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Phillip Gentry

As water temps in Lake Keowee drop during winter, baitfish and spotted bass will orient themselves to the warm water discharge from the Oconee Nuclear Station.

As much as I have written in this column about deer hunting, you’d think I was a die-hard fan. I’m going to be honest and tell you I love to hunt, but I was born to fish. I usually hunt pretty regularly up until around Thanksgiving, during which I make a foray or two to shoot some ducks. My two sons and I had a great trip over the holidays down below Lake Moultrie in the pouring rain and still made it back to fish camp in time to see Clemson beat Carolina. The old color TV we watched from our room at Atkins Landing had seen better days but it was sort of neat to see Clemson in light green while Carolina wore dark blue.

I look forward to cold-weather fishing for two reasons – striper fishing at Lake Hartwell and catching spotted bass on Keowee in the hot hole. Since it appears the days of accessing Hartwell are numbered, looks like the spots get the nod this weekend.

When it comes to Keowee, few can equal Monty McGuffin, host of “The Carolina Outdoorsman TV Show.” On the days I sleep in on Saturdays, I’ll get up and watch McGuffin on WGGS TV-16 at 9:30 a.m. and hope that one day he’ll confide in me and tell me the location of his mysterious “Lake X.” But for now the guide can give us the rundown on catching hot hole spots.

"This is some of the best schooling action you'll find anywhere in the state," McGuffin said. “Lake Keowee's spotted bass follow baitfish into the hot hole when cold weather begins to push the bait into the warm water discharge area of the lake.”

The current in the hot hole is normally pretty swift, and an angler needs to stay on the trolling motor while fishing in the discharge. McGuffin finds that the aerated water coming out of the discharge area offers baitfish surface cover as the water is filled with dime-sized bubbles. Spotted bass, normally a bottom-oriented fish, will move into the rushing water and hide among the rocks that line the sides and bottom of the discharge area.

“At times they will be up at the surface chasing bait but usually prefer to hold below the bait waiting for an opportunity to strike” he said.

With baitfish concentrated in the warmer water, spotted bass school early and late in the day and may school longer on cloudy days. Casting bucktails, jigging spoons or other long-distance baits is the best way to target schooling fish. Look for seagulls to give away baitfish locations.

Concentrations of spotted bass may also be found along saddles, drop offs or other bottom relief as far as a half-mile from the hot hole due to the wide distribution of warm water that tends to flow in a circular direction between the discharge and the intake. Vertically present a four-inch drop shot worm or jigging spoon for these fish. Drifting the area with live minnows suspended between 15 feet and the bottom is also productive.

One other aspect about the spotted bass fishery in Keowee is that biologists suggest harvesting some of the fish.

“Take some home to eat,” said Dan Rankin, fisheries biologist with the SCDNR.

“Catch and release is great for the largemouth fishery on Keowee, but releasing spots works against both the largemouth and the spotted bass fishery because of the increased competition for food.”

Rankin goes on to explain that angler harvest is necessary in order to bring the spotted bass numbers back to optimum growth and carrying capacity of the lake as the fish tend to stunt if their numbers go unchecked.

For more information about fishing for spotted bass at Lake Keowee, you can contact Monty McGuffin, Carolina Outdoorsman Guide Service (864) 647-7410.

Got outdoor news or photos to share? Contact Phillip Gentry at pgentry6@bellsouth.net