Visitors to Gaffney, South Carolina will find several opportunities to enjoy special holiday festivities this year. Starting in early December and continuing through the month, any of these special activities will help usher in the holiday spirit. All of the scheduled events are family friendly and welcome visitors.

The 10th annual Christmas on Limestone begins on December 3 at 5pm in historic downtown Gaffney. The campus of Limestone College will be the setting of the Lighting of the Luminaries. The campus and surrounding neighborhoods will be illuminated lit by over 10,000 luminaries. Other activities on campus include a holiday reception, a visit from Santa, and the lighting of the Limestone College Christmas tree on the front lawn. A “Sounds of the Season” holiday concert will be presented by the Limestone College Music Department. The concert is a montage of choral music performed by community choral groups and the Limestone College Children’s Chorus. Festivities will take place over several blocks of the downtown area as well. Activities will include horse and carriage rides, live music and caroling, the lighting of the city’s Christmas tree, a live nativity, and free ornament making at the Gaffney Visitor’s Center.

The Gaffney Christmas Parade is scheduled for Saturday, December 11. The parade begins at 10am in Thompson Park and proceeds along Limestone Street in downtown Gaffney. Participating in the parade will be ROTC units, local and regional bands, decorated floats, and Santa. This is a fun holiday event for the entire family. After the parade ends, tourists may wish to visit the Festival of Trees at Gaffney City Hall, or do some Christmas shopping in one of downtown Gaffney’s specialty stores.

Visitors to the area should also plan to spend some time shopping for holiday gifts at the Gaffney Premium Outlets. The 75 outlet stores at the mall include such favorites as Brooks Brothers, Ann Taylor, Banana Republic, Gap, Polo Ralph Lauren, Coach, and Pottery Barn. The outlets will be open extended holiday hours following Thanksgiving, and many of the stores will offer sales and special holiday promotions.

Whether in town for the weekend or just passing through, visitors are welcome to participate Gaffney residents for the festivities. Gaffney’s small town charm and friendly atmosphere are certainly to bring tourists in the holiday mood. Gaffney is located in the Upstate of South Carolina. A visit in here will provide many opportunities to enjoy all that Gaffney has to offer.

Crappies are divided into two categories which are called Black Crappie and White Crappie. The black crappie is, of course, darker in color than the white crappie but this is not the only difference. It has seven or eight dorsal spines and several spots on its sides. When fishing in deep water and large impoundments you will most likely find the black crappie because this is the type of environment they prefer.

White crappies are lighter in color and have only six dorsal spines. They also have eight or nine vertical bands on both of its sides instead of spots and the white crappie prefer living in more quite remote places than the black crappie.

The average weight for a crappie is one pound but it is possible to catch crappie weighing up to five pounds.

Lakes in South Carolina
South Carolina has many lakes where you can go crappie fishing with great success. If you are not familiar with this state and all it has to offer, then the list of lakes listed below will help to give you an idea of some of the options that are available to you.
Lake Marion
Lake Murray
Hartwell Lake
Lake Wylie
Lake Moultrie
Lake Greenwood
Lake Jocassee
Wateree Lake
Lake Moultrie
Lake Keowee
These are just a few of the options that you have when you go crappie fishing in
South Carolina. You will find that there are many more areas where the crappie fishing is excellent. Talk to local bait shop owners and local fishermen to see where they would recommend you go.

If you are visiting friends or family in South Carolina they may be able to direct you to some remote ponds, creeks or lakes that have the potential for some great crappie fishing. These are places that you would probably never find on your own.

How to Catch Crappie
There are several ways to catch crappie as they are a fairly easy species to reel in. The most commonly used methods for crappie fishing are drifting, casting, trolling and still-fishing. Either of these techniques should render you some excellent results. Springtime fishing is the best time to go South Carolina crappie fishing because it is when the crappie are getting ready for spawning season. They will be migrating into the shallow, warm water to begin spawning.

In the summer the crappie will move out to deeper water during the middle of the day where the water is cooler and then back to the shallows during the night time hours. In the fall you need to fish in the shallow to moderately deep water during the late evening to early morning hours. However, they do still go out to the deeper water during the day when the sun is at its brightest.