing has been good recently, and veteran tournament angler Will Hinson of Cassatt reports that fish are biting on brush in 15-22 feet of water. Early in the morning they are suspended high in the brush, but as the sun rises they drop down in it.  Both minnows and jigs are working, with Fish Stalker colors Mountain Dew, pearl white, yellow with black flake, and black emerald the best right now.

The bite is good from one end of the lake to the other, but anglers need to be fishing the main lake near the river channel.  The backs have just gotten too warm.

One exception is the bridges, with both the Colonel Creek and Dutchman Creek bridges producing fairly well.

This Saturday there is a Federation basstournament coming up, and so FLW fisherman Dearal Rodgers of Camden can’t say too much.  However, right now he reports that the fishing is strong, with a good bite both deep and shallow.

Shallow fish are still keying on bream beds, and they can also be caught around grass and docks.  Frogs, buzzbaits, swimbaits, and plastic worms will all catch fish around the grass, and jigs and shakey heads are both working around docks.  The deeper fish are still around points and humps in 10-15 feet of water.  Carolina rigs, crankbaits and jigs will all catch these fish.