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Continuing good catches of puppy drum in the coastal surf and increasing numbers of crappie on the Piedmont lakes presently are reported.
The puppy drum bite stretches from Nags Head to Beaufort, S.C. The scrappy, tasty fish, also known as reds and spottails, are being taken in creeks and inlets as well as the surf.
Falling water temperature has turned on the crappie, which generally are taking minnows worked around brush 10-15 feet deep.
Lake Norman: Limits of striped bass in the main channel between Markers 6 and 8 on live baits worked 20-40 feet deep. Catfish to 15 pounds on freshly cut baits at a depth of 30 feet. Fair to good for yellow perch.
Lake Wylie: Largemouth bass during early morning in surface-feeding schools on spoons and topwater lures. White perch 18-22 feet down around sandy bottom on minnows. Catfish 20 feet and deeper on cut baits.
Mountain Island Lake: Producing good to excellent catches of rather large catfish on crawlers, cut baits.
Lakes Badin, Tillery, Blewett Falls: Main activity is for crappie and white perch.
High Rock Lake: Crappie on trolled jigs, sliders in addition to minnows fished around brush and docks.
Lakes Hickory, Rhodhiss: Crappie action continues to improve. The largemouth bite is picking up for anglers casting crankbaits, skirted spinnerbaits.
Lake James: Mainly smallmouth bass on shiners worked around points. Crappie moving shallower and taking minnows.
Fontana Lake: Limits of smallmouth on crankbaits, spoons trolled 20-30 feet off the shore in 40 feet of water. Walleye on spoons jigged 70 feet down off long, rocky points.
Lake Wateree: Good to excellent for catfish on cut baits drift-fished from Taylor Creek downlake to Colonel Creek. Small stripers along the old river channel and in the creek arms on live baits. Crappie around bridge pilings on minnows.
Lake Murray: Stripers in the mid-lake area and at the dam in surfacing schools. Catfish at night around shallow humps and points on crawlers, cut herring. Crappie up the river arms on minnows worked around deep brush. Also on trolled jigs tipped with minnows.
Lake Hartwell: Hybrids, small stripers in surface schools from Oconee Point to 18-Mile. Larger stripers to 26 pounds 50-75 feet deep on live baits. Channel catfish in the creek runs and on the flats on crawlers, cut herring.
Lake Keowee: Improving for largemouth and spotted bass in surfacing schools on buzzbaits.
Santee-Cooper Reservoir: Very good striper schooling activity on the surface for two hours after daybreak. Improving for both catfish and crappie. Largemouth around shallow structure on artificial worms, spinnerbaits, topwater lures.
Outer Banks: Nags Head area: Numerous puppy drum in the surf and at piers. The latter also are yielding black drum and small trout. A few stripers in the 10-pound range are starting to hit in the surf; Oregon Inlet area: Up to 25 puppy drum per boat in the backwaters. Small stripers at the Manns Harbor Bridge. Yellowfin tuna and small dolphin offshore when sea conditions are favorable; Hatteras Island: Black and puppy drum, blues, small trout, large whiting in the surf and at piers. Little offshore activity because of high seas; Ocracoke Island: Flounder, plentiful puppy drum, a single large red drum in the surf; Morehead City area: Lots of king mackerel at the well-know sites--Big Ten, Little Ten and Northwest Places. Gray and speckled trout in the backwaters. Large sheepshead around bridge pilings, jetties and at piers. Also hitting at piers are black drum, blues, spots and whiting.
Southeastern N.C. Coast: King mackerel off Bald Head Island and Southport, plus between Ocean Crest Pier and Yaupon Reef on live baits. A 52-pound king was boated at a site called Fairway Ledge. Wahoo to 70 pounds offshore when sea conditions are favorable. Flounder to 12 1/2 pounds and gray trout at near-shore artificial reefs. Also, flounder in Snow's Cut near Carolina Beach. Black drum, blues, whiting in the surf and at piers, which also are producing spots, smallish flounder, pompano and whiting.
S.C. Coast: Little River area: Reds at the jetties on cut bait. Trout in the backwaters and blues, pompano, Spanish mackerel, sheepshead and whiting at Cherry Grove Pier; Grand Strand area: Lots of spots at the piers and in Murrells Inlet on cut shrimp. Spottails in the creeks on finger mullet. Sheepshead at the Murrells Inlet and Winyah Bay (Georgetown) jetties on fiddler crabs, shrimp. Flounder at piers, in the surf and creeks on mud minnows. Weakfish (gray trout) at Garden City and Springmaid Piers on strips of fresh mullet. Plentiful reds and trout within Winyah Bay on live baits. Sailfish, wahoo off of Georgetown, but many of the fish are being lost to barracuda and sharks; Charleston/Hilton Head/Beaufort areas: Very productive for flounder, reds (to 30 pounds) and trout in the backwaters on traditional baits. Numerous king mackerel at Folly Beach Pier, along with buckets filled with whiting.
