By Timothy Kelley
Lake Greenwood is nestled in the western portion of the beautiful Palmetto State of South Carolina. The city of Greenwood is known as “The Emerald City” & Lake Greenwood is approximately 12,000 acres and truly is a gemstone of a lake for fishing!
This lake’s primary sources of bait for the largemouth and predatory fish are threadfin shad, blue gill, and crawfish. Lake Greenwood has a generous population of both largemouth and spotted bass, along with crappie, catfish, and hybrids. Most of your finesse techniques such as drop shots, shaky heads, ned rigs, etc., work well. You can also choose to use “power fishing” techniques such as top water, crankbaits, jigs, etc. There are tons of docks that hold fish year round. For the offshore anglers, there are plenty of offshore structures such as ledges and humps and scattered brush piles where you can find fish.
Depending upon your style of fishing, and what you want to catch, bass anglers can choose to fish in the creeks and up the river to catch predominantly largemouth. If you choose to stay on the main lake, then you can catch both largemouth and spotted bass. There have been the occasional 4 plus pound spotted bass caught, along with big largemouths as well. At one of our American Bass Angler Divisional tournaments for AFT Division 96, one of our very own anglers caught a 7.23lbs largemouth bass!
If you’re looking for catchfish, then you’re in luck! There have been 40 plus pound flatheads caught, and there is also a huge population of channel and blue cats.
Crappie fishing is just as good, with some true “slabs” being caught on the regular.
Lake Greenwood also has a few stores and restaurants/grills that are accessible by water if you need something to eat or to restock supplies, gas, etc. When you visit Lake Greenwood, you can stop in the Fish On Bait N Tackle shop located at 166 Fishing Village Road in Waterloo, SC for your bait and tackle needs. If you and the family want to get some food after a day out on the water, then you should check out Break on the Lake Restaurant for a good meal.
For more information on the city of Greenwood and Lake Greenwood, please check out visitgreenwoodsc.com
Timothy Kelley is the tournament director for American Bass Anglers, American Fishing Tour Division 96 in South Carolina. He also competes in the MLF Big 5 Circuit which also visits multiple lakes in South Carolina. Fishing has been a part of Tim’s life for thirty-five plus years, which has led him to compete in multiple bass tournament circuits across the southeast. Tim is a retired US Army (military police) where he was stationed at Fort Hood, Texas and served four tours overseas. Tim is married to his beautiful wife Robin,who not only serves as the Assistant Director for American Bass Anglers Division 96, but also maintains a full-time job at a local car dealership in Lexington, SC.