Keowee or Chatuge......

[GANGGREEN]

So I've been looking for that near perfect retirement area for a long time, have even posted some threads here on the forum asking advice and input.   My wife and I are actually getting closer to making something happen.   The goal is a smallish cottage (2 BR, 1200 square feet would be good, could be a bit larger or a bit smaller depending on price, location, etc. etc.) within 10-15 minutes of a good fishing lake and close enough to shopping, restaurants, health care that you didn't ever really need to travel too far.  It has to be in an area where I can fish straight through the winter as the goal is to escape northern Pennsylvania winters for 3-4 months of the year, so PA, NY, VT, MI, MN, etc. won't work.

 

I've done tons of online and video research and have visited areas in MO, AR, TN and NC.  We just got back after a short 4-5 day trip to Oconee and Pickens Counties, SC and we both really like the area, the climate, etc. etc..  Keep in mind that I mostly fish clear, deep, northern waters for smallmouth (and walleye and yellow perch), so places like Keowee or Jocassie don't scare me as I feel that I can figure them out and catch fish there.   As I said, we really liked the area, but it seems that there's been a recent spike in real estate prices, not to mention that South Carolina charges non-residents 3X on their property tax versus a resident.   Given that they require 12 months consecutive domicile within the state to be considered a resident, I don't really ever see it happening.  

 

So, I'm probably going back in a week or so to explore some more, maybe fish a bit and check out a new area.   I've previously been to Haysville, NC, really a lovely, lovely place, and I've driven past Lake Chatuge, but I've never fished it or really explored in Haysville or Hiawassee to determine what sort of communities that they are.   

 

Just curious what people's thoughts are about this extreme NE corner of GA, the extreme NW corner of SC and which lake or lakes you'd prefer, which communities are the nicest and where we might find a really clean, attractive home/condo for less than a bazillion bucks.  Thanks in advance.

[Smalliefan2]

Lived in Anderson, SC, twice, 10 yrs apart. Lived in Murphy , NC.

Move to South Carolina. Keowee, Hartwell, Jocassee, Russell, Clark Hill, Secession are all close, and offer different opportunities to fish. Also better shopping, health care and roads if you want to get away. More populated than Hayesville, NC.

Chatuge and Hiawassee are  drawn down for winter pool. The launches are high and dry, so no access to the lake. There is a marina on Chatuge if you want to keep your boat on the lake. Need to rent a slip. NW Georgia also has Nottley and Blue Ridge near Hayesville.

Look at taxes in NC, income, property and personnel property. Your boat and stocks and bonds are taxed annually, plus income. Those areas in NW Georgia, SW N.C. are pretty isolated, so road trips are needed for some shopping.

Having also lived in Olean, so I understand escaping winter. Of the two, I would be is South Carolina. Instead, we live in Chattanooga, where my wife is from. 

[TnRiver46]

@Koz

Might be able to help out 

[GANGGREEN]

Thanks Smalliefan2, I actually live really close to Olean (30-35 minutes) and know it well.  I wasn't aware that Chatuge was drawn down in the winter and that matters a lot to me because we'd mostly use the house during the wintertime.  Thanks for the info.  If I did get a slip at a local marina, I'd presume that I could still use it even at drawdown?  

 

Hawg, I'm all ears. 

 

 

By the way, what were your thoughts about Anderson?  I have an acquaintance who lives there and he likes it, but the only time we drove anywhere near there, I thought it was too congested for my taste and not as pretty as the areas closer to the mountains.  I've had a few people tell me that Pendleton is a nice town and I may check that out when I'm down again (possibly as soon as next week).

[TnRiver46]

52 minutes ago, GANGGREEN said:

Thanks Smalliefan2, I actually live really close to Olean (30-35 minutes) and know it well.  I wasn't aware that Chatuge was drawn down in the winter and that matters a lot to me because we'd mostly use the house during the wintertime.  Thanks for the info.  If I did get a slip at a local marina, I'd presume that I could still use it even at drawdown?  

 

Hawg, I'm all ears. 

 

 

By the way, what were your thoughts about Anderson?  I have an acquaintance who lives there and he likes it, but the only time we drove anywhere near there, I thought it was too congested for my taste and not as pretty as the areas closer to the mountains.  I've had a few people tell me that Pendleton is a nice town and I may check that out when I'm down again (possibly as soon as next week).

I was trying to say fellow member Koz might be able to help, he has lived in the low country SC, upstate SC, and NW Georgia 

 

me personally, I’ve never moved more than about 15 miles haha

[GANGGREEN]

Ah, I see.  I think he's at Oconee now, right?   Hopefully if he has input he can advise.  I had spoken to him previously about Oconee briefly as well.   

[Smalliefan2]

Yea, Anderson is a pretty big town. If I moved back to S.C., I would look around Seneca or a little west to be close to the Smokies. Pendleton is about half way to Seneca from Anderson, I've only driven through it. Last time I lived in Anderson, I had a place across the street from the lake Hartwell, toward Hartwell, Ga. Had three launches about 10 minutes from the house.

One plus to either area you look at, as you gain elevation, you lose humidity.

Check lakes online. You can check the lakes you are thinking about, and they have a chart of the pool elevation covering 12 months. It will give you an idea of what you may deal with. Savannah river lakes, like the Tennessee have draw down for flood control, takes a little to become accustom to.

[VolFan]

Depending on how rural you want to be, I might look for a place on Tellico or Chilhowee in TN, but Chatuge is really really nice, just really rural.

[Koz]

9 hours ago, GANGGREEN said:

Ah, I see.  I think he's at Oconee now, right?   Hopefully if he has input he can advise.  I had spoken to him previously about Oconee briefly as well.   

Yes, I am at Oconee now. I fished most of the state parks within 90 minutes of the Greenville SC Upstate and to me the fishing was awful. SC Lowcountry bank fishing is absolutely the best for both big bass and numbers.

 

That being said, I was in a kayak or on the bank and that limited my range. If I was in a boat it might have been a different story.

[Koz]

16 hours ago, GANGGREEN said:

So I've been looking for that near perfect retirement area for a long time, have even posted some threads here on the forum asking advice and input.   My wife and I are actually getting closer to making something happen.   The goal is a smallish cottage (2 BR, 1200 square feet would be good, could be a bit larger or a bit smaller depending on price, location, etc. etc.) within 10-15 minutes of a good fishing lake and close enough to shopping, restaurants, health care that you didn't ever really need to travel too far.  It has to be in an area where I can fish straight through the winter as the goal is to escape northern Pennsylvania winters for 3-4 months of the year, so PA, NY, VT, MI, MN, etc. won't work.

 

I've done tons of online and video research and have visited areas in MO, AR, TN and NC.  We just got back after a short 4-5 day trip to Oconee and Pickens Counties, SC and we both really like the area, the climate, etc. etc..  Keep in mind that I mostly fish clear, deep, northern waters for smallmouth (and walleye and yellow perch), so places like Keowee or Jocassie don't scare me as I feel that I can figure them out and catch fish there.   As I said, we really liked the area, but it seems that there's been a recent spike in real estate prices, not to mention that South Carolina charges non-residents 3X on their property tax versus a resident.   Given that they require 12 months consecutive domicile within the state to be considered a resident, I don't really ever see it happening.  

 

So, I'm probably going back in a week or so to explore some more, maybe fish a bit and check out a new area.   I've previously been to Haysville, NC, really a lovely, lovely place, and I've driven past Lake Chatuge, but I've never fished it or really explored in Haysville or Hiawassee to determine what sort of communities that they are.   

 

Just curious what people's thoughts are about this extreme NE corner of GA, the extreme NW corner of SC and which lake or lakes you'd prefer, which communities are the nicest and where we might find a really clean, attractive home/condo for less than a bazillion bucks.  Thanks in advance.

 

If you like catching lots of 4-6 pound bass and can live with your average sized catch being 2 - 2.5 pounds then bank fishing in the SC Lowcountry is the best. There are thousands of lagoons in the Hilton Head - Bluffton area as they are part of the stormwater system.

 

The drawback, as you mentioned, is the higher tax rates for non-residents - somebody has to fund the school system! You also have to watch out for alligators, but you learn to deal with them.

 

Further up towards Charleston there are also a number of small lakes and the few that I fished there always produced decent number of 2 pounders.

 

The SC Upstate offers a lot of larger lakes, but there's a lot of fishing pressure on those lakes. I hit most of the state parks in the SC Upstate and I found the fishing to be lousy. Granted, I fished from a kayak or the bank. If I had a boat and could cover more ground I may have felt different.

 

I just moved to Oconee in late January and the fishing has been tough. I talked to a local fishing guide today and he concurred. But he said that great fishing starts in April. Time will tell. The hard part about this area is finding a place to live - I'm still looking. But being a rural area there are also dirt cheap USDA mortgages available. I'm also struggling with how rural this place is. I don't like having to drive an hour to get to a major store.

 

Let me know if you head out to Oconee gain anytime soon.

[GANGGREEN]

Thanks Koz.  I actually missed this because I had been away for a while, but I appreciate the input.  For what it's worth, the lowcountry just isn't as appealing to me as the upstate area.  I'm used to mountains, extremely rural areas and less oppressive summertime heat, so that's what I'm concentrating on.  At least for the next few years, if we get a place it will be seasonal and only during the winter months, so even the summer heat isn't that much of a consideration to me, although we may wish to use the place as a rental during the months that we're not there.   One of the reasons why I'm looking at this area though, versus parts of Tennessee or North Carolina, is the quick access to the lowcountry and especially the tidal rivers and saltwater fishery.   Being within 3-4 hours is good enough for me.  

 

We'll see, my search continues and I do think I'm going back to SC for at least several days, maybe as soon as next week.  Have to get some personal business taken care of first.

 

On 3/17/2021 at 9:19 PM, VolFan said:

Depending on how rural you want to be, I might look for a place on Tellico or Chilhowee in TN, but Chatuge is really really nice, just really rural.

 

Actually considered Tellico, but real estate seemed pretty high, at least when I looked.  Our requirements have changed a little and I may start looking at eastern TN again though.  As I've mentioned, we intend to use the place as a winter home, so having reasonable weather is really important and obvious what's reasonable is a relative thing depending on your background and perspective.  For me, wintertime highs in the 50 degree range are fine (with really nice days around 60 and temps in March threatening 70), so that upstate SC area seems to fit the bill really well.   (And, in fairness, real estate anywhere near the lakes in Oconee or Pickens County SC seems high right now too.  According the real estate people we've talked with, the market is really hot right now with low inventory and enormous demand, so not the best time for us to be looking).

[VolFan]

Maybe you’d think about the upper end of Melton Hill in TN too - close enough to Knoxville, about as diverse a fishery as you’ll find from Norris dam to the bottom (muskies anyone?), and beautiful country. Should be a little cheaper too, but this is a rocket market.

[TnRiver46]

On 3/17/2021 at 9:19 PM, VolFan said:

Depending on how rural you want to be, I might look for a place on Tellico or Chilhowee in TN, but Chatuge is really really nice, just really rural.

There is almost zero private land on Chilhowee lake. In fact it may be absolutely zero 

[VolFan]

He’s right^.  The area I was thinking of is the extreme upper end of Tellico on the Little T, below Chilhowee dam.

[TnRiver46]

31 minutes ago, VolFan said:

He’s right^.  The area I was thinking of is the extreme upper end of Tellico on the Little T, below Chilhowee dam.

There are some places up that way! My place ain’t too far off from there.........

[VolFan]

That’s pretty country and good fishing too!

[TnRiver46]

20 minutes ago, VolFan said:

That’s pretty country and good fishing too!

Let’s go fishin ! @lo n sloalready fished out Charlotte anyhow 

[lo n slo]

12 hours ago, TnRiver46 said:

Let’s go fishin ! @lo n sloalready fished out Charlotte anyhow 

i’m having to hit them upside the head right now ?

[GANGGREEN]

For you guys who are familiar with Tellico, Melton Hill, Norris, Cherokee and Douglas, what's your winter weather like?  I'm mostly interested in using this as a seasonal home, probably from December through April or thereabouts, so I'd like to know that it's warm enough in the winter to fish comfortably and that the lakes, even if drawn down, are still accessible and fishable.

[TnRiver46]

5 hours ago, GANGGREEN said:

For you guys who are familiar with Tellico, Melton Hill, Norris, Cherokee and Douglas, what's your winter weather like?  I'm mostly interested in using this as a seasonal home, probably from December through April or thereabouts, so I'd like to know that it's warm enough in the winter to fish comfortably and that the lakes, even if drawn down, are still accessible and fishable.

Usually 40s-50s and raining . Douglas floods and muddies up worse than the other lakes you mentioned as it's the only dam on the french broad river. Douglas and cherokee get drawn down about 30 feet in winter, norris about 20 feet in winter, tellico about 6 feet in winter and melton hill stays full all winter. The only time they lower melton hill is in the spring to allow people to walk around the shoreline and clean up garbage for a week or two . Melton hill also has big muskie 

[GANGGREEN]

Thanks.  I can probably live with 40s and 50s and some rain, but I'm not sure my wife would be as happy as I was.    I'm aware of the drawdowns on most of the TVA lakes and I'm aware that many private docks become high and dry in the winter (or get removed), but is there good public access on all of them where you can still reach the water and launch a boat?  Fishing still good?  

 

The real estate market is just insane in South Carolina right now, plus they treat seasonal vacation homes differently than permanent homes and the property tax is higher, but I'm still leaning in that direction, largely because of the weather, but also the lakes and the nearby communities.  We really like Keowee Lake and the town of Clemson (like the cost a lot less though, at least recently).

 

[TnRiver46]

10 minutes ago, GANGGREEN said:

Thanks.  I can probably live with 40s and 50s and some rain, but I'm not sure my wife would be as happy as I was.    I'm aware of the drawdowns on most of the TVA lakes and I'm aware that many private docks become high and dry in the winter (or get removed), but is there good public access on all of them where you can still reach the water and launch a boat?  Fishing still good?  

 

The real estate market is just insane in South Carolina right now, plus they treat seasonal vacation homes differently than permanent homes and the property tax is higher, but I'm still leaning in that direction, largely because of the weather, but also the lakes and the nearby communities.  We really like Keowee Lake and the town of Clemson (like the cost a lot less though, at least recently).

 

Yes access and fishing remains good. Some

ramps are left out of the water but there’s always a few open year round. Floating docks aren’t always available but there’s always fishing going down 

[ooga0341]

I lived across the street from Lake Murray for 7 years, in Lexington. It was great, but my wife really wanted to move to the Charleston area. The Columbia area is great as far as being in the middle of the state, and most of the lakes are a reasonable drive to get to. I fished the Broad river the most while there due to having some of the best smallie fishing in the south IMO. You are right, SC hammers vacation properties and rentals with taxes due to the tourism industry, and people fleeing poorly ran states. Property values are skyrocketing here in Mount Pleasant and around most of the larger cities, so if good schools aren't important I'd move to a more rural area for sure.

[GANGGREEN]

By way of an update, my wife and I just purchased a place with lake access on Keowee.   I'm pretty thrilled about the possibilities.   I'll post a new thread on the forum about the life event.

[KHNC]

On 3/17/2021 at 7:47 AM, GANGGREEN said:

So I've been looking for that near perfect retirement area for a long time, have even posted some threads here on the forum asking advice and input.   My wife and I are actually getting closer to making something happen.   The goal is a smallish cottage (2 BR, 1200 square feet would be good, could be a bit larger or a bit smaller depending on price, location, etc. etc.) within 10-15 minutes of a good fishing lake and close enough to shopping, restaurants, health care that you didn't ever really need to travel too far.  It has to be in an area where I can fish straight through the winter as the goal is to escape northern Pennsylvania winters for 3-4 months of the year, so PA, NY, VT, MI, MN, etc. won't work.

 

I've done tons of online and video research and have visited areas in MO, AR, TN and NC.  We just got back after a short 4-5 day trip to Oconee and Pickens Counties, SC and we both really like the area, the climate, etc. etc..  Keep in mind that I mostly fish clear, deep, northern waters for smallmouth (and walleye and yellow perch), so places like Keowee or Jocassie don't scare me as I feel that I can figure them out and catch fish there.   As I said, we really liked the area, but it seems that there's been a recent spike in real estate prices, not to mention that South Carolina charges non-residents 3X on their property tax versus a resident.   Given that they require 12 months consecutive domicile within the state to be considered a resident, I don't really ever see it happening.  

 

So, I'm probably going back in a week or so to explore some more, maybe fish a bit and check out a new area.   I've previously been to Haysville, NC, really a lovely, lovely place, and I've driven past Lake Chatuge, but I've never fished it or really explored in Haysville or Hiawassee to determine what sort of communities that they are.   

 

Just curious what people's thoughts are about this extreme NE corner of GA, the extreme NW corner of SC and which lake or lakes you'd prefer, which communities are the nicest and where we might find a really clean, attractive home/condo for less than a bazillion bucks.  Thanks in advance.

Keowee is way too crowded and over priced. Chatuge is the best d**n lake around period!! In this area i mean. It has monster spots, big LM and a ton of hybrids. Lots of topwater action 6-7 months of the year, and the most consistent fishing there is as well for bass. Hayesville is a nice area. Long as you dont try to by a place on the lake, you will be fine on prices. Lake prices are just stupid on Chatuge. This will also put you within 30-40 mins of lake Burton too. That lake is LOADED with giant spots and largemouth, and is stocked heavy with trout. Cant go wrong. I bought a house at Murray, due to prices being to outrageous on Chatuge. I have fished all the lakes around here many times. Keowee is the most overfished, with Hartwell coming in a close 2nd. 

On 4/13/2021 at 2:04 PM, GANGGREEN said:

By way of an update, my wife and I just purchased a place with lake access on Keowee.   I'm pretty thrilled about the possibilities.   I'll post a new thread on the forum about the life event.

Guess i should have read all your replies first. Good luck with your new place.