Access to the river is an issue and it is limited. That will have a restrictive impact on the fishing, but that may not be all bad because the river area is quite limited in size and overfishing can be a future issue. That concern is actually true for the resource as a whole. We're looking at this fishery to consider ways to keep this great resource from being over-exploited and be maintained at a high-quality level."

Farther down the river, the largemouth is the primary black bass species and overall the best bet for this resource. The lower end of the river is a potential trophy fish hotspot, and there are plenty of areas where bass fishermen can fish undisturbed for long periods of time. Some will make an early-morning run far up the river and just fish their way back down during the day.

Don't simply just focus on shoreline cover and the obvious hard-structure situations that are visible at the waterline. There are some excellent midriver potential hotspots as well. There are bars and humps along the river, some with considerable woody debris, making them ideal largemouth havens. These are easily overlooked, since working the shoreline on the Congaree River is effective and offers plenty of good-looking targets.

Lake Moultrie has had some good bass-producing seasons recently and is one of the long-term standbys that should provide excellent largemouth fishing again in 2009. One of the best features of this lake is that it has such a diversity of cover and structure that almost any angler can find bass using the kind of structure or cover that he prefers to fish.

The big, open-water lake is ringed by shallow-water cover that includes cypress trees, stumps, logs, grass and weeds. In many of these areas, there will be small creeks or ditches winding through the habitat, making the hotspots easier to identify.

Plus, the lake has many old pond sites situated back in the shallow-water country that offer slightly deeper water. Even in areas you are not familiar with, you can spot that open pocket ringed by trees as a potential pond site. Generally, if you ease your boat into this area, your graph will depict deeper water. The trees along the edge of the old pond or hole can be awesome most of the year.

Top lures here can run the gamut of shallow-water baits. The plastic worm is always a favorite, either Texas or Carolina rigged. Big spinnerbaits are lethal for big fish, especially when worked along woody cover next to the edge of a ditch or hole. Slowly work the blade bait by the target and let it fall for a moment into the deeper water. Re-engage the retrieve and that will often trigger a big-fish bite.

Topwater lures are great and buzzbaits are used most of year except in very cold weather. Big stick baits are also very productive.

During the hot weather and into the fall months, the open-water humps and ditches are ideal for finding plenty of largemouths in small areas. Employ the use of deep-diving crankbaits and Carolina worm rigs to cover these areas. Often you will have to cover several of these structures with few or no bites to whet your enthusiasm. But when you hit the right spot, you can catch a limit of quality fish in a short time.