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Thread: Santee Cooper

  1. #1
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    Santee Cooper

    Any of you fellas know much about Santee? I'm heading down this weekend to fish a kayak tournament. I haven't been on the lake since I was maybe 14 years old. Any help would be great! Thanks!
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  2. #2
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    Dec 1969
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    Santee

    I use to live near Santee and fished it regular. The picture on my signature is from there. I am sure most fish have already spawned. However, don't be surprised if there are some scattered fish still on the beds. After the spawn you should find fish on the cypress tree. On lake Marion there is a major creek called Eutaw Creek. There is a landing near the main lake. Across the lake (cross the creek channel) there is a stand of cypress that is near deep water. You should check those out. One of my best bass in May came from those tree. Trick worms and senkos fished as close to the tree as you can get. There is plenty of deep water near the head with lots of boat docks. Across from the docks down the creek within site of the landing there is a submerged rock pile 40 yard off the bank. I don't think its on a map.

    On Lake Moultrie there are a number of place to put in near Cross SC. Lots of backwaters. Blacks Camp has a good man made boat lane with grass right at the edge. FROG fishin at it finest but only if you get to it before a lot of boat traffic. In the canal you have several cuts that lead into deep water. Be aware, when they are pulling water the current in the canal is really fast.

    Near Cross there is landing called Duck Pond. If you paddle out and turn to your right, it a long paddle or pedal all the way to the corner there is a backwater pond called Duck Pond. Excellent area!

    Baits of choice are: spinner baits, senkos, trick worms, and Pop R's as long as it cloudy. Texas rig worms works 11" or bigger. I used to have a lot of luck on Zoom ole monsters in Scumpernong.

    The lake can get bad quick. If you get a little wind it gets worse than Kentucky or Barkley. Be careful, lots of gators as big as your kayak.

  3. #3
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    RngerMac, thank you for the tips! I got down there wednesday night with one day to prefish. I put in at a little ramp, no idea how I found it, it wasn't marked on any map and there were no signs I just drove out a road to look at the lake and found a sweet little area. put in Thursday morning and just explored the area. Got maybe 20 blow ups on the Stanley Ribbit frog and I was hooking up on some but they kept throwing the hook. I didn't have my single swimbait hooks with me, which is what I usually use, so I got my buddy to lend me a few and the next day was day 1 of the tournament.

    Right off the bat, 3rd cast of the morning I land a 4lber, then a little later a 3 and another 3, and then a 5lber. Keep in mind I'm fishing a kayak tournament so we go by inches, but I was having a really nice morning all on the frog over some what I think was Hyacinth patches. so I had 4 of my 5 fish limit and pretty decent bag. I catch a 2lber to round out my limit. About 1:30pm I was still looking for a good kicker fish to really bump up my limit. I was fishing near a good friend of mine and we were working 3 weedbeds on rotation all day long. He said this one weedbed has given him 5 blowups on the frog in the last 30 minutes. So he works one end I'm working the front end, and we are chatting casually and then a huge dark shadow comes out of the grass behind my frog and just makes a little surface comotion and my frog disappears I wait a split second and set the hook and a massive 8 1/2 pounder comes out of the water all sorts of pi$$ed off!! I quickly land her and proceed to freak out a little bit. she went 23.75" and weighed 8.5# on an old Rapala spring scale, she looked spawned out. I'd say not long ago she was double digits. I was fortunate enough to have my GoPro running and got almost all of it on video, link below:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=asEWyloftXU


    So I had the lead on day 1 with 5 fish that measured 98". I estimate that they weighed probably around 25 pounds, give or take.


    Day 2, the topwater bite was dead, I had a few blowups but they just would not take it. So I pitched a senko, texas rigged with a 1/8oz tungsten into the mats and was able to get an okay limit. I finished 2nd place out of 87 and just needed a 16.5" to cull up to the win, 1st place won $10,000. I was ohh so close, but how can you be upset with 2nd place and 8.5# to boot?! 2nd paid out well, so I'm not upset!


    Overall Santee Cooper is a really cool place, its a little intimidating to be in a kayak around soo many gators during mating season. But you just have to give them their space. I'm very appreciative of you helping me out. I already can't wait to go back!

    ~Jay Wallen
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  4. #4
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    Santee

    That's a nice bass. I loved fishing Santee Cooper. I lived there for 8 years and only discovered a fraction of the lake. Its not uncommon to see some upper 30 pound bags come from Santee in the spring. 10 ponders are not uncommon in the spring. Santee gets really tough after May. Bass will move off shore to deep brush piles. The weight typically are cut in half during the hot month.

    Most locals will start fishing the Cooper River which runs from Pinopolis Dam all the way to Charleston Harbor. Plenty of fresh water and massive rice fields that hold tons of bass. My biggest bass came form the Cooper River which was just shy of 10 pounds.

    Congrats on the 2nd place. Glad you did well.

  5. #5
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    Great catch...from the time you set the hook until the fish was in the net was 8 seconds. That has to be a record for landing an 8 pounder.
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  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by R19 View Post
    Great catch...from the time you set the hook until the fish was in the net was 8 seconds. That has to be a record for landing an 8 pounder.
    She short lined me, and I did horse her a little lol...I wanted her in the boat NOW! I was using a 7'7" Heavy Loomis rod with 65# braid and a Tranx reel, horsepower!
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  7. #7
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    congrats on the 2nd plc finish and on the big girl
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  8. #8
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    Santee This Coming Weekend

    Anybody use this site anymore? Going to santee this weekend Corona or not! 4 days of Solitare fishing! Staying at Harry’s. Bank fishing mostly. Any tips?

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by CatfishKiller View Post
    Anybody use this site anymore? Going to santee this weekend Corona or not! 4 days of Solitare fishing! Staying at Harry’s. Bank fishing mostly. Any tips?

    There are people still around. I have never been to Santee , otherwise I'd offer some help

    Later,

    Geo

  10. #10
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    Santee

    Quote Originally Posted by CatfishKiller View Post
    Anybody use this site anymore? Going to santee this weekend Corona or not! 4 days of Solitare fishing! Staying at Harry’s. Bank fishing mostly. Any tips?
    I lived 30 minutes from Santee for several years. Harry's used to have a good hamburger. As far as bank fishing that may be tough. The fish hatchery has bank access but it gets really crowded. The last report of the lake conditions I had is that it is high and muddy.

    The weather is warming up and the gators will be out. If you go out in a boat be careful. There are so many stumps out there you can get in trouble really quick.

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