Upper end of Lake Marion producing regular limits of largemouth bass

The bass-fishing action in upper Lake Marion may not be as red-hot as it was early in the spring, but it’s very consistent, and guide Inky Davis is regularly catching limits of quality largemouths in the area above the I-95 bridge.

“I’m on a predictable pattern right now that’s been quite consistent,” Davis said. “The action is steady, if not spectacular, but when I can take a party out and we catch limits of legal-size bass in a morning, that’s pretty good largemouth fishing. One morning last week, we had 22 bass by noon.”

Davis releases his bass, but he has put up some good numbers of fish, as well as some quality fish recently. On a recent trip he had a limit by 10 a.m., and he continued to practice catch-and-release for a couple more hours.

“There’s usually a flurry of shallow action right at sunrise, but then the fish get into a dependable and slightly deeper pattern,” he said. “Right now, that pattern is working the edge of weeds and trees in 4 to 7 feet of water. The key is to have some deeper water nearby as well as some baitfish in the vicinity.”

Davis (803-478-7289) primarily is fishing areas of scattered floating heart grass near drops into deeper water, as well as points with stumps and logs. Another favorite target is cypress-tree points that drop into deeper water.

“Early in the morning, I’ve been finding the bass feeding more actively, and I’ll work crankbaits around the floating heart grass and the drops near cypress tree points,” he said. “Once the sun gets up, the fish will go to the shade, but still be in the same basic depth of water but will be holding tighter to the trees and weeds.

“Look for shady sides of your targets to be the most productive. When I find a productive area, I’ll work it hard until the action slows and go find something just like it to fish. If I catch fish in an area early, I’ll return to that same spot later in the morning.”

Davis is using bait baitcasting tackle with 20-pound Suffix 832 braided line. His plastic worm of choice is a 5-inch Zoom in redbug pattern with a 1/16- ounce slip sinker. Once the sun gets up, this has been his most consistent producer. He is also catching fish on a chartreuse/brown Speed Trap and shad/black back Bandit crankbait. A white, 3/8-ounce, double willow-leaf spinnerbait rounds out his most dependable lures.