santee cooper bass fishing reports. Free-lines, planer boards and down-lines could all work depending on where and how deep the fish set up. It was another good weekend for bass on Santee Cooper, and Captain Brett Mitchell (803-379-7029) reports that the Sunday Showdown Series tournament was won with a three-fish limit of 19 pounds! Fishing Reports; Fishing Articles; Fishing Tournaments; Fishing Organizations; Explore Lakes; About Omnia. When bass are eating they will push the bait up shallower. Bass: Veteran tournament angler Stan Gunter of Greenwood reports that in February bass will start to move shallower due to seasonal factors, and they should start to get into the vicinity of their pre-spawn locations. By the end of the month fish should be starting to think more about pre-spawn patterns and moving shallower. Cooper Lake is among Texas best fishing hot spots. Live herring and shad will work the best. Brett is trying to drift over hard bottoms in areas that have a pronounced drop-off. Its been a bit of a mystery why the bluegill and crappie have been holding so deep so consistently for so long on the Santee Cooper lakes, but Captain Steve English (843-729-4044) reports that he thinks it is related to how clear the lakes are right now. 843-813-4128 Captain Jeff Lucarelli | 843-729-2212 Captain Truman A. Lyon In my "Glory Days" I competed as an ESPN Bassmaster Angler. With the full moon this past weekend the bream fishing was decent, but Captain Stevie English (843-709-8138) reports that in the end the May full moon seems to have been kind of in-between. However, it seems that bait is not making a huge difference as pretty much whatever he puts on the hook has been getting eaten. Neither jigs nor minnows are working great but bring both since some days the fish express a clear preference. top water and swim baits will work good. Multiple species of fish are in spawning mode, with stripers, largemouth bass and crappie in their annual reproductive rituals. We just wrapped up a 3 day fishing expedition so watch the full vi. While drifting mid-depths is still working pretty well, it seems that some of the biggest fish were caught around shallow stumps. They will also feed more willingly. Among catfish the current world record channel catfish was caught in Lake Moultrie (58 pounds caught in 1964) and the current state record flathead was caught in the Diversion Canal (79-4 caught in 2001). Brett concurs that the bite has been strong this week, with early anchoring and then daytime drifting working the best. Swimbaits, Alabama rigs, crankbaits and jerkbaits are all good options. Santee Cooper water levels are at 74.31 in Lake Marion (full pool is 76.8) and around 74.57 in Lake Moultrie (full pool is 75.5). South Carolina freshwater Depending on what they are on Brett will then turn to jerkbaits, Carolina rigs, swimbaits or spinnerbaits. The crappie fishing has improved marginally, but Captain Steve English (843-729-4044) reports that its still not where he would like it to be. The striper bite is good with quality fish being caught in 45-55 ft of water. Minnows for crappie and crickets for bream are out-fishing everything else. For some reason jigs are working better than minnows, out-fishing them 5-1 or so. Santee Cooper water levels are up to 73.91 in Lake Marion (full pool is 76.8) and around 74.7 in Lake Moultrie (full pool is 75.5). Santee Cooper lakes - Lake Marion and Lake Moultrie - are famous for their copious fishing grounds. He has had the best luck drifting in 10-20 feet of water on cut herring, although at night he is finding much better fishing out deep in 25-40 feet. Its been an outstanding bite for catfish recently, and in a tournament over the weekend Brett reports that a 106-pound fish was weighed in as part of a 3-fish limit that went over 200 pounds! Hwy 45 (on the Diversion Canal) to win the first Santee CATT, Dowda and Williams hammer the crappie and squeak out a win Saturday on Santee, AHQ INSIDER Santee Cooper (SC) 2023 Week 5 Fishing Report Updated February 2. Herring, shad and mullet have all been working for his boat. Lunkers are still in shallow, with a little spawning This year Captain Brett Mitchell (803-379-7029) reports that the Elite Series pros hit Santee right, and he doesnt expect to see many dry live wells. However, at times anchoring shallower produced better in January so be flexible. Fishing in the upper lake is winding down. barsin 4' to 8' of water using cut bait are catching the bigger fish . The topwater bite has also been slow around grass in 2-6 feet of water, and overall Brett says that any bite right now is a good bite! Boat has a full enclosure to stay warm. A variety of cut baits can work. Step aboard a 23' Epic powered by a 200 HP Suzuki engine. Anchoring on creek channel ledges and fan-casting cut gizzard shad, white perch and herring will be the best way to target big blue catfish. Waste or Abuse to SC Inspector General | A recent stocking of fish for a kids fishing event should have improved trout fishing recently. Its a pretty good crappie bite right now on the lakes, and Captain Steve English (843-729-4044) reports that they are catching some good fish on deep brush about 22 feet down over 38 feet in the lower lake. Morning surface water temperatures range between 85 and 90 degrees. While they are not catching a ton of keepers they are getting several each day and the numbers and the action are fantastic. USGS 02169810. The fish only wanted soft plastics worked slowly and they were just out from the areas where they had been spawning. While the bluegill and crappie continue to hold deep in the clear conditions on Santee, Captain Steve English (843-729-4044) reports that the bite is still really good around offshore brush piles. Earlier most of the shallow fish were in the ponds but now they are everywhere. It's with good reason, because Santee Cooper is one of the top shellcracker fisheries in the world. The water temperatures have still not dropped quite enough to really change the bass fishing, and Brett reports that if anything it seems likes the fishing has gotten tougher. You can also anchor, but drifting is often more exciting. You do not have to move a quarter mile away. Crankbaits, worms and jigs fished around rock should all work. Pinewood. While the fish are still pretty deep, Steve expects them to start to move into the creeks this week and he will be expecting to find them in 10-20 feet of water. Santee Cooper water levels are at 74.22 in Lake Marion (full pool is 76.8) and 75.18 in Lake Moultrie (full pool is 75.5). The better fish have been coming from baits set 8-10 ft off of the bottom. The top 10 co-anglers on Santee Cooper Lakes finished: 1st: Rodney Tapp, North Augusta, S.C., 10 bass, 32-10, $27,300 2nd: Daniel Taylor, Elizabethton, Tenn., seven bass, 21-8, $5,000 3rd: Oakley Connor, Travelers Rest, S.C., four bass, 20-8, $4,000 4th: Bart Beasley, Mount Pleasant, S.C., seven bass, 19-13, $3,550 Trolling numbers have been a bit down this week but that will also work. Early in the morning buzzbaits are working well and shallow running crankbaits are also good, in addition to a wide range of topwater lures such as prop baits. If temperatures get very cold then fish will move deeper but we are in no danger of that right now. We are located in the middle of the Santee Wildlife Refuge. The catfish bite is pretty good right now, and Captain Brett Mitchell reports that most people are still anchoring in 4-6 feet of water around cypress tree clusters where fish are spawning or looking for areas to spawn. However, especially on warming trends the bite has been very good anchoring in shallow water first thing in the morning. Between the full moon, rising water temperatures, and rising water levels from recent rains everything is combing to push the fish towards the banks. Santee Cooper Crappie Fishing Pautzke Bait 43.6K subscribers Subscribe 15K views 3 years ago Springtime spells crappie in South Carolina's Low Country. Join AHQ Premier for unlimited Free Shipping & access to the AHQ Report. Santee Cooper water levels are at 74.08 in Lake Marion (full pool is 76.8) and about 73.96 in Lake Moultrie (full pool is 75.5). The crappie fishing has also been surprisingly off this week, and Captain Steve English (843-729-4044) notes that in addition to the moon phases the weather has been another factor that has really slowed the bite. rightofwaymanagement@santeecooper.com. The warm weather is already improving the fishing, and they caught their fish in 2-3 feet of water around hard cover like natural wood or planted brush that absorbs and radiates some heat. While a variety of cut baits will work, chicken has been out-fishing everything else. The crappie fishing has still been pretty slow on Santee, and Captain Steve English (843-729-4044) reports that in the upper lake they are picking up a few fish 12-14 feet down over brush in 22-25 feet of water on minnows and jigs. They continue to pick away at the crappie on Santee, but Captain Steve English (843-729-4044) reports that the bite in both lakes is pretty much tracking and fish are only sporadic. Perhaps the most exciting action right now is coming for striped bass, and while you cant count on it there has been a fair amount of schooling activity in the upper lake. Bass: Guide Jerry Kotal (706-988-0860) reports that early in February bass should still be caught deeper in the main lake and at the mouths of creeks around the bait schools where other species including perch are feeding. They have seen a lot of blues full of well-developed eggs and so the spawn is close. A mix of cut bait including gizzard shad and herring will work as well as chicken. Look for bait and fish then set your baits right above your marks. 2023 FishingBooker.com. As a result the bigger fish are still holding a little deeper and roaming around following bait in the main water. santee cooper bass fishing reports. During the day Stevie has had the most success drifting in 10-20 feet of water. Fish are starting to pull up in the creeks where they can be found in 10-20 feet of water pulling jigs. He has found the best action 14-18 feet down over 25-35 feet of water. The best action is coming drifting deep water in 30-35 feet where there are depth changes like hills, ledges and humps. All rights reserved. Water temperatures are in the low 60s and there is some dirty water rolling into the lakes. Updates. Obviously bait is up there first thing because we are nowhere close to the other reason catfish come shallow to spawn. Salt water Bushy Park. By Sunday when it got cold the females were mostly run off, although the bucks continued to roam around the shallows. Its been an outstanding week or two for catfish on the Santee Cooper lakes, and Captain Stevie English (843-709-8138) reports that they have been filling boxes with good fish in the 10 plus pound range. . He will be fishing minnows. The crappie are starting to move around on the lakes, and Captain Steve English (843-729-4044) reports that there are not as many fish on the deep brush piles as there were a week ago. The crappie spawn should be getting close to winding down on Santee Cooper, and for guides who prefer the predictability of brush pile fishing like Captain Steve English (843-729-4044) it couldnt come soon enough! Catfish: Captain Chris Simpson (864-992-2352) reports that drifting cut herring, shad or white perch in mid-depths should be the best pattern in February. This week Captain Brett Mitchell (803-379-7029) reports that bass have been all over beds spawning, and all the fish that Brett has been targeting have been extremely shallow in less than 2 feet of water. The crappie fishing has been really tough again this week, and Captain Steve English (843-729-4044) reports they arent exactly sure why. MLF Santee Cooper South Carolina. The most recent bream spawn was also disappointing, and even when he found big beds there werent many fish on them. There are a few different ways to catch catfish right now, but Captain Stevie English (843-709-8138) reports that for him the cold front seems to have put off the blue catfish bite. Diverse fishery also offers excellent largemouth, catfish, Crappie and bream. rentals - Canal Lakes Fish Camp on the Santee Cooper Lakes Nightly, weekly, and monthly rental rates for rooms, cabins, and houses. Herring, shad and mullet have all been working for his boat. Overall the catfish are just eating really well right now, although they are displaying a strong preference for herring. Baits set 8-10 ft off of the biggest fish were in the of... Been spawning being caught in 45-55 ft of water only wanted soft plastics worked slowly and they were just from... Fishing recently several each day and the action are fantastic well-developed eggs and so the is... 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