Tried to put in a the park before first light this morning, what a mess! There was a parking lot full of bass boats and waiting in line. should have gone some where else but waited my turn and finely got to the little gap after daylight with boats running all over the place. Saw no breaking fish but managed a bunch of smalls on live bait in Beverdam. Back to CH for me!
It’s the weekend before the Oakley Big Bass tour…
“All fisherman lie. And if they say otherwise, then they’re lying”
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Glad you posted this. I have a buddy coming in town to fish next weekend. I was debating between Murray and Clarks Hill. I was going to launch at Dreher if I fished Murray which I haven’t done in years. I did OK at Clarks Hill yesterday, I think I will stick with there. I was just thinking there may be more schooling fish at Murray, which he has never seen. But if there is a major bass tournament on Murray, no thanks.
There is plenty of schooling fish from Parksville on down!
The tournament was yesterday and today.
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There wasn’t any down that way yesterday or last Saturday to speak of. I think the bass boats buzzing everywhere kept the bait more broken up. There were quite a few of what appeared to be club tournaments launching yesterday and last Saturday. I had to bail out of Dorn the last two weekends because it was so crowded with Bass Boats launching. But during the week, I am hearing the same thing about the schooling fish.
quote:
Originally posted by 91tigerGlad you posted this. I have a buddy coming in town to fish next weekend. I was debating between Murray and Clarks Hill. I was going to launch at Dreher if I fished Murray which I haven’t done in years. I did OK at Clarks Hill yesterday, I think I will stick with there. I was just thinking there may be more schooling fish at Murray, which he has never seen. But if there is a major bass tournament on Murray, no thanks.
As Weston said, the Oakley Big Bass tournament was 9/23 & 9/24. You’ll be fine next weekend if you still want to go to Murray.
Now, if you want to participate in the next Oakley Big Bass event, they’ll be on Lake Douglas, Tn next Friday and Saturday 
.
-The size of a fish is directly proportional to the time between when it’s lost and the story is told. - Me
-What’s the best eating fish, you ask? I’ve found that for a lot people, its the ones that they happen to be able to catch, clean, and cook. - My Dad (1/13/37 - 9/27/16 I love you Pops)
-Until you have loved a dog, part of your soul remains unawakened. Anatole France (paraphrased)
-RIP my “Puppy Dog” 10/15/2004 - 1/14/2013. I’ll never forget him. What a special friend he was.
-Team Gonna Fish
Spoon and I fished the Pool yesterday with no problem. We didn’t get to the dam until after 7. The lot was close to full, but once out there we encountered very few other boats. We caught a pretty decent 10 fish limit with 5 fish 27-30 inches on 50-60 foot downrods. I believe we also had a 23 incher and 4 dinks.
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quote:
Originally posted by FogmanSpoon and I fished the Pool yesterday with no problem. We didn’t get to the dam until after 7. The lot was close to full, but once out there we encountered very few other boats. We caught a pretty decent 10 fish limit with 5 fish 27-30 inches on 50-60 foot downrods. I believe we also had a 23 incher and 4 dinks.
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Glad you got on some decent fish, James. I fished in the LEO derby Friday and we caught em quick, but besides 2 at just over 5 lbs each, the rest were dinks. But we were covered up with fish and they had a lot of fun. We were fishing similar depths as you.
-The size of a fish is directly proportional to the time between when it’s lost and the story is told. - Me
-What’s the best eating fish, you ask? I’ve found that for a lot people, its the ones that they happen to be able to catch, clean, and cook. - My Dad (1/13/37 - 9/27/16 I love you Pops)
-Until you have loved a dog, part of your soul remains unawakened. Anatole France (paraphrased)
-RIP my “Puppy Dog” 10/15/2004 - 1/14/2013. I’ll never forget him. What a special friend he was.
-Team Gonna Fish
Since it’s been years since I have launched at Dreher, where is the best place to buy bait near there that is open early? I seem to rember 2 places years ago, one was a guy named George and another place called The Station? Not sure I could find either one of them again if they are still there. I feel like George must still be selling bait somewhere down there because I have seen him at Lake Russell launching to go catch it but I don’t rember where his store is.
Not sure what direction you’re coming from, but on the Lexington side of the dam, behind the Shell gas station, is Ned’s Better Bait. David Clyburn sells bait at the ramp on the Irmo side of the dam most mornings. Kevin Morse was selling bait at the dock at Billy Dreher, but I’m not sure if he’s still there or not, but you can buy it from him.
You can call them:
Ned - 803-374-7077
David - 803-422-2854
Kevin - 803-924-3285
-The size of a fish is directly proportional to the time between when it’s lost and the story is told. - Me
-What’s the best eating fish, you ask? I’ve found that for a lot people, its the ones that they happen to be able to catch, clean, and cook. - My Dad (1/13/37 - 9/27/16 I love you Pops)
-Until you have loved a dog, part of your soul remains unawakened. Anatole France (paraphrased)
-RIP my “Puppy Dog” 10/15/2004 - 1/14/2013. I’ll never forget him. What a special friend he was.
-Team Gonna Fish
David is no longer selling at the dam. We got our bait at Lake World at the corner of Hwy 6 and Corley Mill Rd. Tiger. Your best bet for catching decent fish is Shull Island to the dam along the river channel. Don’t buy into what the school chasers are saying. If you want quality, fish deep.
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As usual I had a great time fishing with Fogman. The bait we had was nice sized herring. Much bigger than we got when we fished the Hill, and the fish liked them a lot. I’m sure the other guys around Murray are selling quality bait too. Tiger, I sent you a PM.
George still has bait, Martha is there at 5:30 If the light is on some one is there. Call if your late and she will wait on you. 803-873-3258
Thanks Fog I appreciate it, I’m a little bit like Spoon, I can jig perch all day and be happy. I have been waiting to give Murray a try again after all these years but wanted to wait until Oct 1 when I can do some catch and release. Honestly the appeal of Murray to me is the big numbers of fish. I love chasing schoolies even if they are tiny. I just go down to my 6 pound crappie rod when they are small. On Clarks Hill Saturday I was catching tons of 2 to 3 pound hybrids on very light spin with live bait and jigs.
Bowhunter and Boat Poor, I appreciate those contact numbers. That helps a lot. I will be coming down I-26 from Simpsonville. That’s why I was thinking of launching at Dreher. That looks to be the closest landing with good facilities where I can be near the middle of the lake. It may be a week or two before I make it over that way. Since I’m on a decent pattern at Clarks Hill I will most likely take my buddy there Saturday.
One of these days I’m going to talk Spoon into going with me and raising my jigging game to another level.
quote:
Originally posted by FogmanDavid is no longer selling at the dam. We got our bait at Lake World at the corner of Hwy 6 and Corley Mill Rd. Tiger. Your best bet for catching decent fish is Shull Island to the dam along the river channel. Don’t buy into what the school chasers are saying. If you want quality, fish deep.
Xpress HB-22
175 Yammy Jammer
I can’t believe that I forgot to mention Richard. I apologize Richard…
-The size of a fish is directly proportional to the time between when it’s lost and the story is told. - Me
-What’s the best eating fish, you ask? I’ve found that for a lot people, its the ones that they happen to be able to catch, clean, and cook. - My Dad (1/13/37 - 9/27/16 I love you Pops)
-Until you have loved a dog, part of your soul remains unawakened. Anatole France (paraphrased)
-RIP my “Puppy Dog” 10/15/2004 - 1/14/2013. I’ll never forget him. What a special friend he was.
-Team Gonna Fish
quote:There is no debate between Clark Hill and Murray. I will chose Clark Hill every time.
Originally posted by 91tigerGlad you posted this. I have a buddy coming in town to fish next weekend. I was debating between Murray and Clarks Hill. I was going to launch at Dreher if I fished Murray which I haven’t done in years. I did OK at Clarks Hill yesterday, I think I will stick with there. I was just thinking there may be more schooling fish at Murray, which he has never seen. But if there is a major bass tournament on Murray, no thanks.
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Upstate Pirate, there is no doubt that Clarks Hill is my first love. I fish it just about every weekend and drive further than it would take for me to get to Hartwell, Murray, Russell, Greenwood and Wateree. But every now and then trying out another pretty girl seems like a good idea at the time. You forget that pretty girl has been ridden hard every weekend by pleasure boaters and NC fisherman. Seriously, they are both great lakes but I was hoping to find more schooling action and some better perch jigging if the schooling isn’t happening. I can’t seem to find the perch consistently on Clarks Hill like Spoon and Fog can on Murray.
I love both lakes and would fish Clarks Hill more often if it were closer to me. I would say, in addition to stripers, it provides equally good perch fishing to Murray. Right now, if I were targeting perch, I would look in the channel around 378 to Dorn. The perch should be stacked at 30-40 over deeper water. Drop both live and cut herring to them on ultra-lights and jig flexit spoons, and you’ll get em. It’s been a couple of years, but we slayed them doing as I described in late August. I have also caught nice perch jigging the bottom when pulling a spread for stripers in the winter in the mid-lake.
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