Photo by Mike Marsh

Fishing patterns change throughout the seasons on the various lakes in South Carolina, regardless of the species being sought. That certainly seems to be the case with striped bass in several lakes in the state.

And not only do patterns change with the seasons, they exhibit changes over the course of several years. However, change doesn’t mean the fishing is suffering. Actually, the striper fishing on a number of lakes in South Carolina continues to be as good or better than ever with the catch rate remaining very high.

This is true even in the dead of winter, which for some anglers is actually a prime time to make big catches of large stripers. There are three lakes that stand out for great striper (or striper and hybrid) fishing opportunities as the new year of 2007 begins. Specifically, lakes Hartwell, Thurmond and Moultrie all offer excellent fishing, if you know the how and where of each lake. And what we’re going to do here is give you advice from the experts on the how and where.

LAKE HARTWELL
Certainly one of the best striper fishing trips I’ve ever enjoyed in the Palmetto State occurred a few years ago at Lake Hartwell. Not only did three friends and I catch a passel of stripers, but we had a good mixture of hybrids as well. It was a bitter cold morning, but we scarcely noticed the cold air and chilling wind.

The stripers were bunched up on an underwater creek bend and we managed to get the boat right on top of them. Fishing with blueback herring, we had limits for everyone in the boat within three hours. For those anglers who know the routine, this type of fishing certainly occurs at this lake during the winter.

Granted, it’s not always that easy, but anglers with the right strategy find that good days happen more often. One such angler is longtime striper fishing guide Chip Hamilton. Hamilton has been guiding for 12 years on Lake Hartwell and recognizes the wintertime pattern as one that’s typically very reliable and very productive.

“The first thing to consider is that there are some major water temperature transitions going on at this time of the year,” Hamilton began. “As the water begins to cool down, the fish begin their migration up the creeks and rivers on Lake Hartwell. This will typically begin to occur in December. Looking for fish in the tributaries and not the main lake is one of the keys to success in terms of where to find the fish. They will typically be leaving the main lake where they often orient to the underwater trees. During this time of the year, the favored structures are underwater features that are relatively clean and void of trees and brush.

“One of my favorite areas is simply the clean humps that rise up from the deep water in the larger creeks and rivers. Another excellent place I focus on is the end of long, sloping points. Both are typically great places for stripers and hybrids to congregate,” Hamilton added.