Made reservations yesterday. We've been several times and have been somewhat successful but am targeting the 2nd solunar period in March. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
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Made reservations yesterday. We've been several times and have been somewhat successful but am targeting the 2nd solunar period in March. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
That’s typically when it’s good for long lining. Both Russell and Clark’s Hill. Target back of major creeks 25 ft of water or less. You won’t be alone....
Get ya a map. Look in back of creeks with a lack of timber for better results. You can longline the timber edges but better have ALOT of jigs. Working downlines is best in the timber. Any stained water is good.
March can be tricky with weather patterns changing the fishing but good fish can still be caught. Being ready to change technique will help when the fish get lockjaw. Love Russell year around but the lake will make you a hero one day and break your heart the next. Hope you have a awesome time.
According to the CDC guys that fish Russell, it has a real population of keeper size Yellow Perch. That's rare in SC but a really good eating fish that rivals the Walleye. (1st cousins, in fact).
If I had any inkling of when and how to target them I'd have to give it a shot.
It's a good Crappie lake too, of course.
Thanks everyone
Absolutely spoken like a man who's fished Russell before! Ronnie hit the nail on the head. We've had Crappiefests in years past where the top five fish weighed under 5 lbs, and we've had 5 fish that topped 10 lbs too! But March-April is definitely prime time for big slabs.
Some good pointers in the replies...but one in particular bears repeating. The water temps/weather can move the fish in "hours". On one particular March day, after a morning of whooping fat females while longlining...around noon the bite died and the electronics went "blank". With 30 fat females in the cooler it's hard to pull off and change techniques but being hard headed would have produced nothing. We went to the bank and cast cork and jig rigs and put 30 more nice crappie in the box. On Lake Russell, you better be prepared to use everything in your bag...or like Ronnie said, you'll go home a "zero" instead of a "hero".