Of course, if you haven't been on the lake a lot, then use your graph to find these manmade, fish-holding areas. Slowly motor across points and along channel ledges in 10 to 25 feet of water in a patterned fashion and you should spot several places in short order. Often, while motoring from one place to another, back off the throttle and keep one eye on the depthfinder. I've found some very good summertime bass hotspots in this manner.

You often don't have to fish real deep water to be successful at Lake Wylie, but the 8- to 16-foot depth range is usually a good zone to start looking in during early summer. As August arrives, you'll perhaps have to hunt and peck a bit deeper for consistent success.

One of the top fish producers during July will be bottom bumpers, but that's not the only way to catch Wylie bass. Of course, the plastic worm rigged either Texas or Carolina style will be a very good choice. Spinnerbaits (the 3/8-ounce and larger varieties) will get down and work ledges and deep cover extremely well. Deep-diving crankbaits worked off long, sloping points and along channel edges, especially if there are some scattered stumps in conjunction with the bottom structure, are also excellent choices.

Some anglers do work the lake at night during the summer. The recreational crowds during the day can create distractions during the summer months, with July being a time period of particularly heavy traffic . . . especially on weekends. The shallow-water action does improve during the nocturnal hours.

The largemouths are more susceptible in shallow water at night and black buzzbaits and dark-colored plastic worms are two popular choices, especially for big fish at night.

LAKE RUSSELL
Now let's switch gears and look at productive patterns on Lake Russell.

First of all, sandwiched between lakes Hartwell and Thurmond, Lake Russell is a mainstream Savannah River Lake. One big difference is that quite a bit of wood was left in the lake, which does make the bass fishery more interesting. While patterns that work at either of the other two lakes can work here, there are several unique patterns we'll discuss as well.

One thing that is different compared with the other two big Savannah River lakes is the lake level remains relatively stable throughout the year, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Travis Jackson, a tournament angler out of Spartanburg, reports that Lake Russell can be very productive during July.

"There are many different patterns that can work on this lake during the summer months," Jackson said. "We've found good fishing in quite shallow water back in the creek, and we've caught fish from along the main-river channels out of 30 feet of water on a return trip a few days later."

One key, he notes, is local weather patterns. If there's been a good thunderstorm in the area, he'll get in the back of the creeks where there is plenty of cover and work Rattletraps and Carolina-rigged worms around the heavy cover.