From tiny streams trickling down toward the flatlands, to the rivers feeding the state's reservoirs, to coastal estuaries discharging into the Atlantic, the Palmetto State is blessed with a dizzying array of waters. Fishing hotspots come in all sizes, depths, flows and chemistries.

It's impossible to catch every species of game fish available in any given year or for that matter, over the lifetime of most fishermen. Still, it's nice to give it a try, or at least to catch those closest to home.

You can pick your poison, tackling those fish that interest you the most. We will help you make the selection. Here's the rundown on some of the hottest fishing opportunities.

JANUARY
Hilton Head
Bluefin Tuna
News of giant bluefin tuna has been spreading across the Palmetto State from Hilton Head for almost a decade. But landing one has been only an occasional feat. Even when one of the super-charged tuna has been landed, it has usually been caught in North Carolina waters and incidentally landed in South Carolina.

In January 2006, Capt. Michael Perry set his mind on catching a genuine Palmetto State bluefin. Perry has fished charter boats in Florida and South Carolina most of his adult life. He has been a captain for eight years and has fished aboard Echo, a 32-foot Prowler owned by Randy Osterstock, as mate and part-time captain for 10 seasons.

"There's a core of captains at Harbor Town Marina," Perry said. "We're like brothers and share information. When I heard bluefin were off Hilton Head, I got ready to go.

"Clark Hill caught the first one in 1999 and only eight or nine had been caught since," he said. "Only a couple of boats are equipped to catch them here because it's a new fishery. I was trolling with three Penn 80w reels 30 miles offshore at a place called The Hump. There is not much contour change, but there are ledges out there where we catch grouper and snapper. The depth is 86 feet."

Before heading out, Perry checked an online temperature chart and found a 56-degree water at The Hump.

"We trolled horse ballyhoos on blue-and-white Islanders at our numbers, then went around the R7 Navy Tower," he said. "We saw bonito swirling and birds picking. But we didn't get a bite, so we headed back to the ledges. There were wads of birds and bonito working and we could smell fish. That's when we hooked up."

The turbo-charged fish stripped 900 yards of 80-pound line, which was regained after a chase. Then it made three more 600-yard runs in five minutes. Anglers Jim Scott Middleton and Robbie Marioudas tired the fish for over four hours until it was landed.

The giant bluefin officially weighed 396 pounds, 14.4 ounces at the dock and was certified as the new state record although the crew had bled the fish for market, so it had lost weight. There are bigger fish in South Carolina waters in January.

FEBRUARY
Lake Wylie
Crappie

Lake Wylie is located along the North Carolina-South Carolina state line. The lake offers miles of shoreline cover, including docks, riprap, stumps and brushy areas in the back of creeks. Still, many crappie fishermen hedge their bets by sinking evergreens at intersections of submerged creek beds in 5 to 25 feet of water.

It may be cold, but the crappie like it that way. Some anglers wait until warmer weather to fish for Wylie's crappie, but there's no need to wait for spring to get in on the action.

Wylie grows some heavyweights. In fact, a 2-pound crappie hardly elicits more than a yawn from serious winter anglers.

The good news about fishing in February is there is scant competition from other fishermen. While springtime anglers wait until the fish are moving into spawning or pre-spawning habitats in the backs of coves and creeks or in the mouths of the creeks, most of the February fish will be concentrated in big schools along dropoffs outside the creeks.

The fish congregate at ledges where the water depth may drop suddenly from 20 to 30 feet. A depthfinder will show the locations of big schools of baitfish and the crappie feeding on them anywhere the drop is pronounced.

MARCH
Little River Inlet
Spotted Sea Trout
Little River Inlet was the hotspot for speckled trout last spring and this year's fishing should be just as good. Live shrimp, minnow-imitating lures, and jigs are the ticket.

The key to catching specks is finding an area with plenty of bait; if you are lucky, you find the bait in a March that followed several mild winters in a row. Specks are subject to winterkill farther north. But at the northern part of South Carolina, winters remain mild, growing big specks. Specks are prolific fish with a protracted breeding period during the spring, summer and early fall, leading to large numbers.

But they also grow fast, with a 4-pound speck female attaining that size in just three seasons. Male fish grow slower, but get as large.

Fishing with live baits of any kind will catch specks. Among the best baits are live shrimp, mud minnows, mullet and menhaden. However, for the biggest specks, trophy fishermen should not overlook spots and croakers, which are primary prey for jumbo-sized specks.