A light fog rests on the calm, black waters of a cutoff on the Combahee River. Barely flooded trees bound the small backwater, but a single big tupelo sits a little farther out and appears to have a couple feet of water around its trunk. A lone angler in a canoe casts a jointed minnow bait past the tupelo's base and begins cranking steadily so the little plug wobbles past the cover. A 2 1/2-pound largemouth stops the lure in its tracks and a moment later shatters the morning calm when it breaks the surface and shakes its head. The hooks hold true, and a few minutes later the angler is able to lip-land his prize, which he'll then slip back into the water. Then he'll make another cast past the same tree -- just in case that fish had a buddy.

Throughout the Palmetto State, bass fishermen venture out daily during March when largemouth fishing action really begins to heat up. Weekends bring the biggest crowds, but many anglers gladly use vacation days to fish this time of year. Many spend their days on big reservoirs in traditional bass boats and are armed with arsenals of rods, reels and lures. Others fish from the banks of state-managed lakes, paddle johnboats in private ponds or drift moving waters in canoes.

From Lake Jocassee, which is mountainous and clear and supports four different black bass species, to the famous waters of the Santee Cooper lakes, South Carolina offers a tremendous amount of opportunities to bass fishermen, with great variety in the offerings. Let's explore some of the waters that promise to serve up the best bass fishing in the year ahead.

LAKE JOCASSEE
South Carolina's only true mountain lake offers two unique benefits to South Carolina bass fishermen. First, all four black bass species that can be caught in South Carolina inhabit Lake Jocassee. Second, the bass tend to grow to large sizes. While most anglers don't think of Jocassee as a largemouth lake, it yields double-digit-weight largemouths virtually every year.

Several factors contribute to Jocassee's big-bass production, according to Dan Rankin, an upstate fisheries biologist for the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources. First, densities are low, which allows for fast growth rates. Second, disease-related problems are rare in Jocassee's pristine waters. Third, blueback herring, which grow larger than threadfin shad, dominate the forage base. Finally, targeted largemouth pressure is light, allowing some bass to grow quite old.

Actually, all four black bass species grow to big sizes in Lake Jocassee, partly evidenced by the fact that the state-record smallmouth, redeye and spotted bass all came from the same 6,500-acre body of water. Jocassee regulars pursue "Jocassee Slams" and know that they have the legitimate opportunity to catch quality fish of all four species in a day.

While all four black bass species reproduce naturally, the DNR does supplemental stockings of smallmouth bass. Having noticed that smallmouth catch rates were dwindling, with mostly older fish in the catch, the DNR began stocking smallmouths five years ago, according to Rankin.