Typically, he's looking for aggressive fish on these areas. His feeling is any bass that moves from the surrounding deep water onto the shallow part of the structure is after one thing: food. The bass will be looking to feed aggressively, then retreat back to deeper water. Crankbaits are the lure of choice, but he'll usually cast a Texas-rigged worm a time or two as well.

The difference in the lower and upper ends of the lake is quite pronounced in terms of water depths. In the upper sector of the lake, there are numerous humps and ridges along the Saluda River channel that get to within 12 to 15 feet of the surface, right at the edge of the river channel. On the flat side of the hump, back toward the shoreline, the depth will fall back a little deeper before gradually rising near the shoreline. These high spots are outstanding areas for largemouths to congregate and can produce plenty of action in short order.

Farther up the lake, the two main feeders, the Saluda and Reedy rivers, form a junction. Each arm of the lake from there will produce good fishing in shallow water. There are many smaller largemouths to contend with at times, but working shallow-water cover down to 10 to 12 feet deep will produce bites right on through mid-day. Some of these will be quality fish and a few hawg largemouths can be hooked as well.

Some of the tournament anglers I've talked with do tend to target shoreline areas where the contour maps show the Reedy or Saluda rivers approaching close to the shoreline. Other spots you can locate on the maps are places where the rivers make sharp bends. The outside bend is generally considered to be the top contact point. If these bends occur near the shoreline, then that particular stretch of shoreline is a good bet on Lake Greenwood at this time of the year. These areas are more likely than other areas to produce a big fish.

Existing bridge crossings, both highway and railroad bridges, are excellent summertime areas. The riprap sections near the points of these bridge crossings are excellent summertime hotspots. Some of the bridges have wooden pilings and are also prime bass-holding structures. In both cases, the bass will sometimes suspend around these places, so don't just drag a worm along the bottom and consider the spot properly fished. For example, cast crankbaits and swimming minnow lures to cover the mid-depths and shallow-water areas.

In addition to the above-water bridges, there are several underwater roadbeds that cross portions of the lake and these are typically outstanding largemouth bass hotspots. One key area is to find the roadbeds that go all the way to the main river channel. Another prime spot is where two roadbeds intersect in the mid-lake area. The depths of these areas will vary with the portion of the lake you find them. Some of the spots are easily and effectively fished with crankbaits. Others may require the use of a Carolina worm rig. Some anglers will use jigging spoons and fish vertically along these structures. They use their graph recorders and watch as they move along the inundated roadbeds, looking for groups of fish.

Farther downlake, the shallow-water humps are sometimes more difficult to locate, but they are there. The topo maps I've seen do depict some, but other anglers who have sworn me to secrecy about the exact locations have shown me some places that do not appear on maps. They are well worth the time spent to locate. These spots can hold large numbers of quality fish during this time of the year.