October 19
Santee Cooper water levels are at 74.53 in Lake Marion (full pool is 76.8) and around 74.42 in Lake Moultrie (full pool is 75.5). The lower lake is still clearer than the upper lake, and morning surface water temperatures are around 69 degrees.
Unfortunately it’s a familiar story with the Santee Cooper bass, and Captain Brett Mitchell (803-379-7029) reports that it’s fast getting to the point where it’s clear that a good topwater bite is never going to materialize this year. He can only think that’s because of too few fish for too much cover, which basically seems to be the story of the fishery overall with the recent explosion of aquatic vegetation. Brett continues to think that we are a year or two away from “silly good” fishing once there is a good spawn or two and the population has time to catch up with the amount of cover.
For now the fishing is overall fair, and while a lot of days are slow once in a while he will have a good day. The standard progression is still to start out fishing grass then move to trees, with soft plastics the bait of choice. He’s not looking deeper than 6-8 feet right now.
The striped bass still aren’t schooling on Santee, but Captain Bobby Winters with Bob’s Guide Service Encore (843-751-3080) reports that it’s still a near-certainty that at some point they will start. For now the little bit of schooling is taking place in the late evening, or on very rainy, overcast days. But it’s going to become more widespread!
For now Bobby is still catching most of his fish drifting lower lake humps in 30-50 feet of water, mostly fishing the middle of the water column in 15-24 or even 30 feet. Some days the fish are deeper over points and hills and they show a preference for down-rods, but he has some days again this week where fish are on shallower points and they can’t keep a free-lined herring in the water without getting bit. If you want to fish much shallower than 30 feet you have to troll with something like an umbrella rig.
In the upper lake fish are still in the main river channel, and if you follow the marker poles then fish hills and steep drop-offs at the same depths you will find fish. Once you get out of the main navigation channel the water is usually not as deep as the fish want, and looking for schooling fish in Marion you have to be especially careful chasing them because of the stumps.
The crappie fishing is still much better than a month ago, and Captain Steve English (843-729-4044) reports that there have even been some isolated reports of people having banner days. However, overall the guides who have been fishing for crappie the longest seem to agree that the population is down right now, and there just aren’t the fish to support consistent, great catches. The best fishing has been about 15-20 feet down over structure in 28-35 feet of water. Minnows are working the best.
Today on the water Steve has been at it for a couple of hours and has a half-dozen fish, which is about normal.
Numbers of bream are still really good, but they still aren’t getting huge ones. There are so many fish they are easier to mark now, and instead of staying in the brush piles they are more likely to be suspended over them. Again, when temperatures get a little cooler more big bream should show up.
It’s not quite cool enough for great shellcracker fishing in the canal yet, chiefly because small white perch and bream are so abundant there that you can’t keep a bait on the bottom. Temperatures need to get cooler before that bite takes off.
October 12
Santee Cooper water levels are at 74.75 in Lake Marion (full pool is 76.8) and around 74.60 in Lake Moultrie (full pool is 75.5) and the lower lake is clear as a bell while the upper lake can be a little murky when there is wind. Morning surface water temperatures are in the lower 70s.
The striped bass still aren’t schooling on Santee, but Captain Bobby Winters with Bob’s Guide Service Encore (843-751-3080) reports that it’s still a near-certainty that at some point they will start. For now the little bit of schooling is taking place in the late evening, or on very rainy, overcast days. But it’s going to become more widespread!
For now Bobby is still catching most of his fish drifting lower lake humps in 30-50 feet of water, mostly fishing the middle of the water column in 15-24 or even 30 feet. Some days the fish are deeper over points and hills and they show a preference for down-rods, but he has some days this week where fish are on shallower points and they can’t keep a free-lined herring in the water without getting bit. If you want to fish much shallower than 30 feet you have to troll with something like an umbrella rig.
In the upper lake fish are still in the main river channel, and if you follow the marker poles then fish hills and steep drop-offs at the same depths you will find fish. Once you get out of the main navigation channel the water is usually not as deep as the fish want, and looking for schooling fish in Marion you have to be especially careful chasing them because of the stumps.
The crappie fishing is still much better than a few weeks ago, and Captain Steve English (843-729-4044) reports that there have even been some isolated reports of people having banner days. However, overall the guides who have been fishing for crappie the longest seem to agree that the population is down right now, and there just aren’t the fish to support consistent, great catches. The best fishing has been about 15-20 feet down over structure in 28-35 feet of water. Minnows are working the best.
There is a similar dynamic at play with the bass, and Captain Brett Mitchell (803-379-7029) reports that for right now the population of fish has just not caught up with the amount of cover now available. At some point there should be an explosion of fish, but for right now there is so much grass but it isn’t all holding bass.
The best pattern is still to start shallow and then go deeper, fishing the grass then trees with soft plastics and crankbaits. You just have to pick off the fish where you can find them. With today’s rain Brett says there could be some current at play up the lake soon, but it’s also possible they will just hold the water.
At the same time there seems to be an explosion of bream right now, and while they still aren’t getting huge ones on the crappie brush they are getting bigger. There are so many fish they are easier to mark now, and instead of staying in the brush piles they are more likely to be suspended over them.
It’s not quite cool enough for great shellcracker fishing in the canal yet, chiefly because small white perch and bream are so abundant there that you can’t keep a bait on the bottom. Temperatures need to get cooler before that bite takes off.
The shallow catfish bite is clearly slowing down, and Captain Stevie English (843-709-8138) reports that he’s only been picking up four or five fish in the shallows before realizing he needs to look deeper. Captain Bobby agrees, and he is finding the best bite in 30-55 feet on the sides of hills. But at other times the fish can be on absolutely no structure, just sitting on the bottom. He believes the cold fronts put the bait and fish deep. A variety of baits will work, and gizzard shad, mullet and blueback herring are all good. However, at the time of year another option is deer liver and hearts – and Bobby has seen it out-fish everything else on more than one occasion!
October 5
Santee Cooper water levels are at 74.85 in Lake Marion (full pool is 76.8) and around 74.70 in Lake Moultrie (full pool is 75.5). Morning surface water temperatures are about 76 degrees and the upper lake is dirtier than the lower lake (which is fairly clear) but not muddy.
Finally there’s some good news with the crappie fishing on the Santee Cooper lakes, and Captain Steve English (843-729-4044) reports that the fish have started biting again. It’s not peak Santee Cooper crappie fishing, but they are managing 15-20 fish in a trip and getting some good ones. The best fishing has been about 15-20 feet down over structure in 28-35 feet of water. Minnows are working the best.
Not every brush pile has fish on it, but when they find a school they are usually getting two or three off of it. And every now and then they hit a really good pile where they catch 7 or 8. In addition to black crappie, in the upper lake white crappie are showing up again.
While the crappie have turned on again the striped bass probably never stopped, but they did just become legal to target again!
Captain Bobby Winters with Bob’s Guide Service Encore (843-751-3080) reports that so far this season the fish have not been schooling very well, but that bite could get hot at any moment. Always be on the lookout for birds diving and have a bucktail or spoon ready as October is a great schooling month – especially as it cools down.
For now Bobby is catching most of his fish drifting lower lake humps in 30-40 feet of water, mostly fishing the middle of the water column in 15-24 or even 30 feet. The Hatchery has been the most productive area for him.
In the upper lake fish are in the main river channel, and if you follow the marker poles then fish hills and steep drop-offs at the same depths you will find fish. In addition to live bait, trolling umbrella rigs along the ledges is another good pattern.
In Marion you have to be especially careful chasing schooling fish because of the stumps.
Bobby is also finding a really good deep catfish bite, and in 25-50 feet of water they are locating big fish on the sides of hills and other sharp depth changes. Drifting blueback herring is still working, but mullet and white perch are also very good. Bobby has found the biggest fish right at 50 feet and on one drift he picked up four 20 plus pound fish in rapid succession.
But there are also plenty of catfish shallow, and Captain Stevie English (843-709-8138) reports that drifting herring on flats in about 10 feet of water he is finding a bunch of 8-10 pound fish. They are running up to about 14 pounds, so that is consistent with the possibility that the biggest fish may have moved deep.
It's still easy to catch bream on brush piles in 18-24 feet with crickets, but Steve reports that it continues to be a lot of picking through small fish. As temperatures drop in October and November more big bream will be caught.
Overall Captain Brett Mitchell (803-379-7029) still rates the bass bite as slow, but he is already seeing signs that it is getting better. They are getting more bites and quality is starting to pick up a little. Cooling this weekend should really help.
His best pattern is still fishing soft plastics around shallow targets including wood and grass, and even though fish have way more cover that usual to hide in (because of more grass) as more come shallow they are getting easier to find.
September 28
Santee Cooper water levels are at 75.12 in Lake Marion (full pool is 76.8) and around 75.0 in Lake Moultrie (full pool is 75.5). Morning surface water temperatures are about 76-77 degrees on the big water and clarity is high.
In this weekend’s CATT tournament it took about 15 pounds of bass to win, and Captain Brett Mitchell (803-379-7029) and his partner took third with about 11 pounds. They caught six or seven bass, but the big ones have just not come in yet. They were fishing soft plastics around any shallow targets including wood and grass, and there is still no sign of a topwater bite at all.
Brett has seen this cycle before, and he reports that right now the population is a bit down but the amount of cover is up. That means less fish have more places to hide, but in about two years it should all even out – if they don’t kill all the grass – and there will be an explosion of good fish.
For now Brett hopes that the fishing gets good before the turnover, because the water needs to cool a bunch for that to happen.
Along those lines the crappie fishing is still tough on the Santee Cooper lakes, and Captain Steve English (843-729-4044) reports that the fish they are catching are still on deep structure. He is fishing minnows about 16-18 feet down over 28-34 feet of water to find fish.
It's still easy to catch bream on brush piles, but Steve reports that as it has cooled perhaps they are in tighter schools and the fish definitely aren’t on every single brush pile (in the target depth range of 18-24 feet) anymore.
For now it’s still a lot of picking through small bream, but as temperatures drop in October and November more and more big bream will be caught.
Too much wind has made deepwater fishing for catfish tricky this week, but Captain Bobby Winters with Bob’s Guide Service Encore (843-751-3080) reports that he still thinks the best fishing is in 25-35 feet of water on the sides of hills. However, he has had to drift in shallower, more protected areas recently, and while they haven’t found as many or as large of fish they have still caught some.
Blueback herring have been working the best for him, but he’s also hearing some good reports on white perch.
Perhaps the problem was more than just the depth, though, and Captain Stevie English (843-709-8138) reports that he has marked and had bites from a ton of fish at a range of depths this week – but they are not eating like normal. Too many fish are picking up the bait and dropping it; it’s unclear why.
You can’t fish for them until Sunday, October 1, but Captain Bobby reminds anglers that this Sunday the striped bassseason reopens. A lot of people like to fish for them by trolling in shallow water with umbrella rigs or live bait on planer boards, and it’s always a sure sign this bite is taking off when bass fishermen start catching lots of striper. However, Bobby’s preferred method is to chase schools when he can find the birds feeding on bait they are attacking and throw topwaters, bucktails, swimbaits or more. You can also drift live herring for them, or drop herring down when the fish stop schooling on top in a particular area.
As for where to look for them it can be most anywhere, and Bobby has seen fish in October school from 10 feet of water to 50 feet.
September 22
Santee Cooper water levels are at 75.32 in Lake Marion (full pool is 76.8) and around 75.27 in Lake Moultrie (full pool is 75.5). Morning surface water temperatures are about 79-80 degrees on the big water and clarity is high.
There are finally signs of life besides catfish on the Santee Cooper lakes, and Captain Steve English (843-729-4044) reports that for the first time in a while yesterday he caught some nice crappie. They were on deep structure in the upper lake, and while he didn’t mark a ton of them it was a good sign to see some really big crappie again. He was fishing minnows about 16-18 feet down over 28-34 feet of water.
It's easy to catch bream on brush piles right now, and Steve has found the best action over brush in 18-24 feet of water. Usually the fish are tight to the bottom of the brush, but right now he is finding them suspended 8-12 feet down over the top of it.
For now it’s a lot of picking through small bream, but as temperatures drop in October and November more and more big bream will be caught.
And there’s even some improvement with the bass, as Captain Brett Mitchell (803-379-7029) reports that as water are temperatures are cooling fish are just beginning to get adjusted. The bite hasn’t taken off yet, but it’s coming very soon.
For now continue to fish offshore grass, trees, docks and other shady spots, but more fish are moving into the shallows. The last couple of trips this week he found the best action on soft plastics fished around offshore grass in the upper lake, and for some reason there is still no topwater bite to speak of.
And while other species are starting to eat better the catfish are continuing to do their thing, as Captain Bobby Winters with Bob’s Guide Service Encore (843-751-3080) reports that he is still finding a pretty good drift bite. He’s now fishing 25-35 feet of water on the sides of hills – which seem to be producing better than flats. Blueback herring have been working the best for him, but he’s also hearing some good reports on white perch.
As temperatures drop he expects more and more fish to go deep.
But you don’t have to look deep to find eating-sized catfish, and Captain Stevie English (843-709-8138) reports that he has been catching fish drifting flats in just 5-10 feet of water with bluebacks. It’s not a hot bite but if you stick with it the action is steady.
However, when he is looking for a couple of big trophy fish Stevie is also heading out to about 30 feet of water where he caught a two 25-30 pound fish to round out Saturday’s trip.
September 7
Santee Cooper water levels are at 75.56 in Lake Marion (full pool is 76.8) and around 75.42 in Lake Moultrie (full pool is 75.5). Surface water temperatures dropped to about 81 but are rising again.
Luckily the catfish bite on Santee is picking up again, and Captain Bobby Winters with Bob’s Guide Service Encore (843-751-3080) reports that he has found a good bite drifting in 20-42 feet of water on the sides of hills for fish that are searching for bait. While he’s sure there are fish shallower, the ones he is targeting have gone deeper. Blueback herring have been working the best for him, although he’s also hearing about fish caught on bream and some smaller ones on shrimp.
Particularly as the sun got up the bite got finickier, and overall he rates the night bite better than the day bite.
It’s a similar report from Captain Steve English (843-729-4044), and he has found that by Noon the fish are striking really short while at 8 am they are swallowing the bait. He also notes that there has been a good night bite in shallow water as little as 3-6 feet, and anglers are also catching fish bumping along the canal with all the water they are pulling after the storm.
Proving that fish are spread out, Captain Stevie English (843-709-8138) reports that he has been catching fish drifting flats in just 8-10 feet of water on bluebacks. A lot of the fish are eating-sized, but they have caught some up to 35 pounds.
The brief cooling trend provided a glimmer of what’s ahead with the bass, and Captain Brett Mitchell (803-379-7029) reports that for a few days the fish bit better. However, things quickly returned to normal and the fish are once again almost dormant – at least during the daytime.
For now you just have to target the grass or offshore brush with soft plastics and fish very slowly, but once there is some sustained cooling then fish should get a lot more aggressive and the topwater action should come on. And instead of having to fish between daylight and when the sun first gets over the trees, fish will spread out throughout the depths and there will be some sustained all-day patterns including in shallow water.
Finally, it’s also still slow for crappie on Santee Cooper, but Captain Steve English (843-729-4044) reports that he is hopeful they will start biting better around the middle of September. For now it’s just picking one or two off deep brush.
August 24
Santee Cooper water levels are at 75.48 in Lake Marion (full pool is 76.8) and around 75.30 in Lake Moultrie (full pool is 75.5). Surface water temperatures are in the upper 80s.
If you’re looking for a tale of incredible late summer fishing you won’t find it here, and Captain Bobby Winters with Bob’s Guide Service Encore (843-751-3080) reports that even the daytime catfish bite has slowed down in the late August heat. Sure, they have managed to scratch together some pretty good fish drifting in the 10-20 foot range with cut herring, but they have really, really had to work for them.
Fortunately the night fishing does seem to be a little better, and drifting those some 10-20 foot flats at night is a good bit more productive. Fish definitely seem to be in a pattern of feeding more after dark, and this weekend’s temperatures are unlikely to do anything to change that.
The night bite in the canal can also be very good, but it’s dependent on running water.
It’s still slow for crappie on Santee Cooper, and Captain Steve English (843-729-4044) reports that they have caught a few on deep brush but people are really having to work for them. It won’t be until temperatures cool down that we can get a better idea of what the population looks like.
With a second August full moon coming there should be one more wave of spawning bream, but Steve expects that a lot of the bigger bluegill will spawn in deeper water on this moon. There should be some up shallow, but mostly it may be smaller sunfish that bed around the banks.
The bass report is still pretty abysmal from Captain Brett Mitchell (803-379-7029, as the water is still just too hot for much consistent action. The bite has been unbelievably slow, and it’s been a struggle to get just a few bites.
Even though fish aren’t feeding much, the best pattern is to target the grass with soft plastics and fish very, very slowly.
August 17
Santee Cooper water levels are at 75.67 in Lake Marion (full pool is 76.8) and around 75.45 in Lake Moultrie (full pool is 75.5). Surface water are in the upper 80s.
Allegedly there are other species that live in the Santee Cooper lakes, but quite honestly it’s almost all about the catfish right now. Captain Bobby Winters with Bob’s Guide Service Encore (843-751-3080) reports that he has been catching some fish deep, and very shallow, but by far the best results have come drifting in the 10-20 foot range. He is pulling baits over flats at that depth, and is finding smaller fish biting during the day and bigger ones at night. His boat is using blueback herring.
When he is targeting deep water he is looking for steep drops, but again the action hasn’t been great out there.
Along the same lines Captain Stevie English (843-709-8138) reports that he hasn’t found much besides very little fish in deep water, while drifting flats in the 10-12 foot range he has found the best action. During the day fish have been running up to about 12 pounds, and again he is fishing with herring.
The bite in the canal can be very good, but it’s dependent on running water.
The bass report is still pretty abysmal from Captain Brett Mitchell (803-379-7029, as the water is still just too hot for much consistent action. The bite has been unbelievably slow, and it’s been a struggle to get just a few bites.
Even though fish aren’t feeding much, the best pattern is to target the grass with soft plastics and fish very, very slowly.
It’s a similar report about the crappie on Santee Cooper, and Captain Steve English (843-729-4044) reports that he really isn’t seeing people fishing – except for catfish. The last time out he found a few crappie on 35-foot brush but it was very, very slow.
August 3
Santee Cooper water levels are at 75.76 in Lake Marion (full pool is 76.8) and around 75.45 in Lake Moultrie (full pool is 75.5). The lake is clearer than normal and morning surface water temperatures are around 88 degrees.
Instead of leading off by telling you what’s not biting we should start with what is, and Captain Bobby Winters with Bob’s Guide Service Encore (843-751-3080) reports that the last time he went out night fishing he found a pretty incredible catfish bite. The fish were on main lake flats in 10-20 feet of water, and they ate blueback herring on the drift. The bite was steady with about 15 fish caught, and they averaged between 10-20 pounds with the biggest over 30.
During the day he still recommends starting out looking in 30-45 feet of water, and warns that they won’t be below the thermocline in around 50 feet. Target major structure such as humps and drop-offs. At the same time, he adds that anglers should be willing to look shallower on flats in as little as 5 feet of water if the deep bite isn’t panning out.
The canal bite can be really good when they are pulling water, but Captain Stevie English (843-709-8138) reminds anglers that it can stink when they are not. He is finding the most consistent action drifting shallow flats in 4-15 feet of water with cut herring. This is a numbers pattern for filling coolers with eating-sized fish.
On the other hand there’s no good news with the bass from Captain Brett Mitchell (803-379-7029, and he reports that the water is still just too hot for much consistent action. The bite has been unbelievably slow, and it’s been a struggle to get just a few bites.
Honestly Brett isn’t sure where the bulk of the fish are right now, and while he can guess where they are not they might just not be biting. The best pattern is to target the grass with soft plastics and fish very, very slowly.
It’s a similar report about the crappie on Santee Cooper, and Captain Steve English (843-729-4044) reports that he really isn’t seeing people fishing – except for catfish. The last time out he found a few crappie on 35-foot brush but it was very, very slow.
July 27
Santee Cooper water levels are at 75.97 in Lake Marion (full pool is 76.8) and around 75.65 in Lake Moultrie (full pool is 75.5). The lake is clearer than normal and morning surface water temperatures are around 88 degrees.
Fresh off a couple of bass fishing trips on Santee, Captain Brett Mitchell (803-379-7029) has a pretty succinct diagnosis. It’s too hot for bass fishing. The bite has been unbelievably slow, and it’s been a struggle to get just a few bites.
Honestly Brett isn’t sure where the bulk of the fish are right now, and while he can guess where they are not they might just not be biting. The best pattern is to target the grass with soft plastics and fish very, very slowly.
It’s a similar report about the crappie on Santee Cooper, and Captain Steve English (843-729-4044) reports that he really isn’t seeing people fishing – except for catfish. The last time out he found a few crappie on 35-foot brush but it was very slow.
Meanwhile, the bream fishing is still all about the moons, which could be good with a full moon coming on August 1. On new and full moons the bluegill are easy to find on beds, while in-between they are very difficult to locate. Shellcracker have pretty much finished spawning for the year.
But then there are the catfish, keeping guides in business and anglers happy. Captain William Attaway with Slick Willie’s Guide Service (803-924-0857) reports that the bite in the canal has been incredible, and drifting has been the ticket to filling coolers. They will eat about anything from cut bream to shad to perch to mullet and more.
In the lakes Captain Bobby Winters with Bob’s Guide Service Encore (843-751-3080) reports the bite hasn’t been that fast, but he is catching fish in 30-40 feet of water and hearing of some fish caught shallower. He recommends starting deep but then being willing to look shallower on flats in as little as 5 feet of water.
Bobby’s boat is mainly fishing with cut blueback herring, but white perch, chicken and bream are all good summer baits.
July 14
Santee Cooper water levels are at 76.06 in Lake Marion (full pool is 76.8) and around 75.7 in Lake Moultrie (full pool is 75.5). The lake has cleared and morning surface water temperatures are almost 90 degrees in places.
There’s still not much great to say about the crappie on Santee Cooper, and on a trip this week Captain Steve English (843-729-4044) reports he could only find concentrations of fish on one brush pile. It was in about 35 feet of water, and he was fishing about 18-20 feet down. They were able to catch about ten, but most of them were smaller – which is similar to what they were seeing this spring. Minnows are out-fishing jigs.
Meanwhile, the bream fishing is still all about the moons. On new and full moons the bluegill are easy to find on beds, while in-between they are very difficult to locate. Shellcracker have pretty much finished spawning for the year.
Luckily the catfish bite continues to be very consistent, and Captain Stevie English (843-709-8138) reports that he is catching fish anchoring in shallow water on flats just outside of the canal. Most of the fish have been in the 5-10 pound range, and they are biting on blueback herring.
That’s consistent with the report from Captain Bobby Winters with Bob’s Guide Service Encore (843-751-3080), who has been finding that some of the bigger fish have moved out to 30-40 feet.
Bass report to follow.
