Hayes Pond in Lexington County: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  The Lexington County entry here is Hayes Pond, in South Carolina. Elevation runs to 489 feet. Small at around 16 acres: two anglers spread out cover most of it. For supplies, Red Bank is 8 miles out. Then Lexington, 8.3 miles, and Leesville, 8.3 miles. The nearest boundary is well away, so one set of rules covers the water. It sits away from the main road, which keeps the noise down.

• Where to Fish on Hayes Pond

  We hold no survey for this water; read the slope of the shoreline instead. Inflow corners move water, and moving water gathers fish. Rip-rap along the wall holds fish that the open bank never does. Nearby survey and observation records mention bluegill, redbreast sunfish, largemouth bass and pumpkinseed. Reporting is uneven, so absence from the list means little. At Hayes Pond the first feature you find is worth twenty minutes.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Temperature averages peak at 80°F in July and bottom out at 43°F in January. It fishes twelve months of the year. Shade and hour of day matter more than month. The hot months push the fishing to dawn and dusk. The season on Hayes Pond rarely departs from it. After heavy rain, give the water a day to settle.

• Tackle & Baits

  Public data does not answer the access question here. There is no recorded infrastructure here; expect to find your own way in. Largemouth respond to soft plastics tight to cover; go weedless where the growth is heavy. Parking space is the usual limit rather than the bank itself. Some stretches are reserved and marked as such on the ground. Should this one be busy, Taylor Millpond is 1.4 miles off. Nothing on Hayes Pond should be assumed from this page alone.