Thread: Looking for retirement advice

Hey guys, I'm gonna retire in about a year and am looking for some advice.
I live in Upstate SC and already have my retirement boat fully decked out with LS and all the other equipment needed (2022- 19' Xpress bay). I have been somewhat successful in catching crappies, but need for some of you to chime in about where you think are some of the best lakes in the Carolinas to fish for specks. All of the big lakes are about 1 1/2 hours away and when retirement comes, I will be able to drive that distance and possibly stay overnight.
Trying to figure which body of water yields the better results, Wylie, Greenwood, Russell, the Hill, or Murray. Hartwell is too crowded except in the coldest months!
Equipment and skill is not really a problem, been fishing all my life, just wanting to pick a few brains of those who get to spend a lot of time on the water.
I know that there are many variables such as time of year and sections of lake. Planning on using a variety of techniques to fill the boat.
Thanks for your help as I start to venture farther and farther out to ensure success.

All I can tell ya is Russell and the Hill are some good crappie lakes. Russell can get crowded with all the bass tourneys though. But being retired....you can always fish it during the week.

Clarks Hill is fantastic.

Gabowman is spot on. I live only a few miles from both lakes.You could just about fish the hill only and never get run out of new spots to fish.GA little is like a good size lake its self

Depends on the time of year and weather conditions but Clark hill Russell and santee would top my list for the big girls. I would throw Murray, high rock and Jordan
in there too for honorable mentions.


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I must like the hill. Bought a house and during the spring and fall stay there quite a bit. The hill and russel keep me busy without looking farther away. I have lost a lot of time due to health problems, but 2024 looks excellent.

I grew up fishing the Hill and it fishes the same now as it did in the 70's and still my number one lake to fish. Russell will fill in the second best lake in the upstate for me. It's a shame that people do not respect fisherman and if they did Hartwell would be in the mix as it holds some huge crappie and is a great cold months lake. Greenwood is another lake I have fished for 50 plus years and enjoy fishing there but it can be over crowded on most days but is also a cold weather lake to fish. All this being said the upstate has many smaller lakes that have good crappie that I try to mix in some trips each year. We are blessed here in South Carolina with many great lakes to fish and many more lakes in Ga/NC that are great lakes as well. I am 64 and have never fished Santee, just hard to pass up the lakes here in the upstate to make that drive down I-26 but just read the reports that come from Santee and it's hard not to want to go fish the lakes there. Have fun and enjoy your retirement when it gets here.

I too am all in on Clark’s Hill and both Santee cooper lakes. All SC lakes are good, but the large impoundments mentioned allow one to find waters that aren’t crowded. That’s a big plus for me.

Thanks for the advice folks. Wondering where's some of the better and safer places to launch from? Also, does anyone have any recommendations for where to stay in a room that also has secure parking? I'm looking to spend a long weekend in mid-March this year. Appreciate all your help.

Originally Posted by happycaster58

Thanks for the advice folks. Wondering where's some of the better and safer places to launch from? Also, does anyone have any recommendations for where to stay in a room that also has secure parking? I'm looking to spend a long weekend in mid-March this year. Appreciate all your help.

I assume you are asking about where to launch at Clarks Hill since that was the lake most mentioned? If so, the good news is, there isn't nearly the amount of break ins at the ramps on Clarks Hill as there is at Russell and Hartwell, those two lake are horrible. But you still have to be smart. Don't leave anything visible in your vehicle, even a quarter. And I would still stick to the major ramps for the least amount of issues. Ones I like and feel safe are Bobby Brown State Park, Hickory Knob State Park, Dorn, Cherokee and Amity. I also use Dordan Creek, Parksville and Modoc but I have heard of a few more issues at those but I still feel they are better than any ramp on Russell (other than the State Parks).