I can remember it like it was yesterday, the water was clear and the surface was like a sheet of glass. This November morning was unusually warm, on Lake Hartwell it was raining and the clouds were just thirty feet from the water. It was calm and we had not seen another boat all morning. Two hours had passed since daylight and we had yet to get a bite.

As I pondered over the current conditions, trying to figure out why we were not catching fish under what appeared to be excellent conditions, my tentative gaze across the bay revealed a spectacular display of a feeding frenzy. Less than two hundred yards away was an area the size of a football field crowded with a school of hungry hybrid and striped bass.

I kicked the trolling motor on high and moved into casting position. The water was eight feet deep, my partner and I were casting a six inch shallow running minnow type crankbait. Cast after cast, we caught eight to ten pound fish and in less than an hour we had our limit. That was a day I will never forget.

It was mid November and time to take a trip to Lake Murray for some striped bass fishing. On this trip I solicited some help from good friend and striper guide, “Hughey Capps”. After a short run from the marina Hughey slowed the boat, we all wiped the tears from our eyes and his comment was,” We need to find the birds”. At that exact moment I was watching a small pocket of water back to our left. It would have made a great scene for the movie”The Birds”. A quarter acre of water had two hundred gulls feeding. My reply was “Like that over there”. After a quick twenty second church service we motored to the area.

We began Freelinning live herring through the area and in short order began to catch fish. Occasionally we had doubles and the action lasted for nearly two hours. Most of the fish averaged five to seven pounds but we did manage a trophy of twenty five pounds. Even though it was cold the trip was worth the effort, the fishing was great.

December fishing on Lake Keowee generally means fishing in near freezing weather. A particular December trip that I remember is forever etched in my mind. It was calm, overcast and thirty three degrees at first light. The game plan was to doodle up some spotted bass. After two hours of probing forty five foot water with zero success we decided to cruise and look with our electronics.

Traveling some six miles we entered a small tributary. While we were idling and looking for fish on the graph I looked to my left and noticed a deep pocket full of schooling fish.
We immediately moved into the pocket and began catching spotted bass from the surface to the bottom, as deep as forty five foot. Surface lures, jigging spoons and doodling all produced fish from two to four pounds. We stayed in the pocket for three hours continually catching fish, left them biting because the boats deck and the shoreline began to turn white with a constant falling heavy snow. Seems like every December when I visit Lake Keowee I remember this trip, it is one of my all time favorite memories.

It was the week before Christmas; I was itching to fish Lake Russell, a trip was in order. As we slowly motored through the standing timber there was a feeling that we had picked a perfect day. Overcast, calm, thirty five degrees, the lake was clear and not another boat in site. When we neared the back edge of the timber I noticed fish bust’n shad on the surface right out in the middle of the creek. We moved in and began to fish.

The surface action was sparse and seldom in casting distance. I could see fish on the graph so I chose a ¾ ounce spinnerbait for the task at hand. My first cast was in the middle of the creek. I let the spinnerbait fall to the bottom, fifty foot deep. I lifted the bait and began to slow roll the bait back up the slope to my position. One out of every four cast produced a short, fat three pound largemouth bass. Within an hour we had caught twenty bass. That my friend was an excellent early Christmas present.

Four short stories on different lakes fishing late fall into winter, each with a common denominator, observations of the surrounding area, “Keep A Watchful Eye”. Over the years I have been on the water and had guest and clients ask the same question,”What are you looking at”. My usual reply is” Nothing”.

There have been many instances of where a bad day of fishing turned into an excellent fishing day because I was constantly watching the waters surface and watching the gulls. During the onset of cold weather fish move back up into the tributaries following schools of bait. When feeding, usually the disturbance on the surface will reveal their location. At long distances you may observe gulls circling and diving in an area. You may just be idling up the creek and look at your graph and see arches and bait all over the screen.

Stripers, hybrids, spots, largemouth, trout, all will feed on top in cold weather. For me, the colder the weather, the better the fishing can be. A stocking cap, snowmobile suit and gloves, good warm boots and a jug of hot coffee, and a cloudy, cold November or December day is all you need to enjoy a day on the water.

All the lakes in western South Carolina offer excellent fishing opportunities in November and December. Multiple species are available, quantity and quality is generally the norm if you keep your eyes open and find a honey hole full of hungry feeding fish. It’s my experience that once you find them you usually catch plenty of fish within a couple of hours.

If you would like to experience some cold weather fishing, get your gear, give me a call and we will fish together then you will know me. Good fishing and God Bless.

Monty McGuffin
(864)647-7410