I like to use a jigging spoon or a dropshot rig. Nestled in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains near Clemson, anyone who has ever seen Lake Keowee knows that it is one of the most beautiful lakes in South Carolina. Lake Jocassee in South Carolina is above Lake Keowee. For anglers who do not want to fish very deep there are some options in the cold months, and you can cast to points in 30-40 feet of water with a sinking jerkbait. Any game fish or species with a size limit listed must be landed with head and tail fin intact. Latimers bait choices at Keowee are fairly standard for a clear lake. The lake is created by Hartwell Dam located on the Savannah River seven miles below the point at which the Tugaloo and Seneca Rivers join to form the Savannah. At the edge of the flat, the bottom drops sharply into the river channel, creating an outstanding holding area for June bass. 12 inches min. Beyond black bass, varieties of fish that get significant attention from anglers include crappie, catfish and bluegill. Required fields are marked *. When Charles is fishing a spoon he tries to fish it vertically as much as conditions will allow, and he points out the importance of keeping your thumb just off the spool as it falls (when many fish will bite). . Located just below Lake Jocasse, the water is surrounded by pristine wilderness and picturesque mountains. The fish we caught were flat on the bottom, and when one would bite we would almost always see several more come off the bottom with it. Look for dark spots on long, main-lake points, humps or islands. In this period 40-60 feet of water is a good depth range to fish, with 50 often ideal. SOLD FEB 17, 2023. Sign up to get exclusive fishing reports and special offers delivered directly to your inbox. View our maps and read detailed fishing reports from nearby anglers. Theres a school of fish here year round, Green said, describing Cedar Creek, a small tributary that has two forks. This man-made reservoir sits right in the northwest corner of the state. It does not store any personal data. Anglers can cut out over 90% of the lake by concentrating their efforts on several creek arms at the upper extremes of the reservoir. Water temperatures have remained constant this past week, ranging from the low 50s on the south and north ends to the low 60s mid-lake. Join AHQ Premier for unlimited Free Shipping & access to the AHQ Report. Oh my god. I never got a bite, I never caught a fish, and I think I came in last place in that tournament, said Rubio, who went on to found Fatsack Outdoors. The first 73-pound striper was caught in 1973 by Charles Church at Quicks Hole. The lake is the cleanest and the coolest in the area. The lake covers approximately 18,000 acres of surface area and is home to excellent spotted bass fishing. Popular freshwater catches throughout South Carolina include crappie, bream, striped bass, large and small mouth bass, catfish and trout. The water tends to be a lot murkier in the backs of places like Stamp Creek, Cane Creek, Little River and Crowe Creek. Topwater lures almost always get Greens first nod below the dam, but hell also keep handy a shakey-head rig and a dropshot during the summer. Bait begins to move into the creeks and the bass follow it. You can also pull a Carolina rig or drag a jig. This product should be used only as directed on the label. Outside of the obvious similarities to nearby Lake Jocassee, Keowee does not look like a typical impoundment in this state. Keowee has such an abundance of spotted bass that the fish dont have any choice except to spread out over the lake, but even with such distribution, Latimer still has particular areas he prefers because of the habitat. Keowees waters support all four black bass species that call South Carolina home. Rhinelander. You can also target docks in the 15-25 foot range with a shakey head or Carolina rig fished very slowly. All rights reserved. There is very little in the way of cover such as brush piles in Lake Keowee, and spotted bass are known for roaming from day-to-day. The Lake. The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. Known for its state record yellow perch, Keowee also has excellent largemouth, smallmouth, crappie and catfish opportunities. But in a day of jigging up spotted bass with Guide Charles Townson with nary a largemouth to be seen, it does not look like that is going to happen any time soon. Tail should be pinched. Fish2much. Another Saturday, another monster bag for Joe Anders and Greg Glouse on Lake Keowee. Bodie : Smallmouth: 9 lbs 7 oz: Lake Jocassee: Terry Dodson: 2001: Largemouth* 16 lbs 2 oz: . At the south end of the lake is the Seneca Marina. The jigging spoon resembles a small dying baitfish, but more importantly an easy meal to the hungry Spotted Bass living in Lake Keowee. SENECA, S.C. - Boater Emil Wagner of Marietta, Georgia, caught a five-bass limit weighing 18 pounds even - one ounce shy of three pounds more than second place - Saturday to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on Lake Keowee . Lake Keowee residential sales record of $5.739 million may not stand for long By David Caraviello | Special to The Post and Courier Oct 22, 2021 1 of 4 The 12,152-square-foot home at 102. Alicia Keys, Clardy Real Estate - Lake Keowee. The name brings joy to the heart of some anglers and tears to the eyes of others. However, birds can also tip off anglers. Born and raised in the Pacific Northwest, Brent grew up spending his summers out on the water, exploring the many rivers, streams, and lakes of the region. Lake Keowee doesnt get a whole lot of love sometimes because of a lot more attention being devoted toward its sister lake, Lake Hartwell. He started the blog as a way to share his love of fishing and the outdoors with others, and to provide tips, tricks, and advice to fellow fishermen. Anglers should also look for bait, although they should not count on marking fish. The following list of state record fish is according to the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources and includes South Carolinas two world Record fish, the channel catfish and redbreast sunfish. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. Statewide except the water bodies listed below: Redeye (Bartrams) Bass. Shad pattern baits and moving style-reaction baits are very key in the springtime on any Spotted Bass Lake. Fish commonly concentrate on top of or just behind a sandbar that has formed just down from a washout hole, and relatively few anglers really target the sandbar. A second 73-pound striped bass was reeled in by Charles Cinto at Sow and Pigs Reef in 1967. For bass fishermen, it can be a mix of both on the same day, maybe even just an hour or even a few casts apart. For bass fishermen, it can be a mix of both on the same day, maybe even just an hour or even a few casts apart. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously. There are numerous different species of fish to find on this body of water. He had drop shot rigs on the deck, and he has also experimented with a Damiki rig. Lake Keowee spotted bass are still bass, and so they do follow some of the same general patterns that typify the species. The club sponsors five yearly member-only tournaments and participates in community service projects and fishing events for the handicapped. 1 pick. . In windy conditions you can get a more vertical presentation if the boat is moving by casting a little ahead. All watercraft and fishing are prohibited Nov. 1 through Feb. 28 on Cantey Bay, Black Bottom and Savannah Branch in Lake Marion. See also Guides and Charters in Classifieds. Crappie also like to hang around the riprap, which serves the double function of providing an added opportunity for fishermen and one more menu item for bass. In the pre-spawn period bass set up very heavily around docks, basically the one available form of cover. Both of which are very good when fished around the brush piles found on Lake Keowee, or brush piles found underneath some of the docks on Lake Keowee. But fishs stomachs are , Use large-sized baits such as dead bluegill, live chubs, water dogs, crayfish and frogs when seeking larger catfish. The rivers temperature can vary from temperate in the shallows to near-freezing in open water. Your email address will not be published. Gaffney High School Wins PBC Bass Bonanza on Lake Keowee. Striped bass have exceptions, see Freshwater Fish Size & Possession Limits. The Hot Hole, where warmer water gets discharged from the Oconee Nuclear Station, produces such dependable action and has the potential to create so much crowding that it is off limits in many local tournaments. Camping is located on a 15 acre peninsula offering 86 campsites with water and electricity on each site with 46 sites waterfront. A Doctors advice should be sought before using this and any supplemental dietary product. There was a time when the spotted bass was not king on Lake Keowee, and perhaps as a result of changes such as the DNR habitat restoration project things could change again. If youre looking for other tips and tricks to get to sleep and stay asleep, check this out. The tournament, hosted by Visit Oconee, was the first event . 1. An angler can easily find some of these areas looking at a map of Lake Keowee, and then concentrate their time during practice in these areas looking for brush piles, and hopefully the tournament winning fish. Captain Thames will often fish around rocks in the sunniest and warmest parts of the lake. While other spoons will work Charles fishes with Captain Macks spoons the most, opting for different weights in different conditions. Again, current plays a big part in the fish-attracting equation, drawing concentrations of baitfish and keeping the bass in ambush mode. Crawfish is a great meal to Spotted Bass in Lake Keowee because it provides a high protein meal, and the essential nutrients Spotted Bass need for extra strength when thinking about the spawn. Bream (includes bluegill, flier, warmouth, pumpkinseed, green sunfish, redear (shellcracker) and spotted sunfish), No more than 8 combined total of walleye or sauger, Black Bass: Largemouth, Smallmouth, Redeye, Spotted Bass & Genus Micropterus. Green fishes the tops and sides of the points, and will work around the islands with topwater lures, jigging spoons and a variety of soft-plastic offerings. Even after the last of March, when I can almost guarantee theyre going to be spawning, its not unusual for a spot to make a bed in 10 foot of water., Another thing is that spotted bass in Keowee spawn way before largemouth are even thinking about (it), and they spawn way after largemouth are done spawning, he said. While there are random trout caught in Keowee each year due to nearby Jocassee or some of the feeder streams, DNR also does not stock it with trout. I also prefer the South Cove area, not just for spotted bass, but for largemouth as well, Rubio said. 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