Fishing Report (Updated 10.24.2009) 

Lake Thurmond is up to 328.     

Striped and Hybrid Bass:  Good.  The Clark’s Hill Herring Hut (864-333-2000) reports that small striper and hybrids are schooling all over the lower lake early in the morning and late in the afternoon.  Popping corks with ice flies, Zara Puppies and Spooks, and Rooster Tails will all catch fish.  The bigger fish remain in deeper water down around the dam.  Down lining with live herring in 30-40 feet of water is the best bet for catching good sized fish.  Divers exploring the water around the dam report that striper are stacked up on the bottom in that area. 

Bream: Good.  The Herring Hut reports that shellcracker are being caught in the lake off long sloping points with mussels.  Fish with nightcrawlers on the bottom.  Below the dam in the Savannah River the bream bite is starting; fish besides ledges 15-17 feet deep. 

Crappie: Fair to good.  Fish over brush 18-25 feet deep with small minnows, or troll slider jigs in 10-15 feet of water. 

Black bass: Slow to fair.  Buckeye Lures of Augusta, Georgia reports that fishing is still tough on the lake.  In the BFL Regional last weekend on the lake a few anglers figured the fish out but the winners averaged less than ten pounds per day.  The two main bites seem to be the herring bite and the shallower bite.  You can live or die by the herring bite depending on whether you locate feeding fish but the general tactic is to target suspended fish on offshore humps, points and ledges in 15 to 35 feet of water with topwater Sammys, Spooks, or a glimmer-blue Zoom Super Fluke.  The other major bite is the shallow bite which may be more consistent at times.  Throw a Buckeye Lures Buzzbait around the bank, especially early in the morning, and fish soft plastics later in the day.  To read about fishing on Lake Thurmond around deep herring schools visit: http://www.scfishingreport.com/Pages/sc_message_boards/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=83&t=2994.

DHEC Fish Advisory: Only one meal per week of largemouth bass.

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