Of course, live bait is both traditional and effective for crappie. Small to medium shiners are an old standby that many anglers choose.

When asked about studies done on the lakes in his region, Hayes reported that Lake Secession and Lake Greenwood were the only recently studied lakes. This study took place in 2005; in that year, Secession had a weak recruitment year. A weak recruitment year in 2005 will translate into just an average year for 2008. Lake Greenwood had a creel survey in 2005 and 34 percent of the fishermen who fished there targeted crappie; that means one out of three persons that fished there were crappie fishermen.

Joey Lindler is State Lakes Coordinator for the SCDNR, and is a dedicated crappie fisherman who lives in Chapin, S.C. He primarily trolls using a spider rig. His favorite lure is a 1/32- or 1/16-ounce jig with a lip-hooked minnow.

Like Hayes, he prefers to fish Lake Greenwood. Where he plans to fish on the lake on any given day will determine what landing he will use. The State Park and Reeder's Landing are two good mid-lake landings. When fishing the upper part of the lake, he will use the Boy Scout Landing or the Phillips Boat Landing No. 4.

Lindler targets crappie along the creek channels in February and March. April finds him fishing around docks and shallow brush. During the summer and fall months, he fishes deep creek channels and brush in 25 to 30 feet of water.

Billy Hoole runs The Sportsman's Friend in Greenwood. He is a good contact for water conditions, current fishing reports and what the crappie are biting this week. Give him a call at (864) 229-7061.

Jim Pratt lives in Greenville and is a "regular" who fishes for crappie in Lake Hartwell and Clarks Hill. During the hot months of summer, he targets boathouses that house pontoon boats in 15 to 20 feet of water at Lake Hartwell. Shade and deep water are what he is looking for here. He "shoots the docks" with hair jigs that he ties himself. He "shoots" every nook and cranny of the dock to include under and beside the pontoon boat. The spaces between the flotation for the dock are another prime target for Pratt.

A destination he highly recommends for spring is the Hester's Bottoms at Mt. Carmel State Park on Clarks Hill.

He said, "This area is the best crappie fishing in the South at that time."

He recommends fishing with a float with the jig 2 to 4 feet below the float. Be sure to run your clinch knot tight on the eye of the jig's hook so that the line is 90 degrees away from the main shank of the hook; this makes the jig run parallel to the surface like a live minnow swims. If your jig hangs vertical as opposed to horizontal, this will drastically cut down on strikes. Fish down the banks. Sandy banks, rocky banks, exposed brush and logs are prime places to fish, too.

REGION 2
Region 2 is primarily made up of lakes on the Catawba River chain. Lake Wylie is the northernmost lake of this chain, followed by Fishing Creek. Stumpy Pond is next along with Lake Wateree. Lake Monticello is also in this region.