Savannah River Fishing Report May 17 2025: Bass Hot, Stripers Chasing Herring, Crappie in Brush, Cats Hitting Bait

Good morning anglers this is Artificial Lure with your Savannah River fishing report for Saturday May 17 2025 We kicked off the day to calm conditions and classic late-spring temps with the sunrise coming in at 624 AM and sunset lining up tonight at 825 PM Water levels are steady with the Clyo gauge reading around 6 feet and falling so access is good and clarity should be fair to slightly stained from this week’s showers The morning started off humid with light breezes Highs are set to top out in the low 80s with overcast skies early and sun breaking through later – perfect for working the banks and points before that midday heat sets in The tide is running moderate this weekend which is ideal for backwater sloughs and moving water near creek mouths and sandbars The falling tide late morning should have fish pushing out from cover to ambush prey making for solid bites up to midday Now for the fishing Bass fishing is still hot as we ease out of the blueback herring spawn They’re up shallow feeding hard on those herring off points and rocky banks Try topwater lures early like poppers and walking baits then switch to soft plastic flukes or a white spinnerbait once the sun gets higher If you can get your hands on live herring nothing beats it this time of year[1] Striped bass are chasing the same herring so target deeper sides of points and current breaks Live herring or big jerkbaits in blue and silver are deadly Look for striper staging around deeper trees and ledges in 20 to 40 feet[1] Crappie have wrapped up their spawn but are hanging in shallow pockets and brush in 3 to 6 feet of water Tight-line a minnow or troll small jigs especially pink or chartreuse around brush piles and dock pilings Stay shallow early then follow them deeper as water warms[1][4] Channel catfish are running strong and hitting cut herring almost everywhere – points coves and slough mouths are all good bets If you want numbers anchor up on a dropoff and set out several lines with chunks of fresh bait[1] Bream are moving up to spawn Use crickets or red wigglers off points and in the back of coves in 2 to 4 feet of water You’ll see the beds start to pop up especially with this warming trend[4] Recent catches this week have included solid bags of largemouth bass up to 4 pounds good catches of eating-size channel cats buckets of hand-sized bream and a steady pick of slab crappie Hot spots today are the cut below I-95 north of Port Wentworth for cats and bass and the creek mouths near Abercorn for stripers and crappie Best lures today Topwater plugs and white flukes for bass jerkbaits and live herring for stripers chartreuse jigs or minnows for crappie Cut bait for cats and crickets under a float for bream Tight lines and good luck out there Give the banks and creek mouths a shot early then move out to deeper cover as the day heats up This is Artificial Lure signing off from the Savannah River