OCTOBER
Waccamaw River
Panfish
In October, the river levels are usually down to normal levels after the tropical events of August and September. The water has cooled and the panfish are back to biting again.

There are several accesses to the Waccamaw River near Myrtle Beach and these ramps are host to some hot panfishing.

Redbreasts, warmouth bluegills, shellcrackers, fliers and crappie abound in the Waccamaw. Cypress knees, logjams, sandbars and creek mouths hold plenty of panfish. Most anglers use spinners and live baits, casting after panfish in the "anything that bites" category.

NOVEMBER
Mountain Rivers
Trout
The Chattooga, Chauga, Middle Saluda and Whitewater rivers in the mountainous areas of the state offer some excellent fishing for rainbow, brook and brown trout.

The S.C. Department of Natural Resources begins stocking coldwater trout in the state's upcountry waters in March, including waters of Oconee, Pickens and Greenville counties. The fish are reared at the SCDNR Walhalla State Fish Hatchery in Oconee County. The SCDNR releases 350,000 to 400,000 trout annually to provide anglers with expanded fishing opportunities. Stream stocking days are randomly selected and unannounced and streams are stocked on an average of every week to 10 days during spring months.

Stream regulations for mountain trout vary widely but begin with the basis of a 10-fish creel limit. Some waters have a total ban on trout harvest after Nov. 1, so the regulations must be checked before fishing.

DECEMBER
Richard B. Russell Lake
Walleyes
The state-record walleye was a whopper, weighing 10 pounds and was caught from Lake Russell by Robert Huskins in 1994. There are plenty of big walleyes in the lake, yet few anglers try to catch them.

There are plenty of good boating accesses on the lake. Watch the depthfinder for fish near the bottom wherever there are baitfish concentrations in deep water. The big blips below the baitfish are likely to be walleyes.

Bumping the bottom with live minnows fished on jigheads or behind spinner blades is the way to go for walleyes. Walleyes can form thick schools when the water turns colder. The colder it gets, the more the fish activate.

Drifting and slow-trolling tactics work well for walleyes. While the fish are not as hard fighting as some of the other game fish, they make up for their lack of enthusiasm on the table, with firm, white fillets sure to please winter anglers.

Find more about South Carolina fishing and hunting at: SCgameandfish.com