Keowee 1/11/23

[TnRiver46]

5 hours ago, FryDog62 said:

Just curious if I get to that area with my kayak... are there some good rivers near Greenville, SC with good fishing?  

I’m not sure about the quality of fishing but the reedy river runs right through the middle of town and the saluda is close 

[GANGGREEN]

Yeah, I haven't fished it personally, but from what I know and what I've heard, the Saluda is a good choice for multiple species.  Greenville is also reasonably close to the French Broad up in North Carolina.  

 

Again, I'm new to the area myself and haven't fished them personally, but I think there are also several smallish lakes near Greenville/Spartanburg that are supposed to be top-notch for bass and for crappie and other species.   Quite a bit west of Greenville, but Lake Tugaloo is another lake that gets fished by kayak a lot and that has a really good reputation for some big fish and some somewhat unusual species for this area (walleye, yellow perch, etc.).

 

[TnRiver46]

17 hours ago, GANGGREEN said:

Yeah, I haven't fished it personally, but from what I know and what I've heard, the Saluda is a good choice for multiple species.  Greenville is also reasonably close to the French Broad up in North Carolina.  

 

Again, I'm new to the area myself and haven't fished them personally, but I think there are also several smallish lakes near Greenville/Spartanburg that are supposed to be top-notch for bass and for crappie and other species.   Quite a bit west of Greenville, but Lake Tugaloo is another lake that gets fished by kayak a lot and that has a really good reputation for some big fish and some somewhat unusual species for this area (walleye, yellow perch, etc.).

 

Now the French broad, I fish that one all the time (it comes right thru the Appalachians and by my house haha) 

[wrat]

On 3/12/2023 at 2:59 PM, GANGGREEN said:

Hey wrat, not sure if you've been out, but the pre-spawn fishing has really picked up.  I'm still mostly fishing for Crappie, but went out with a friend last week for 3 or 4 hours and we caught the Spots really well.  We didn't catch any slobs, but a fair number in the 17-18" range.  Then I went kayaking with my wife last evening and fished only for 30-40 minutes and still caught a few.  Most on/near the docks in what I'd call deeper water, but I see fishing reports from guys who are fishing shallow too.   Good time to be on the lake if you're able.   

 

I'm going with another friend tomorrow morning, but again, will likely fish for Crappie until or unless they tell me that they aren't interested, at which point we'll do some bass fishing.

I was out this past Saturday and had a very interesting day it was a COLD launch at 730 and from 730 until 11 only had a few bites lost one good one at the boat then ran North a bit and from noon until 3 ish we caught 15 or so and I had the biggest spot Ive seen yet break me off it was at least 24" , it was a very interesting day, 

 

[GANGGREEN]

Yeah, those cold nights really slow things down.  I had a buddy that wanted to fish the morning after one of those cold nights in the last week or so and I suggested that he wait until 11AM.  He couldn't/wouldn't do so and fishing was in fact slow for the first hour or so, but it picked up that day as well. 

 

Wow, a 24" spot would be an absolute monster, but I saw a photo of an 8 pounder taken on the lake to the north a week or two ago.   Geez, what a slob.  I'm up north right now, but will be back in a few days and have company coming next week to fish and the timing should be good for some really great bass fishing I would hope.

[wrat]

4 hours ago, GANGGREEN said:

Yeah, those cold nights really slow things down.  I had a buddy that wanted to fish the morning after one of those cold nights in the last week or so and I suggested that he wait until 11AM.  He couldn't/wouldn't do so and fishing was in fact slow for the first hour or so, but it picked up that day as well. 

 

Wow, a 24" spot would be an absolute monster, but I saw a photo of an 8 pounder taken on the lake to the north a week or two ago.   Geez, what a slob.  I'm up north right now, but will be back in a few days and have company coming next week to fish and the timing should be good for some really great bass fishing I would hope.

yeah I got a real good look at her about 2 feet from the boat and she just dove and POP she was a BEAST

[GANGGREEN]

I don't recall if I told this story on this thread or not and I'm too lazy to read back through it.   I was Crappie fishing about a month ago and hooked a 10+" Crappie.  Line got tight and stopped moving and I eventually brought whatever was on there to the surface.  It was an ENORMOUS Largemouth that had swallowed the Crappie whole.  Got him right to the net and he spit the Crappie out before I could lead him in.  11 or 12 pounder I believe and probably 26" long or so?   Really a giant, but like I said, a Spot at 24" is a legit trophy.   Hope you find him again.  I've lost my two largest Spots on that lake, but both were likely in the 20-21" range.   

[FryDog62]

On 3/19/2023 at 3:47 PM, GANGGREEN said:

Quite a bit west of Greenville, but Lake Tugaloo is another lake that gets fished by kayak a lot and that has a really good reputation for some big fish and some somewhat unusual species for this area (walleye, yellow perch, etc.).

 

I looked up Tugaloo and that looks like quite the scenic lake.  Not big, but if it's 25hp or less, a kayak would be fun there. I couldn't get much info on whether the fishing is good or not, just the species they catch there. We were planning to be in Greenville next month, but my wife recently fractured her L3 so maybe in the Fall or next Spring. 

[wrat]

went out to Keowee today in the rain had an ok day had several follows on a small rapalla f9 and caught a few of them nothing big then got an EXTREMELY fat 17" on a small swimbait and at that point it was time to go I was cold and wet, going back out tomorrow 

[GANGGREEN]

35 minutes ago, FryDog62 said:

I looked up Tugaloo and that looks like quite the scenic lake.  Not big, but if it's 25hp or less, a kayak would be fun there. I couldn't get much info on whether the fishing is good or not, just the species they catch there. We were planning to be in Greenville next month, but my wife recently fractured her L3 so maybe in the Fall or next Spring. 

I'm sorry to hear about your wife and hope that she's OK.  Check Youtube for some information/videos about Tugaloo (I think the locals also call it Bull Sluice Lake if I'm not mistaken).  I think it has a pretty good reputation and it's definitely somewhere that you'd feel comfortable with a kayak I think.  I occasionally fish from a kayak on Keowee because my wife likes to take the yaks out at times and I can score family points while still getting some fishing in that way, but it's a much bigger lake and in the summertime, the last thing I'd do there would be to try to use, let alone to fish from a kayak.