Chris Simpson nets a nice Lake Greenwood channel catfish. Even for channel cats here, a big net can come in handy in the winter. Photo by Terry Madewell.

Chris Simpson was a classic study in focused concentration. His eyes were constantly in motion, first studying the depthfinder, then scanning rod tips and then tapping the electric motor to fine-tune the drift pattern. Then he repeated the process . . . again and again.

"We caught some double-digit channel catfish here the other day," Simpson said. "We had one nearly 13 pounds right off this spot. That's a really big channel catfish anywhere in South Carolina. I think our luck may be about to change for the better."

From my perspective, our "luck" had not been bad at all. We'd caught numerous channel catfish, several in the 4- to 6-pound class and it was still quite early in the day. Simpson, however, was on a double-digit catfish quest. He wanted to demonstrate what he already believed: That Lake Greenwood is the best spot in the state to catch a trophy channel catfish.

Simpson is a fulltime fishing guide (864/992-2352) who specializes in big catfish. He'll fish his home Lake Greenwood much of the year, and he really focuses on this lake during the cold weather months. He also guides on Lake Murray and Monticello Lake.

"I know the blues and flatheads top-end at heavier weight than the channel catfish," Simpson said. "But I have catfished for years all around the state and I believe a 10-pound channel catfish is a trophy channel catfish. I also believe that Lake Greenwood is the best channel catfish lake in the state and the most dependable place to catch channel catfish consistently over 10 pounds."

Simpson acknowledges that there are several other lakes with excellent channel catfish populations, including lakes Marion and Moultrie and the Santee Cooper lakes where the current world-record channel cattish of 58 pounds was caught.

"I fish lakes Marion and Moultrie and I love the big blues and flatheads down there," he said. "But Lake Greenwood is my preference for trophy channel catfish and the cold weather months of mid-November and December right though March and April are prime times to catch the biggest ones of the year."

Simpson added that Lake Greenwood also harbors a healthy and growing populating of flathead catfish, and he's caught several blue catfish over 25 pounds as well. All of this action comes while fishing primarily for the plentiful channel catfish. It can make for a very interesting and productive fishing trip.

"Lake Greenwood has long been an outstanding catfish lake," he said. "But with the combination of the channel catfish we already have and the growing population of flatheads and blues in this fertile lake, I expect Greenwood to soon be considered one of the top all-around catfish lakes anywhere."

Simpson said one of the really good signs of the growing catfish population at Lake Greenwood is that he knows of several smaller blue catfish that were caught during the winter and spring of 2008. This, he said, signifies that the other catfish species are reproducing.