Lake Murray Fishing Report

The bass bite has been quite good at Murray throughout July, even as water temps push into the 80s. At dawn, a topwater/walking bait or a small swimbait matching 2–3" shad is working extremely well for fish busting the surface. Once the sun hits, folks are transitioning to underspins or deep cranks on rockpiles and hard structure. If the reaction bite quiets, there's still plenty of action on finesse stuff... slow-dragging small jigs or drop-shotting around those same areas. Mostly smaller fish around a pound, but 3–5 pounders have been reported as well.

Water temps are holding in the mid-high 60s and the bass bite is improving day by day. Mostly smaller fish in the 1-2 pound range, but a couple of 5+ pounders were reported last week. Small jerkbaits and crankbaits have been getting fish for the reaction-bait guys... with that smaller lure size being key. Finesse soft plastics, drop shots and smaller swimbaits, are getting the best numbers right now though. As water temps push toward the 70s, look for an uptick in fish quality. The last trout stock was earlier this month, but catch reports remain minimal.

Murray received its first trout plant of the season in the first week of December, with another CDFW stocking expected this week. There haven’t been many trout reports yet, as most of the conversation has centered on big bass. These recent plants have sparked a noticeable uptick in catch size over the past couple weeks, with bigger fish getting more aggressive thanks to all that fresh protein in the water. Most of the bass being caught are in the 2–3 pound range on dropshots, underspins, and Flukes. That said, slow-rolled trout-colored swimbaits in the 6–8 inch range are the real ticket right now for trophies… especially with another trout stock going in this week.