Fishing Report For Lake Moultrie, SC

Current Report: Good

There is good reason to fish for big blue catfish here. They are plentiful and grow to monster size. The state record, over 113 pounds, was caught here. Catfish around 20 lbs to 50 lbs are pretty common.

FALL. Fall is one of the better times of year for catching channel catfish. As Fall is coming to an end, blues are moving deeper in search of food. Good target areas include the channel edges from Bonneau to Overton Park, around Coon Island, and in the canal linking Lake Marion and Lake Moultrie. Look for moderately deeper holes in the main body of the lake, around 15 to 35 feet deep. They remain in these areas and feed aggressively in preparation for Winter.

WINTER. In Winter, focus on deep holes, in 25 to 50 feet deep, where blue catfish wait through the cold water season. They are less aggressive now, but slow drifting, or dead sticking baits, can still trigger bites. Cut bait, or live bait taken from this lake are the top bait choice. Use slip sinkers, 3-way rigs, or Carolina rigs with enough weight to keep the bait bumping bottom as you drift or slow troll.

SPRING. Spring begins the aggressive feeding in preparation for winter. Blues at this time are being caught 8 to 25 feet deep in bays, on flats where baitfish school, and shallow ledges. Cut bait is the ideal bait this time of year, with locals preferring cut shad, or live shad.

SUMMER. Early Summer is post-spawn season for big blue catfish. They follow big schools of baitfish, and feed heartily. Live shad is the preferred bait at night, while cut bait is catching nice blues during the day. Stay around channel edges and fish areas that have concentrations of bait. Once Summer weather has warmed lake water above the 70's, blue catfish move closer to the main lake, to moderately deeper feeding areas, still preferring to remain in current when available. Blues, including some of the bigger ones, are now being caught while slow trolling, or drifting ledges, adjacent to river channels, or within the channel along the edges. The canal linking Lake Marion and Lake Moultrie is a top choice for big blues in Summer. The lake record here is over 100 pounds, and big blues, 25 to 70 pounds, are regularly caught. Anglers fishing from the bank are catching a few fish, but boats are the preferred approach. Late Summer, if the water temperature rises above the high 70's, they become less active, and fishing can slow down.

Current Report: Very Good

Lake Moultrie has an abundance of threadfin shad and gizzard shad. This forage, plus slot limits, has allowed the striper population to grow significantly.

FALL. Earlier in Fall, stripers had returned to shallower water. Early in the day stripers were chasing bait to the surface and feed aggressively, which made for excellent topwater action. They have followed schools of bait, back into deeper water, and are hanging out in 15 to 20 feet of water. Look for shallow water nearby deeper river channels, and fish them thoroughly. Most any lure that resembles shad will catch striped bass at this time of year. The mouth of the canal linking Lake Marion and Lake Moultrie, draws stripers to feed on transitioning baitfish.

WINTER. Last winter was an awesome season for catching big stripers. In Winter, stripers again hang out in deeper water and feed close to the bottom, often as deep as 50 feet. Warm, sunny afternoons occasionally draw stripers shallower, to around 20 or 25 feet deep as they feed on roaming schools of threadfin shad and gizzard shad. The main lake basin, along deep channels is holding schools of stripers, especially in the section of lake around the dam. Locate schools of bait, then look for stripers close by. Fish finders, and forward facing sonar, are a big help in locating these roaming schools. Nice stripers are caught while drift fishing with live bait or cut bait. Spoons, blade baits, and heavy hair jigs are also effective this time of year. Due to the stripers slower metabolism this time of year, anglers are triggering more strikes by working baits more slowly.

SPRING. Water temperatures are return to the mid 60's, and that's ideal for the stripers to spawn. In Spring, work the upper end of the lake, and the backs of coves, where there is inflowing water. If they spawn, this is where they will lay eggs in the moving water. They also move into transition zones on the main lake, in 8 to 30 feet of water, feeding on baitfish, which are moving toward the shallows. Expect to locate them on mid-depth ledges, humps, flats or points.

SUMMER. Striped bass fishing is typically closed June 16–Sept 30.

Current Report: Good To Very Good

In March, a national bass tournament on Lake Moultrie and Lake Marion was won with 20 fish weighing an average of over 4 pounds each. A spinnerbait was the primary lure. So the lake has plenty of quality bass, and locals are catching both quantity and quality as well.

FALL. Now that late Fall taking over, bass are moving out of the shallows, following schools of baitfish back into 10 to 20 feet of water.Good areas to target include creek mouths, cypress trees, humps and ledges. Currently deep-diving crankbaits, slow-rolled spinnerbaits, artificial worms, spoons and jigs are catching most of the bass. Later in Fall, as deeper water cools, bait and bass move out to ledges, channel edges, points and humps where flutter spoons, jigs and drop shots are often good choices in 12 to 25 feet of water.

WINTER. Winter will isolate largemouth around slightly deeper structure, flats, points and creek channels. They can be found from 10 to 30 feet deep, around main-lake channel edges, rock piles, stump fields and brush piles. Here they hold, feeding less frequently, awaiting warmer water to return in Spring. Slow presentations are key to getting bites. On warmer days, especially during late afternoons, bass may move shallower to feed.

SPRING. Once water temperatures rise into the low 60's, largemouth will move from deep wintering holes, to shallower water nearby spawning areas. Anglers report good topwater action from mid Spring through Summer, especially early in the morning, and on cloudy days. Vibrating jigs, jerkbaits and spinnerbaits typically get bites just away from the shoreline. Good spawning areas include flooded timber and shallow humps near the Cross Hatchery and the canal, among many other areas. At this time they are feeding aggressively in about 2 to 12 feet of water, and preparing for the spawn. Once water warms into the mid to high 60's, they will move into 1 to 6 feet of water, and create nests, then lay their eggs. Immediately afterwards, females move to deeper water and males remain to guard the eggs, and then the fry. After a couple weeks, the males also move to slightly deeper water, around 6 to 18 feet deep. Deep-diving crankbaits, vibrating jigs, plastic worms, jigs, worms, and swimbaits catch bass during this period.

SUMMER. Water temperatures will warm considerably in Summer. Bass will feed shallow, early and late in the day, where they will be caught in 3 to 10 feet of water, on topwater lures, square-bill crankbaits, spinnerbaits and a variety of other lures. Wacky-rigged stick worms always catch finicky bass when the bite is slow. Largemouth bass here feed on shad, herring, small sunfish and crawfish. During the hotter parts of the day, they are being caught on points, channel edges, and ledges 15 to 20 feet deep. Some good, Summer reports come from anglers fishing around shady cypress trees, docks, and shoreline shade along the north shore.