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Before you read any more, grab your calendar. Too many would-be fishing trips turn into good intentions lost to other plans. Pick the trips you really want to take this year and make your plans now. Got the calendar and the marker? OK. Here we go with a month-by-month look at outstanding fishing options in all parts of the Palmetto State.

JANUARY
Redfish – Inshore Waters
January brings the clearest water of the year to South Carolina’s marshes, and the fish herd up in giant schools. Both conditions lend themselves wonderfully to sight-fishing strategies. Schools of dozens (sometimes hundreds) of redfish swim together. That’s thrilling if you can sneak up on them and manage a good cast before they get spooked. However, 75 redfish have 150 eyes, and when one fish spots potential danger, they all bolt.

Move slowly and quietly across vast flats or along the edge of the Intercoastal Waterway, and watch for dark areas. Most schools will look like areas of discolored bottom at first. If possible, figure out the direction a school is moving and make a cast ahead of the fish as soon as you get close enough.

You’ll typically get only one or two chances before the school flees, and they’ll probably scatter when you do hook a fish. They may not go far, though, and sometimes they will re-gather in the same area. Move slowly and watch carefully as you resume your search.

For information, visit www.wilddunes.com.

FEBRUARY
Crappie – Lake Thurmond
Lake Thurmond kicks out excellent crappie fishing year after year, despite heavy pressure throughout the spring. Good numbers and sizes are the norm, and the fishing becomes very predictable quite early in the year.

February brings the first warm snaps of the year, pushing crappie briefly into very shallow water. Even before the first warm days, though, the fish will begin straying into the dozens of big creeks that flank the Savannah River. Except during unusually warm snaps, they’ll be near the channel edges in the lower ends of the creeks, often relating to sunken brushpiles.

The easiest way to find and catch Lake Thurmond crappie is to troll slowly up a creek, pulling minnow-tipped jigs at a variety of depths. Keep a close eye on your graph and be ready to make a return pass through an area when you see something interesting or when one or more rods go down.For more information, visit www.sctravelold96.com.

MARCH
Largemouths – Cooper River
Most bass fishermen focus their efforts on major reservoirs, and that’s just fine with the relatively small number of anglers who spend spring days fishing the Cooper River. Fertile and filled with diverse forage, the Cooper produces some big bass, and spring is prime time for hooking into the biggest bass in the river.

Tidal movements, multiple channels and an extensive network of natural backwaters and broken rice fields combine to make the Cooper a complex fishery. During the spring the fish move very shallow, though, and you’ll find them in the places that look like they ought to hold largemouth bass. Match a flipping jig with a big crawfish trailer and work visible cover in backwaters and behind current breaks along the main river.

Use heavy line and a rod with plenty of backbone when you fish the Cooper. Along with growing to big sizes, the bass find plenty of line-breaking stuff to wrap around when they do get hooked.

For information, visit www.santeecoopercountry.com.

APRIL
Largemouths – Lake Wylie
April is prime time for catching a big bag of bass on Lake Wylie, with the fish relating to countless docks and laydowns up the Catawba River and in tributary arms. Wylie offers an outstanding combination of quality and quantity, along with the possibility of hooking into a really big largemouth.

An important key to dock fishing success is figuring out which docks the fish are using. A dozen neighboring docks will look similar, but the bass might only be around the one that is close to a channel swing and has 8 feet of water and brush off its end. Consider conditions and recent weather and make calculated decisions about the docks to try. Then pay close attention to details every time you get bit.

Remember that there is no reciprocal license covering Lake Wylie, which is divided by the North Carolina/South Carolina border. Either buy both licenses or be careful to stay on the proper side of the border.

For information, visit www.carolinasfishing.com.

MAY
Catfish – Santee Cooper
May offers a little bit of everything for Santee Cooper catfishermen, and fishing can be good for flatheads, blues and channel cats. Pick your preferred kind of cat and plan your strategy accordingly.

Flatheads will hold along the main river channel in the lower end of Lake Marion. Ride the channel while watching your graph, and look for big fish that are just off the bottom and tight to flooded timber. Set up directly overhead with live fish dangling just off the bottom.

Drifting the open waters of Lake Moultrie is probably the best way to put blue catfish in the boat with an opportunity to catch a really big fish. Get recent reports about which areas blues have been using when you buy bait, and then look for cats on your electronics before beginning a drift. Drifting will also produce some channel catfish, but a better strategy for channel cats is to anchor in the Diversion Canal and fish with stinkbaits.

For more information, visit santeecoopercountry.org.www.santeecoopercountry.org.