He's using red worms for bait, and fishing them under slip corks. detailed Santee Cooper System Updates. Pinewood. During warm periods the fish will be in just 2-3 feet of water and sometimes less near the banks around wood off the main lake or in creeks, but when the water gets colder the fish will back off into deeper water in pockets in 4-6 feet of water. There should also be fish feeding shallower that can be caught on a crankbait. Santee Cooper water levels are at 74.51 in Lake Marion (full pool is 76.8) and around 74.24 in Lake Moultrie (full pool is 75.5). These fish are extremely difficult to target with conventional bass fishing techniques. Field staff update the fishing reports each week through the fishing season, reporting on fishing success, lake levels, water temperatures, and other important information. The co-state record largemouth bass was caught out of Lake Marion (16-2 caught in 1949), until 1993 the world record freshwater striped bass came from Santee Cooper (55 pounds), the state record white crappie came from Lake Moultrie (5-0 caught in 1957), and the state record shellcracker (5-7.5 caught in 1998) came from the Diversion Canal. At the beginning of the month fish should be closer to the river channel or the mouths of creeks where they can be caught tight-lining deep, but if conditions warm significantly in the backs of creeks then fish should move shallower into pre-spawn locations. For now the best pattern is fishing worms or crankbaits around stumps in about 6 feet of water, and while there have been some fish caught on topwater lures that bite is waning. Its mostly a soft plastic bite and topwaters still are not producing. Fishing with Brett Mitchell Santee-Cooper Guide and Instructor Specializing in Trophy Size Largemouth Bass - Blue Catfish - Striped Bass (In season) CALL 803-379-7029 BrettMitchell@bellsouth.net Fishing With Brett only Uses rod holders from Facebook Messenger Welcome to the site! The bluegill bite is still phenomenal, and using crickets you can catch all the fish up to about a pound that you want on the same brush. However, by the end of January many of the better fish were already starting to move off the deep brush, and this month fish should continue to make their move shallower. Already have an account? Provided by Captain Joe Dennis with FatherandSonOutdoors. The action for both species has been very good, and they have caught some monster crappie and found really large concentrations of bluegill. In the 1994 South Carolina Invitational here, O.T. They chiefly used cut gizzard shad and white perch baits on medium-heavy "Mad Cat" fishing rods. Fishing Guides Santee Cooper water levels are up to 73.77 in Lake Marion (full pool is 76.8) and 74.59 in Lake Moultrie (full pool is 75.5). But its a good bet they will pull back. Multiple species of fish are in spawning mode, with stripers, largemouth bass and crappie in their annual reproductive rituals. There are even some fish up on the banks looking for spawning locations, and so right now you can fish about any shallow pattern for crappie. Overall the bass are generally still deeper in 8-15 feet around brush piles, drop offs, and shell bars. Artificial lures like small swimbaits and flukes on a Scrounger head will often out-fish herring, and if there is a weak morning bite its often a sign of a strong afternoon bite. Worms are the ticket. These include around grass, trees, and wood. Now that fall is near Captain Steve English (843-729-4044) is back after the crappie, and even though he has had a few good days there are also times when the fishing is slow. Surprising bass news from CATT winners - AHQ INSIDER Santee Cooper (SC) 2023 Week 7 Fishing Report Updated February 15, Hewitt and Lawshe break 27 and post a 9.41(!) This craft is equipped with advanced fishing technology, including fishfinder, a wireless trolling motor, and a live bait well. top water and swim baits will work good. enjoyyour visitwith us. By using this site, you agree to its use of cookies. This time of year you will see some of the biggest stripers coming from trolling stretch 25 and Alabama rigs deep in 40-50 ft of water. Overall he is finding the best action drifting in 15-25 feet of water during the day, and anchoring in shallower water at night. The top rated upstate crappie lake in the past few years has been Lake Hartwell and that's predicted to remain the exact 2017. And, few lakes in the country can rival the. Most detailed Lake This page is for all the local clubs and fishermen in the area to share tournament and fishing information. 326 Little Brooke Lane Report Outage. When conditions warmed up again they started to move back into the creeks, and with up-and-down early spring conditions Steve characterizes the fish as scattered and confused. 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. 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. There are still a ton of striped bass in the canal, and drifting blueback herring has been the preferred technique. 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. If the lake remains dirty fish will continue to feed best in the muddiest areas. When water temperatures hit about 50 degrees then the creek bite should really turn on. Catfish are moving into the upper and lower ends of the rentals - Canal Lakes Fish Camp on the Santee Cooper Lakes Nightly, weekly, and monthly rental rates for rooms, cabins, and houses. There is also still a good anchored bite early and then a good deeper drift in 25-40 feet of water. Learn More raysedgwick8@yahoo.com. Captain Stevie English (843-709-8138) reports that he is seeing about the same thing, and on one recent trip the sweet spot was about 16-18 feet. Santee Cooper water levels are at 74.24 in Lake Marion (full pool is 76.8) and around 74.82 in Lake Moultrie (full pool is 75.5). Apologies for the lack of bass update last week Brett gave us a post-tournament report but we failed to publish it. They have been catching both bluegill and some big shallcracker with worms, while with crickets you will mainly get bluegill. They are dirt shallow, and today just fishing while waiting for a camera guy Brett has caught a bunch of fish in no more than a foot or two of water. Moultrie is the smaller of the two lakes in surface acreage but is much deeper. It took 10 pounds to win the 3-fish limit Sunday Showdown Series tournament this weekend. Overall, right now its important to be flexible because fish are moving around a lot. 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). Bass: Guide Josh Rockefeller (706-513-6152) reports that in February fish will still be related to deep brush or rock until it gets time for them to move towards their pre-spawn and then spawning locations. The bass are not on every piece of cover. Bass: Tournament angler Dearal Rodgers of Camden reports that in February fish will still be in steep areas with access to deep water to start the month, but as it gets later they will start to move towards pre-spawn locations and feed up. Some schooling activity being reported on the lakes early morning and later int he evening. The bite can be decent if you locate a group of fish on electronics or otherwise, but thats the tricky part. Minnows for crappie and crickets for bream are out-fishing everything else. Waste or Abuse to SC Inspector General | Post-spawn fish are supposed to recover from the spawn around cypress trees in 2 to 4 feet, but right now hes not finding as many hungry fish up there as expected. Thats not to say there are not fish being caught long-line trolling in the creeks, but after the cold snap a lot of fish seem to have pulled out. There is a little bit of shad spawn in the morning, and as always its over after about an hour. When the water cools then the brush bite for bream should pick up, and the canal should fill up with shellcracker. While there are some dirty spots the lakes are basically returning to normal clarity. Crappie have spawned and moved out of shallow water to deeper Senkos and soft plastics are Bretts go-to lures right now, and if there are windy, cloudy conditions he will pull out a spinnerbait. While he is still fishing soft plastics around trees right now, very soon fish should start to follow shad into the creeks and he will be getting on more of a shad bite. Crappie: Veteran tournament angler Will Hinson of Cassatt reports that patterns in February are almost entirely dependent on weather. They are catching everything casting at shallow stuff with jigs, be it grass, stumps or lily pads. Read more fishing reports fromSantee Cooper and other popularplacesat the AHQ Report! Everyone over the age of 16 will need a South Carolina fishing license to fish on Santee Cooper. We're having some really good trips lately. The shallows are full of channel catfish, and late in the day, at night and early you can catch big blues that have come up there to feed by anchoring cut bait. Most anything that imitates shad from swimbaits to Alabama rigs to crankbaits to Rattle Traps will work. Live bait and jigging spoons are both working. While they are not catching a lot of keepers they are getting several each day and the numbers and the action are fantastic. The catfish bite seems to be improving, and Captain Stevie English reports that drifting in relatively shallow water he is catching lots of good blues and channels on herring. (803) 854-2131 The two reservoirs cover over 170,000 acres combined, plus a 6-mile . Reports of 23' to 30' drifting along ledges have been productive also. 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). three-day weight record at 77-4 and the five-fish daily limit mark of 34-4. With the crappie fishing slow Captain Steve English (843-729-4044) took a break from them last week, but this weekend he will be after them again. The lakes are back to a normal color and water temperatures are in the mid- to upper 40s. All Rights Reserved. This week he has mostly been drifting 32-44 feet, and mullet has been his primary bait. Santee Cooper water levels are at 75.05 in Lake Marion (full pool is 76.8) and 73.03 in Lake Moultrie (full pool is 75.5). However, at times anchoring shallower produced better in January so be flexible. In his estimation the catfish action has slowed down a little on Santee, and Captain Brett Mitchell (803-379-7029) reports that the fish he is catching have shifted from about 15-25 feet out to more like the 30-35 foot range. If you fish very, very early you can also find a shad spawn around dawn in some places. One tree along the edge of the old river channel was absolutely loaded with bluegill and they eventually left them biting. They will take both live bait and artificials and this is one of the best months of the year to catch big fish. The upper lake is slightly dingy while the lower lake is clear. USGS 02148000. We are a family-owned business committed to providing our customers with the best prices and customer service on all of our merchandise. Water temperatures are in the 60s. The catfish action has been pretty good on Santee, and Captain Stevie English (843-709-8138) reports that even though he has found good fishing in 25-40 feet of water at the moment he would suggest starting in shallow water and then eliminating that before heading deeper. Of shad spawn around dawn in some places popularplacesat the AHQ report of... The bite can be caught on a crankbait the AHQ report reservoirs over! 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