Also, in recent years there's been a strong increase in the blue catfish fishery in the lake. Although the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR) did not stock these fish in this lake, the blue catfish are certainly here and are becoming a strong fishery. Last year (2005), I saw a number of blue catfish taken from this lake that weighed in the 15- to 25-pound class and there are likely some much larger than that in the lake as well. The forage base of threadfin shad is very good and seems to be ideal for the blues. There's no reason to think that 2006 won't produce yet another big crop of both channel and blue catfish in this fertile lake.

The first report I ever heard about catfish on Strom Thurmond Lake (aka Clarks Hill) was about a 60-pound blue catfish caught on a rod and reel many years ago. At first, I was shocked to hear of such a huge fish from this lake, but the more I've learned about the lake, the less surprised I am. In fact, the lake likely holds much larger fish for the catfishermen who can unravel the secrets of the many underwater structures.

The body of water is situated on the fertile Savannah River that flows along the length of the South Carolina western border. Although each of the lakes along the river is good for catfishing, this lake seems to have the ingredients for producing the best catfishing on a consistent basis.

The lake can be classified as a clear, deep lake, which when combined with the many twists and turns of the river and the many creeks which feed the lake, there are a multitude of underwater structures to which the catfish can relate. A depthfinder is perhaps not mandatory for success, but I'd really hate to fish this lake without one. There are many humps, ridges, drops, channels and other structure from which you can choose, as well as points and man-made structures, such as old roadbeds and the rip-rap areas around bridges.

Natural, cut and stink baits all work well, with large gobs of night crawlers being a particular favorite of many anglers.

Because of the sometimes very clear water associated with summer and fall, this lake is often much more productive at night than by day. The catfish will often migrate much more shallow during the nocturnal hours.

Lake Murray gets plenty of fishing pressure and is noted for providing good fishing for several species. The catfish, although it does have a following at the lake, does not receive the media light that the game fish receive. I'm sure that's fine with those catfish anglers who would like to keep it as quiet as possible.

But this lake does provide very good fishing throughout the spring, summer and fall. As I will repeat on each lake, structure is a key to taking catfish consistently. During the spring and early summer, the catfish seem to be located in the major tributaries; and during the summer and fall, they orient more to the mainstream portion of the lake. Depths will vary with water clarity and temperature, but look for the fish to relate more to "edges" along breaklines, than to specific depths in this lake.