Chestnut Lake Fishing near Southern Shops, South Carolina

• Overview

  Chestnut Lake is set in Spartanburg County, South Carolina. The water sits 860 feet up. Surface area runs to about 24 acres — small enough to read in one session. The bank runs about 1.1 miles all the way round, so one visit can cover most of it. It is high ground by South Carolina standards. Southern Shops sits 3.5 miles from here and is the nearest stop. For a city, Charlotte is 70 miles off. One jurisdiction covers this water end to end.

• Where to Fish on Chestnut Lake

  No depth figure has reached our records, which makes a plummet useful. The arms fish better than the open middle whenever the water is up. Rip-rap along the wall holds fish that the open bank never does. Across Spartanburg County, recorded fish include bluegill, redbreast sunfish, seagreen darter, striped jumprock and flat bullhead. County records show the wider picture rather than this one place. On Chestnut Lake that means starting tight and working out.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The seasonal spread runs 40°F to 78°F. Cold never closes this one. Heat pushes fish deep from June onwards, so start early. The cooler months are the comfortable ones to fish here. Chestnut Lake fishes to that pattern most years. Spring fish sit shallower than most people expect.

• Tackle & Baits

  Nothing on record says whether the bank is open or closed. We find no slipway, car park or made path within a short radius, so treat access as rough. Largemouth respond to soft plastics tight to cover; go weedless where the growth is heavy. Where the road in crosses private land, ask first. Access can change hands, so last year's answer may not hold. Should this one be busy, J M Gentry Pond is 2.9 miles off. What applies at Chestnut Lake may have changed since it was mapped.