26 Years of Fishing Experience for Lake Murray, South Carolina.

Time to time some ask me about fishing for crappie in Lake Murray. I try to convey wisdom but most of the time it goes in one ear and out the other. Lol!

Lake Murray is a great lake, it is full of fish of all species, but it is not what one would call a top notch lake for crappie. I do not know why just that what is, is what is. It could be fishing pressure that keeps the fish small overall on average and reduced in numbers. Lake Murray is also a dangerous lake when the wind get up to 10 mph or more mixed with the rolling seas of boat wakes. So consider your boat capability before heading into open waters. I myself fish from a 16 foot High Tide with a 40 hp tiller motor, very safe boat, but also high wind and waves will beat you to death. As happened this past weekend, some folks wanted to say Hi, they went opposite of where they said they would go, wind was getting up, so I avoided the run to say Hi.

So here you go for Crappie.

The best areas for crappie are from mid lake starting at Hollow Creek and Billy Dreher/Crystal Lake area which is mid lake and on up into the river arms of both the little Saluda and Big Saluda rivers. Overall the crappie most of the year will be found in open water, either in or along the underwater old river channel bends and break lines, suspended over such as a underwater river bend or drop. Late March through April the majority of them migrate shallow for the spawn. At this time you can catch them with shallow water methods such as a jig under a bobber fished around shallow visible cover and docks. Soon they by end of April first of May move back out to their open water haunts. However some remain year round on docks, docks on points next to deep water or in the big clear water coves with deep water down towards the Dam.

So mid lake to the rivers is where the majority of crappie will be found. Down the lake towards the dam in the clear water crappie are in lesser numbers but much bigger overall. So lots of crappie up the lake, less down the lake, smaller up the lake, bigger down the lake.

Although you can have some good days and do no wrong, average fishing conditions are kinda tuff.

An example is like in 2014 Crappie USA came to town. Some of the best Crappie Fishermen in the world took part in this event. The overall catch result was about average for an average fisherman.

The top two winning spots won the event by shooting boat docks down by the Dam, however top weight was a bit under 24 pounds for two days, average of 9 crappie per day split by two men in a boat, or in other words, 4 crappier per man per day for an 8 hour event. This is one crappie per two hours. Those fishing up the rivers caught many more but had to stretch them to meet the 8 inch legal size. Lol!

Will add to this later, gotta go..........Kit

Good info about Murray. especially for somebody like me that has never crappie fished there. Thanks for sharing. Looking forwards to more on this post.:)

Well it confirms my experience. I went yesterday to Rocky Creek, putting in a SCEG ramp 3. A friend had caught some nice crappie and some perch pushing a pound up there Wednesday. We long lined for about 4 hours and were seeing what we believe were suspended fish around 8 to 10 feet in 20 FOW. We caught 1 nice crappie and 2 perch that pushed a pound each, along with 4 stripers about 12 inches long. We tried a variety of jigs, some tipped with minnows which accounted for all but one fish.

I learned to Crappie fish in Georgia in the 70s and we could catch a double limit of 100 fish quite often simply trolling 1/32 oz. Hal flies on 4# test, just one rod each for the 2 of us. I have never been able to make that work on Murray. Other lakes I have been able to at least catch a decent mess, but not Murray. The only times I have caught several fish in one trip at Murray was over brush piles.

Good information about crappie and Lake Murray. Thanks for post Kit and be sure to post some fishing reports.

This past year crappie fishing on murray has been terrible! Before they pulled the water down a year or so ago, we killed the crappie in the winter time, if the striper weren't doing much schooling we would crappie fish, you can search my post from that time and see, we put the crappie in the boat! But since then the crappie fishing has been terrible, this last winter I give up on the crappie and just striper fished all winter, the striper fishing is a lot better now. We done real good with the striper this year. Hopefully next year the crappie fishing will be better.

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Originally Posted by SeaRay

Well it confirms my experience. I went yesterday to Rocky Creek, putting in a SCEG ramp 3. A friend had caught some nice crappie and some perch pushing a pound up there Wednesday. We long lined for about 4 hours and were seeing what we believe were suspended fish around 8 to 10 feet in 20 FOW. We caught 1 nice crappie and 2 perch that pushed a pound each, along with 4 stripers about 12 inches long. We tried a variety of jigs, some tipped with minnows which accounted for all but one fish.

I learned to Crappie fish in Georgia in the 70s and we could catch a double limit of 100 fish quite often simply trolling 1/32 oz. Hal flies on 4# test, just one rod each for the 2 of us. I have never been able to make that work on Murray. Other lakes I have been able to at least catch a decent mess, but not Murray. The only times I have caught several fish in one trip at Murray was over brush piles.

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I could not find anyway to add to or delete, so I guess I will have to behave Lol! I fish at Lake Murray exclusively and love the lake, but over the years adjusted to it. I do not like to long line troll, spider rig or all that mess, but I do love to be mobile and go exploring all the time so I dock shoot for crappie. If I catch a dozen good crappie in a day doing that I figure that is a good day. There used to be a much nicer crappie fishery but when they destroyed all the hydrilla that ringed the lake this really cut down on the crappie as the white perch(which have no limit and DNR wants you to catch them) and now with the catfish population really growing to great numbers I think they the cats eat many crappie. The open water blue cats habit the same areas and there are now lots of catfish. But the hydrilla did really provide habitat for the crappie and we used to just fish the edges of it on points in about 18 feet of water and catch many of them. Now yes they tend to be as all lakes without grass and do hold more in open water suspended over some kind of structure.

However fishing is supposed to be fun, have lots of action and keep you interested. So I use two rods, one with a fire tiger or white roostertail in 1/8 ounce and one rod rigged with a crappie jig. I shoot a dock and then throw the roostertail between docks and around docks, then shoot the dock. This catches crappie, big bull Bluegill, and bass and the occasional chain pickerel that steals your roostertail. Along with this comes a few stripers and lots of white perch. So at the end of a day if you wish you will have a cooler full of fish. This past week I caught six nice crappie one day, and four the next but had 24 big brim the first day and a limit of 30 the next day. Some nice bass one pushing 9 pounds hit the crappie jig shot up under a dock so that technique catches all fish just like the roostertail. I gave up on that trolling stuff, I will end up taking nap....besides I like to explore the docks and be moving and always go a different place all the time......Cheers!! Kit

I did a lot of dock shooting too. Got to where I could skip a jig almost to the back of a dock just barely above the water. I have not done that on Murray. What area would you recommend? I was thinking maybe Bear Creek since it has a good number of docks and deep water too, but I normally fish the Lexington side and would prefer that side.
I have tried shooting around and under the boat slips at a couple of Marinas with no luck. That was another pattern that produced in other lakes, but not Murray. I also caught a lot of crappie around bridge pilings in other lakes. Cast past the piling, watch the line as the jig sank, and when I saw a slight bow in the line, set the hook. Had to really watch the line closely. Can't make that work either. Maybe the fish painted some kind of warning sign under my boat that only fish can read???

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Originally Posted by SeaRay

I did a lot of dock shooting too. Got to where I could skip a jig almost to the back of a dock just barely above the water. I have not done that on Murray. What area would you recommend? I was thinking maybe Bear Creek since it has a good number of docks and deep water too, but I normally fish the Lexington side and would prefer that side.
I have tried shooting around and under the boat slips at a couple of Marinas with no luck. That was another pattern that produced in other lakes, but not Murray. I also caught a lot of crappie around bridge pilings in other lakes. Cast past the piling, watch the line as the jig sank, and when I saw a slight bow in the line, set the hook. Had to really watch the line closely. Can't make that work either. Maybe the fish painted some kind of warning sign under my boat that only fish can read???

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Could be there are no signs but the fish want steak!! I used to scuba dive a lot and we went to Silver Springs in Florida and all of these people fishing were anchored trying to catch fish. I got a couple pill bottles and wrote a note in the bottle, we do not like worms we want steak and used a zip tie to their sinker and then yanked the line. So maybe they want steak.......Grin!

Bear Creek is my favorite creek arm, it has deep water, shallow water, creek channels, docks, brush, it is a lake within a lake. Three coves hold crappie the first two as you go into Bear Creek on the East side, deep water docks. Then on up to Stinking Creek to the east on the south side those docks about two thirds of the way in against the south bank.

Crappie are tuff on murray if you expect numbers, I can shoot docks all day and if I catch a dozen I consider it a good day. Open water Black Crappie are found in Bear Creek also, so if you like to troll that works sometimes.

Yes you have to work at it on Murray for Crappie. Did not used to be like that, but it has changed. Kit.

Thanks, I will break out my "shooting rods" that was always a lot of fun. I am not interested in big numbers of fish either. 6 to 8 nice size ones for fillets is fine for me, of course catching more is always fun, but after cleaning 100s of Oscars in Florida last month I've had my fill of cleaning big numbers for a while.

Kit, what size rod would you recommend for dock shooting? Thanks

There is a perfect one laying on the bottom of Big Allison near the nuclear plant. :hatchet:
If you don't believe it, ask Gerald Cromer, and they don't make it anymore. :banghead

That rod had caught well of 1000 crappie, so I guess it was about time to retire it, just like me. :-)

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Originally Posted by SeaRay

Thanks, I will break out my "shooting rods" that was always a lot of fun. I am not interested in big numbers of fish either. 6 to 8 nice size ones for fillets is fine for me, of course catching more is always fun, but after cleaning 100s of Oscars in Florida last month I've had my fill of cleaning big numbers for a while.

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Yep cleaning fish, that is the problem when you keep a bunch of them. Delicious though, I like Bluegills scaled and fried with skin on. Yum!! Try marabou light jigs, 1/32 or lighter. For some reason the crappie on Murray like them and sometimes will not even touch a plastic. I rig up about a half dozen the evening before, by putting those little rubber bands used for braces on teeth through the hook eye with a sewing needle threader, then I slightly bend the hook point down just a tad, and hook the rubber band over the barb. This keeps me from getting hung up on all the ropes, wires, and those cross braces. Of course eventually it will get hung good and time for a new jig. But some days I fish the same jig all day. I tried plastics last Friday and no go, switched to a black/green marabou and had a fish the fourth or fifth flip . Something about marabou they seem to like.

Good luck, yes it is fun, and you will catch some decent bass also shooting those docks. Along with some huge bluegill. I am gone fishing again tomorrow, think I will go up to Billy Dreher the west side and give that a go. I like to go someplace different each trip just to explore. If I do not catch anything, I can assure you Friday I will return to Bear Creek. I kept two limits of big bluegill last week, so I also can stand no cleaning fish for a couple weeks. Cheers! Kit

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Originally Posted by Eatmorecrappie

Kit, what size rod would you recommend for dock shooting? Thanks

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You really want me to get into trouble....Lol! The best is subjective to what suits a particular person.

Well in the beginning I used a short five foot ultra light, but did struggle to gain distance and accuracy with that rig. A few years ago during a Bass Tournament I started shooting a wacky worm under docks with a 7 foot rod. We won that tournament and the next 7 doing that. So the light bulb came on.

I prefer a longer rod, from 6 foot six to 7 feet. I want some backbone in it also so I like medium light with a very fast tip. With this rod sitting in the boat seat taking life easy, pulling the bend in the rod back and down beside my leg, I can shoot a jig easily 60 feet up under the docks. For those docks that have a two inch gap between the bottom board and under the dock, backing off a bit helps with accuracy to shoot it all the way up under there. You simply get more power with a longer rod with a fast tip, and this helps with accuracy greatly also as you have more of a power shoot than a slow arc such as you get with a light short rod. Learn to hold the jig by the hook also, as if not sooner or later you will have a brain fart and have to remove jig from finger. And that long rod will really stick it in there. Lol! I like a larger spool spinning reel also, not real large but above ultra light as that just also helps cut down on line twist and I never use the reel to flip the bail, always manually close the bail. In a few trips you will gain the trick to it, then you will begin to challenge yourself to hit the shady area between a dock and a pontoon boat while shooting the jig under ropes and wire to get it in there. Dock shooting is not just for crappie, it catches many species and those big bass will suck in that jig also. Good luck. Kit