UpstateBassin

Today I go to the islands on the main lake to find bass feeding on blueback herring during the spawn.

Even in mid-winter you can still find some active bass shallow. Here are a couple of patterns to try.

Some highlights from late summer through early fall transition at lakes Hartwell and Russell. A few lure recommendations at the end for when the bite gets tough!

Lake Russell is a great escape from 4th of July boat traffic! Tough summer fishing conditions calls for a more finesse presentation, like the vertical dropshot.

And a couple of catfish too. The bites were tough in the calm heat of August but we caught a few.

Watch how we finally nail down a pattern for catching stubborn post-spawn bass at Lake Russell. We also go over a brief map breakdown of the lake and where we had the most success.

Shot between mid April and May 2021 from the peak of the bass spawn to the post spawn. Find the bait and you'll find the bass!

Footage is from mid-March 2021, just as the spawn was getting started. Towards the end of the video is some tips for looking for more active bass when you aren't getting enough bites during the spawn.

Shot during the prespawn late winter 2021. On both lakes, bass seemed to consistently like fluttering spoons on offshore points, green pumpkin shaky head worms, and jigs near shoreline laydowns. By the time you see this video, the spawn should be starting here in the upstate, so take advantage!

Hit offshore points just after the first major cold front of the year with a lipless crankbait. NOW is the time to chase some big uns! I briefly show you one of my favorite techniques for catching them this time of year.

This was shot in early May during the shad spawn period. Most bass were caught on wind-blown main lake points on suspending jerkbaits and flat-sided deep diving crankbaits in blueback herring color. The tokyo rig also caught a couple of fish in 15-20 ft of water at the end of rocky points.

Filmed 4/11/2020 Location: Lake Thurmond (Clarks Hill) Water Temp: 67 Max Water Clarity: Stained Air Temp: 68 Max Skies: Mostly Clear Conditions: Calm early, light variable wind later Water Level: 1/2 foot above full pool and steady Very tough bite early due to a cold front the previous night, which dropped temperatures down to the mid 30's this morning. Once warm southerly winds picked up, bass started feeding in submerged grassy areas from shallow to about 12 feet. The only thing I could get them to hit was a rattleless balsa wood crankbait in sexy shad color. The larger females weren't biting, likely because they just finished the spawn and were recuperating. By the time you read this, the spawn will be pretty much over for bass, however, the larger fish should be active again and set up on main lake and secondary points to ambush spawning blueback herring and/or shad through about mid-May.

Filmed 3/20/2020 Location: Lake Keowee Lower Water Temp: 70 max Water Clarity: Light stain Air Temp: 82 Max Skies: Mostly Clear Conditions: Variable Winds Water Level: 1/2 foot above full pool and steady The larger fish have mostly completed their spawn and only smaller females remained, which is why we had mostly small bites. Larger females were still exhausted from the spawn and recuperating. All of mine were caught on either a Rapala Deep Rap suspending jerkbait or the Spro flat sided Little John crankbait, both in blueback herring color. In the back, he was throwing a shad rap-style shad color crankbait catching mostly spotted bass. If the largemouth bite gets slow, you can always find some schooling spotted bass under bridges. Most of the largemouth were caught closer to the mouths of coves and creeks. By the time you see this, the bass spawn is pretty much over, but the blueback herring and shad spawn are just beginning. Its a good time to try long narrow rocky or clay points where bass will be set up waiting to ambush spawning baitfish.

Filmed 3/21/2020 Location: Lake Greenwood, SC Water Temp: 70 max Water Clarity: Moderate stain to muddy Air Temp: 80 max Skies: Cloudy early, then party cloudy Conditions: Heavy boat traffic, windy, heavy fishing pressure Water Level: 2.4 ft below full pool and steady Bass were still in all phases of the spawn. Keeper size bass can be caught on whopper ploppers, bass colored squarebills, and other shallow-running baits. Best targets are boat ramps with adjacent structure, rocky shallow banks with wood, and other spawning areas. Some fish can also be caught on long-running offshore points with brush piles on them using blade baits fished near the bottom at 15-20 ft depth. They would not touch soft plastics of any kind, including spinnerbaits.

Filmed 3/7/2020 Location: Lake Hartwell - Mid Seneca River section Water Temp: 56 max Water Clarity: Muddy to moderate stain Air Temp: 56 max Skies: Mostly clear Conditions - Calm early, then breezy Water Level - 1.5 ft above full pool Fish were staging at points with steep dropoff one one side. Consistently caught fish at around 20 ft. Caught with Xcaliber crawfish lipless and green pumpkin shaky head with roboworm. Lipless bite picked up once winds picked up. Had to find less muddy water towards medium stained water.

Filmed 3/14/2020 Location: Lake Russell - Upper Savannah River section Water temp: 55 max Air temp: 64 max Skies: Cloudy Conditions - light breeze Water level - 0.4 ft below full pool and steady Fish were still in prespawn. Look for extended submerged main lake and secondary points with rock. Larger female largemouth can also be found in trenches near the back of pockets. Expect fish to begin spawning later this week, as air temperatures rise to the upper 70's.

Bass still in prespawn, but the females are ready to POP.