Try these three major reservoirs if you’re looking for big stripers or plenty of fish when summer and its blistering temperatures arrive.
The dog days of August may not be considered prime striper-fishing weather by many anglers, but sizzling striper fishing exists in several South Carolina lakes. Three destinations offer anglers the opportunity to target stripers with the potential for trophy fish or fast action.
Lake Russell
Lake Richard Russell on the Savannah River is an often-overlooked striper fishery, because it’s considered a trophy fishery and limits are lower than other lakes — two fish per day and only one longer than 34 inches. The stocking rate is lower to allow stripers to grow larger, and fishing pressure is not heavy.
Preston Harden of Anderson has been guiding for stripers on Savannah River impoundments for 20 years, and he targets Lake Russell for summer action.
“Lake Russell has plenty of stripers to make it productive for quality and quantity, and we catch lots of stripers in the 10- to 20-pound class, with occasionally much-larger fish netted,” he said. “Plus, we catch big hybrids.”
Harden (706-255-5622) said the key to his success is using electronics to find a combination of forage and fish.
“I often target the lower end of the lake. The productive depth varies and is a function of oxygen,” Harden said. “I rely on my graph to help me pinpoint the depth (where) stripers are holding, and sometimes, they’ll be found deep on specific targets.”
Harden will graph points, humps, ledges and flats along the river channel, and once stripers are marked, he will use his electric motor to work the area. He’ll drop baits on down-lines to the depth where fish are marked, and if fish are not too deep — more common in early morning — he’ll also use unweighted free-lines behind the boat.
Harden prefers blueback herring for bait when fishing the lower end of the lake; he uses 1/0 Gamakatsu octopus hooks on 7½-foot, medium-light rods.
A key to landing big fish at Lake Russell any time of the year, according to Harden, is to pay attention to the lake’s submerged, standing timber. Depths greater than 30 feet often have standing trees, and stripers sometimes orient to tree-studded water; landing big fish from those areas is difficult.
“Plenty of deep-water areas with no trees nearby exist, so I focus my efforts on those areas,” Harden said. “Fishing in proximity to submerged trees is sometimes necessary to find stripers, but I keep a reasonable distance.”
Harden does upsize his fishing line to cope with larger stripers; he hopes to turn drag-screaming fish from reaching the trees.
“I believe line size makes a big difference in the numbers of stripers hooked, especially in clear water,” he said. “I’ll use a 20-pound fluorocarbon leader and 25-pound main line because of the larger fish.”
Schooling stripers are common in low-light conditions, so Harden begins fishing early in the morning. Big, topwater lures are ideal; he uses large “walk-the-dog” topwater lures and heavy lures that imitate baitfish and can be cast long distances.
Harden said good fishing for quality stripers occurs in the upper reaches of the lake, in the tailwaters below Lake Hartwell Dam, but he said that area can often be crowded.
“In the upper end, where the cold-water release from Hartwell Dam occurs, using trout as bait is legal and can be effectively fished, even at this time of the year,” he said. “On the lower end of the lake, I’ll use herring, because high water temperatures are less conducive to trout survival.”
The current South Carolina state-record striped bass, 63 pounds, was caught in 2009 from Lake Russell. The creel limit is two striped bass per day, only one of which can exceed 34 inches long. The regulation applies to all of the lake’s waters.
Lake Murray
Lake Murray is a consistent striper fishery, and that includes the hot summer months of July and August.
William Attaway, a striper and catfish guide from Pomeria, said striper fishing is excellent during August.
“Finding the fish in the summer is a function of forage and ample oxygen content” Attaway said, “but it’s not always as simple as it sounds.”
Attaway said the largest concentrations of summer stripers are typically from the Dreher Island area down to the dam. He prefers to be on the water at first light and said open-water points and humps are prime striper targets. Water from 50 to 80 feet deep is a good range to find fish when graphing these areas.
Another pattern can be productive during the summer.
“Last year, with all the rainfall, I frequently found stripers back in deep coves off the main lake,” he said. “I attribute that to the heavy rainfall and water inflow into these areas we had most of the summer. The fish were at the same depth we fished in the main lake.”
After a couple of consecutive trips, Attaway expanded the search and found that the stripers would circle these coves, apparently following forage.
“Several times, we would get on a bunch of fish on one side of a cove, then they’d move off,” he said. “I learned by simply crossing to the other side of the cove and marking baitfish, the stripers would show up as they passed by. It was a consistent pattern.”
Attaway (803-924-0857) said regardless of the specific location, the use of electronics is a major key to finding stripers.
“Stripers bunch up in big schools and are easy to mark when you get on them,” he said. “I may have to check multiple areas to find fish, but when on the right spot, I’ll use the spot-lock to hold the boat.”
Since regulations for Lake Murray during August require anglers not to release stripers they catch, Attaway said fishermen must keep their first five fish.
“I’ve learned that schools of stripers will occupy a depth range in the water column, so to target bigger fish, I’ll drop baits through the top level of fish and fish near the bottom of where I’m marking fish,” he said. “This significantly improves the size of fish we catch.”
According to regulations, fishermen can’t keep stripers on Lake Murray from June through September, and it is illegal to take or attempt to possess more than five striped bass a day per person.
Lake Wateree
Lake Wateree has been a put-and-take striper fishery since the 1980s and has long been a prime striped bass destination for anglers from both Carolinas.
Guide Justin Whiteside targets Lake Wateree for summer stripers.
“Lake Wateree is full of stripers and has an excellent forage base of threadfin and gizzard shad to support this fishery,” he said.
Whiteside (803-417-0070) said summer is productive for striper fishing, and versatility is a key to consistent success.
“Live bait fished vertically on down rods, as well as on no-weight free-lines, is often exceptionally good in low-light conditions; I start fishing early mornings,” said Whiteside, who prefers to catch his own bait, with smaller shad abundant and easy to catch with a cast net. He prefers 4- to 5-inch shad.
“I’ll graph creek mouths, points, humps and channel ledges early in the morning, looking for a combination of forage as well as schools of stripers,” he said. “Early in the morning, stripers may only be about 12 to 15 feet deep, but (they) get progressively deeper as the morning progresses.”
The depth of the down-lines is determined by the depth fish are marked on the graph. He will lower the bait to the depth most of the fish are marked.
“Topwater schooling action is another August opportunity, and I have rods ready when this occurs,” he said. “Bucktails and small shad-imitation lures are ideal. The topwater action is scattered, but dependable enough to be rigged and ready, and low-light conditions are best this time of the year.”
Whiteside said by August, a thermocline is often established across most of the lake, typically around 20 feet or slightly deeper, and he’ll use that to his advantage for trolling.
“The thermocline keeps the stripers at fishable depths, but they often begin to scatter along the ledges and channels by mid-morning so trolling is an effective mid-day technique,” he said.
Whiteside uses umbrella rigs because he likes the idea of multiple baits in close proximity to trigger reactive strikes from stripers. Deep-diving lures are viable options too.
“I’ll vary the speed, and when I catch a striper, I’ll tighten my depth and speed controls,” he said. “I prefer a speed of 1.5 to 2.5 miles per hour, and it varies daily.”
The creel limit is 10 fish per person, with no size minimum.
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