PIEDMONT
“Lake Russell is the Keowee of the early 1990s,” said Gene Hayes, a SCDNR fisheries biologist, referring to the recent introduction of spotted bass into the lake. “The spotted bass have really come on strong in the lake. Over 50 percent of what we see now is spotted bass.”

Hayes said there are numerous spotted bass in the 1- to 2-pound range, but they haven’t seen the big fish yet. This may be because the spotted bass in Lake Russell are the northern strain, which has a slow growth rate, whereas the fish in Keowee are the southern strain, characterized by a high growth rate.

“We have found spotted bass in four of the five regions of the lake,” Hayes said. “The only place we didn’t find them was the tailrace below Hartwell. Despite their abundance, creel surveys have indicated that less than 1 percent of the fishing effort targets spotted bass.”

In contrast, 65 percent of the fishing effort on the lake was for largemouth bass. Hayes described Russell as a fisherman’s lake and more of a “numbers” lake for bass.

“Russell is characterized by low productivity and it has a lower prey base than lakes such as Greenwood and Murray,” Hayes said. “However, the Army Corps of Engineers left a lot of timber standing in Russell, so there’s a lot of structure for fishermen. It’s not a skiing lake.”

To date, the occurrence of spotted bass has not affected the largemouth bass fishing. The catch per unit effort has remained stable between surveys conducted in 1998 and 2005. Most largemouths caught are between 12 and 16 inches long, with 10 percent larger than 16 inches. By contrast, only 5 percent of spotted bass were over 16 inches, alluding to what Hayes said about the abundance of small spotted bass.

Moving from the low-productivity lakes of the Savannah River drainage, bass anglers will find very productive lakes in other parts of the Piedmont.

“Lake Greenwood is right up there with some of the best bass lakes in the state,” Hayes said. “It is a very productive lake that features a big prey base for largemouth bass.

“It is, however, considered a hard lake to fish, according to anglers. You won’t see the turnout for a tournament on Greenwood like you would for some other lakes.

“The bass get fat and sassy because of all the forage, which is mainly wall-to-wall gizzard and threadfin shad. A bass is not going to run and chase down a Rapala when all it has to do is easily smash through a school of threadfins and get its belly full.”

Another lake that Hayes likens to Greenwood is Lake Secession.

“Secession reminds me of a smaller Lake Greenwood. The lake receives a lot of nutrient inflow from the Anderson area, which makes it very productive. The largemouth fishing on the lake is good.”

Lake Secession is 1,460 acres and Lake Greenwood covers 10,500 acres.

Lake Rabon stands out to Hayes as well. He said the lake is owned by Laurens County, which requires a permit to fish the lake and imposes a horsepower restriction.

“Lake Rabon has a low-density bass population, but the prey base is sufficient,” Hayes said. “Some of the fish are enormous, with many in the large-size classes, up to 10-pound fish.”