South Carolina’s bream fishing hotspots

Hit these waters for fast panfish action

It’s prime time to go bream fishing, and by June, a wide range of bream fishing opportunities are available throughout South Carolina.

Bream spawning is underway, and while not all bream spawn simultaneously, this month is an ideal time to target bream beds.

But, if bream beds are inactive, it’s also prime to fish shallow shorelines searching for scattered bream congregated around natural or artificial cover. You may need to cull a few more fish by hunting shoreline stragglers, but plenty of big bream are available, with big fish having just come off the beds or prepping to go.

South Carolina has many large lakes and rivers that produce incredible bream fishing. However, small waters often provide prime bream fishing habitat, and small lakes have solid reputations for producing bull bream.

Fortunately for South Carolina anglers, the South Carolina Dept. of Natural Resources (SCDNR) manages smaller lakes around the state.

Regulations vary

These waters are open to the public (fishing licenses are required per statewide regulations) and provide outstanding fishing for bluegill and shellcracker. Specific regulations for use are required, such as creel limits that may be different from statewide limits.

Joey Lindler is the SCDNR State Lakes Coordinator, providing management oversight for these lakes.

“The State Lakes Program consists of 18 lakes statewide, ranging in size from 25 to 400 acres,” Lindler said. “Many are in rural areas where fishermen don’t have access to larger reservoirs, and they provide excellent bream fishing opportunities.”

He said these lakes offer bank fishing, handicapped-accessible pier fishing, picnic areas, and boat landings. Most of these lakes are limited to trolling motor use only with boats, but boats with outboards can use the electric motor, as long as they don’t run the outboard. A few lakes allow outboard motor use, but size restrictions exist, so check the regulations for the lake you fish.

“We manage each lake individually based on the condition of the fisheries in that lake,” Lindler said. “We do electrofishing surveys during the summer to keep our data current, and several of the lakes are limed in the winter and fertilized monthly from April through September. Fertilization ensures the fertility of the water is prime for producing quality fisheries. Most lakes have bream, shellcracker, largemouth bass, and catfish. Specific regulations are in place on each lake, so fishermen need to know the regulations before fishing.”

Lindler said that in addition to managing the water, they’re also placing various types of fish-attracting habitats in the lakes to improve fishing success.

“We’ve added tree root wads, brush piles, hinge-cut trees, and gravel spawning beds,” he said. “The gravel spawning beds attract the bluegill and shellcracker to these locations to spawn, and they are full of fish beds, visible when we draw the lakes down for management work.

“When anglers find these improved habitat areas, they have an excellent opportunity to catch fish,” he said. “These physical habitat additions provide prime contact points for fish and fishermen to get together.”

Check the kiosk

Lindler said that after they complete summer population surveys, supplemental fish stockings, if needed, from fish raised at the SCDNR’s fish hatcheries occur in the fall of the year.

“At the entrance to each lake, there is a kiosk with the rules and regulations for that lake. So the needed information is available on-site,” he said. “Fishermen can visit our website (www.dnr.sc.gov/lakes/state/) or the rules and regulations book to find a list of all the State Lakes guidelines. Some lakes are open daily, and others are open only on specific days. Detailed directions to each lake are found in this information, too.”

While all the state-managed lakes provide good fishing, Lindler said a few stand out based on recent trends.

“I think our best bluegill and shellcracker fishing lakes include Lake John D. Long in Union County, Lake Edwin Johnson in Spartanburg County, Star Fort Pond in Greenwood County, Lake Edgar Brown in Barnwell County, and Sunrise Lake and Lancaster Reservoir in Lancaster County,” he said.

Here’s some specific information on each of these top state-lake locations. All these lakes provide fishing for bluegill, shellcracker, largemouth bass, and catfish.

Lake John D. Long

Lake John D. Long is an 80-acre fertilized lake in Union County. It has a boat launching ramp and a handicapped-accessible fishing pier. The primary access point is the picnic and dam side of the lake, but additional access information is available at the kiosk at the entrance.

Lake Edwin Johnson

Lake Edwin Johnson is a 40-acre fertilized lake that provides a handicap-accessible fishing pier. It’s located at the end of State Road 359 off SC 295 between Spartanburg and Pacolet.

Star Fort Pond

Star Fort Pond in Greenwood County is a 22-acre fertilized lake with a handicapped-accessible fishing pier. It is open Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays only from April 1 to Nov. 1, from 1/2 hour before official sunrise to 1/2 hour after official sunset.

Lake Edgar Brown

Lake Edgar Brown is a 100-acre lake with a boat ramp and a handicapped-accessible fishing pier. The lake is open to fishing 24 hours a day and for other allowed purposes from one hour before sunrise until one hour after sunset.

Sunrise Lake

Sunrise Lake is a 25-acre lake with a small picnic area and boat ramp. It is open Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays from half an hour before official sunrise to half an hour after official sunset.

Lancaster Reservoir

This 60-acre lake, located off Hwy. 521 just south of downtown Lancaster in Lancaster County, provides a boat ramp and several fish-attraction sites.

These major lakes are also good bream holes

In addition to the small, state-managed lakes, some of South Carolina’s largest lakes offer exceptional bream fishing during June.

Santee Cooper Lakes

Stacey Weatherford specializes in bream fishing, and said both lakes, Marion and Moultrie, offer sensational bluegill and shellcracker fishing.

“The lakes offer a wide diversity of bream fishing opportunities, from open water fishing to gnarly swamps in the upper end of Lake Marion,” he said. “The average size of the fish is amazing, and we’ll have excellent fishing on the beds throughout the summer.”

Clarks Hill

Veteran Clarks Hill Lake Guide Wendell Wilson (706-283-3336) said bream and shellcracker are abundant. Wilson said both species are caught by fishing around cover near the shoreline throughout the month, and by targeting spawning beds,

“We’ll catch bluegill on sandy bottoms, enhanced by the woody cover, in 2 to 5 feet of water,” Wilson said. “Crickets are great, but I also use a fly rod and popping bug to catch them on topwater.”

When targeting shellcrackers, he works sandy bottom areas, fishes redworms or nightcrawlers, and keeps the boat in 6 to 9 feet of water.

“One rig for shellcrackers is to place a small split shot a foot above a No. 4 wire hook and gob redworms on the hook,” he said. “Cast it with no float and slowly work it back. Another is to use a bare 1/16-ounce jighead and thread a piece of nightcrawler on the hook. Cast and retrieve slowly.”