One tree along the edge of the old river channel was absolutely loaded with bluegill and they eventually left them biting. 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! Red wigglers are hard to beat. When you can find shallow fish stacked up they will really feed. Swimbaits can also work. Santee Cooper water levels are at 75.40 in Lake Marion (full pool is 76.8) and 74.82 in Lake Moultrie (full pool is 75.5) and both lakes are muddy. In the lakes he is looking for a ledge or stumps or something else that will provide the fish with a place to hold. Catfish: Captain Stevie English (843-709-8138) reports that in February drifting deep water is still the best bet, but on very warm days there can be a night/ evening bite in shallow water. Worms are best for shellcracker while bluegill will also take crickets. He has found the best action 14-18 feet down over 25-35 feet of water. Jerkbaits and Alabama rigs could also work. Santee Cooper water levels are at 74.55 in Lake Marion (full pool is 76.8) and around 74.68 in Lake Moultrie (full pool is 75.5). And, few lakes in the country can rival the. He and his son have still caught some fish on the same deep brush that has been producing. Cut herring, shad or white perch will all work. Some of the fish have already started to spawn while others are shallow looking for spawning areas. At times fish can also be found schooling. Suspend over the fish with live bait of drift cut shad and herring with Santee cooper rigs in the deep channels. He has been targeting the flats in between the turns in the river bed on Lake Marion. 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. However, at times anchoring shallower produced better in January so be flexible. Santee & Cooper River Fishing Page There are still a ton of striped bass in the canal, and drifting blueback herring has been the preferred technique. 9890 Pack's Landing RD, Pinewood, SC 29125 (803) 452-5514. We are a family-owned business committed to providing our customers with the best prices and customer service on all of our merchandise. The bass patterns are mostly unchanged on Santee, but Captain Brett Mitchell (803-379-7029) reports that one thing which can create some variation during a generally stable, hot period is a mayfly hatch. You can also fish soft plastics around trees. Minnows are still working the best. best baits. Striped bass: Guide Wendell Wilson (706-283-3336) reports it was a really good January for striper, and they are hopeful the fish dont get too scattered in February. 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. Fishing Resources. Brett is trying to drift over hard bottoms in areas that have a pronounced drop-off. 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. If those arent working then Brett suggests looking a little deeper with Ned rigs and shakey heads in the same areas. You dont want to fish large, flats pockets like the ones fish would spawn on. 2020 All rights reserved. Santee Cooper water levels are at 74.22 in Lake Marion (full pool is 76.8) and around 75.2 in Lake Moultrie (full pool is 75.5). Long lining the deeper creeks are starting to produce some crappie. 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. Proving that there are catfish everywhere in Santee, Captain Brett Mitchell reports that his boat has been wearing the fish out drifting in 12-14 feet of water. Again, its best to have a mix of cut baits including gizzard shad, American shad, river herring and blueback herring because fish have been showing different preferences on different days. Shop by brand or reel type. data-event-category="Navigation header guest". Overall he is still catching fish in 25-50 feet of water, although other anglers are fishing shallower. Farmer's Market Right of Way Management. Click here for 30 day free trial! With the full moon there should be a bream bed bite right now, but Brett says he has been looking but really hasnt found one. Cut perch and chicken have both been working about the same for him. Sign in or SUMMERTON -- Strong winds and inclement weather forced MLF tournament officials to cancel Day 3 of competition Saturday, April 9, at the Toyota Series Presented by A.R.E. This week the sweet spot has generally been 14-18 feet down over 20-35 feet of water. With a relatively mild winter the crappie fishing has not slowed down yet on Santee Cooper, and even though Captain Steve English (843-729-4044) reports that by the middle of December he has usually abandoned the upper lake both lakes are still fishing very well. Santee Cooper Lakes Fishing Reports | Santee Cooper Country Fishing Reports (803) 854-2131 February Fishing Report. Warmer water is often found at the very backs of the creeks on Santee Cooper, and as a result Captain Brett Mitchell(803-379-7029) reports that a lot of bait is also back there right now. Santee Cooper Lakes Santee Cooper Lakes were ranked third in Bassmaster Magazine's list of 100 Best Bass Lakes in 2021, and they earned the 23rd spot as best lakes of the decade in 2020. 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. Catfish: Guide Jerry Kotal reports that February is still not a month when very many people will be targeting catfish, but if you concentrate on deep water you can pick up a few channel catfish. 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. Chartreus But the bite has been very good, and yesterday they caught 29 crappie in the upper lake and 50 bluegill and 8 crappie the day before in the lower lake. A lot of times only a 100-yard move will do. Very soon, if they have not already, some male fish should get around the banks. Santee Cooper water levels are at 74.35 in Lake Marion (full pool is 76.8) and about 74.2 in Lake Moultrie (full pool is 75.5), and while the lower lake is still clear dirty water is making its way down. Bedding around bullrush grass, lilly-pads, primrose Its a tale of two lakes with the catfish, and Captain Stevie English reports that in the upper lake action has been really slow for him while the fishing in the lower lake has been good. Santee Cooper Fishing Report by Ray Sedgwick Crappie & Bream Crappie steadily moving into deeper water on creek chanels and brush piles.. Bream and shellcracker are being caught in 12 feet of water in the Canal with night crawlers (cut in small pieces) Catfish Updates. Free-lines, planer boards and down-lines could all work depending on where and how deep the fish set up. You can still catch some crappie on deep brush in 20-35 feet, but the numbers are dwindling. The bass are not on every piece of cover. Water temperatures are in the low 60s and there is some dirty water rolling into the lakes. The crappie fishing is basically fair right now, and Captain Steve English (843-729-4044) reports that while they did catch 6 or 7 nice fish off one brush pile generally they are picking up fish in ones and twos. The lakes are as clear as Captain Steve English (843-729-4044) has ever seen them, which may be part of the reason why they can only catch bluegill and crappie around the deeper stuff. The best bite will be in the middle of the day when the water is warmest. Its an interesting bite for catfish on Santee Cooper, and Captain Brett Mitchell (803-379-7029) reports that the fishing is kind of feast-or-famine. Now is the time to catch the fish of a lifetime. going on , grasses and pads are your places to concentrate on. Worms are the ticket. Spinnerbaits, jigs and crankbaits will all work. For employment verification, contact Santee Cooper Human Resources via fax at 843-761-4191 or call 843-761-8000 ext. With the lakes still clear Captain Steve English (843-729-4044) is still finding the bluegill and crappie deep. The Santee Cooper Lakes are filled with a wide variety of fish for all levels of sportsman. 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. 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. AHQ INSIDER Santee Cooper (SC) 2023 Week 5 Fishing Report - Updated February 2 February 2 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). Brett has only been fishing shad-colored crankbaits, but red crankbaits, swimbaits and more should also work. Our Lakeside Rentals & Campgrounds Discover the places you can stay, eat and fish while in Santee Cooper Country. Fish may even start fanning beds, and there could be females thinking about laying eggs in spawning pockets before temperatures drop. moon, shellcrackers are biting very good with limits caught easily, still in 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). Catfish. Fish are about to start moving shallow. While you can still catch a lot of small eating-sized fish drifting in 15-30 feet of water, Captain Stevie English is most excited that the canal bite is finally turning on. At the April full moon it should be gangbusters again, while this week they have caught decent numbers and a few big fish but nothing has been hot. With up-and-down water temperatures the bass are in a pretty typical early winter pattern, and Captain Brett Mitchell(803-379-7029) reports that means that fish will move back and forth between very shallow and slightly deeper water as the bait does the same. It will also be found up the rivers if there is current there. Santee Cooper water levels are at 73.71 in Lake Marion (full pool is 76.8) and about 72.64 in Lake Moultrie (full pool is 75.5). Santee Cooper water levels are at 74.12 in Lake Marion (full pool is 76.8) and 73.81 in Lake Moultrie (full pool is 75.5). The lower lake is still clear even as the upper lake is getting dirty, and morning surface water temperatures are about 47 degrees. Most The bass fishing has been pretty tough recently, but Steve reports that while some fish can be caught shallow he believes the best way to catch good ones right now is reeling a crankbait just over brush piles. You can report an outage, downed powerline or other issue to us at 888-769-7688. Learn more. It seems as if the majority of the fish are post-spawn. Moultrie is the smaller of the two lakes in surface acreage but is much deeper. Vast areas laced with flooded timber and cypress. Striper and hybrids: Guide Chip Hamilton (864-304-9011) reports that the February bite will start off similar to January with fish part-way up the rivers in 35-45 feet on the bottom. Join AHQ Premier for unlimited Free Shipping & access to the AHQ Report. 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). We are a family-owned business committed to providing our customers with the best prices and customer service on all of our merchandise. Herring and chicken have gotten the most bites although they havent found anything the fish are swallowing very well. . It sounds like a broken record but the crappie still havent really turned on as water temperatures need to drop a few more degrees, and Captain Steve English (843-729-4044) reports that deeper brush in 25 plus feet of water continues to be the best. However, many anglers overlook it as an effective method to catch bass. The lakes are back to a normal color and water temperatures are in the mid- to upper 40s. The lower lake has been much better than the upper lake, and a lot of days jigs have been out-fishing minnows. Both lakes are clear and water temperatures are around 80 in the morning. With the heat wave and new moon Brett is cautiously optimistic that another big group of fish will come up. Drifting mid-depths has not been productive, although that could change as temperatures settle into winter patterns. 8888. Some days you find the fish biting and fill the box, and other days you struggle. And then getting them to feed can also be a challenge. Its a good idea to have both. Lakes Fish Camp The upper lake is getting dirty, while the lower lake is relatively clear once you get away from the mouth of the canal. Read now. Santee Cooper water levels are at 74.65 in Lake Marion (full pool is 76.8) and about 74.5 in Lake Moultrie (full pool is 75.5). These freshwaters are often called the Catfish capital of the world because of the vast numbers of Catfish you'll find in its waters. 843-753-2271 Senkos and soft plastics are Bretts go-to lures right now, and if there are windy, cloudy conditions he will pull out a spinnerbait. There are shad in those areas and the bass are also feeding opportunistically on whatever else is around. 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. Waterbodies: Santee River; Species: Largemouth Bass; Smallmouth Bass; . Give Captain Darryl's Guide Service a call at 803-367-6275. Most detailed Lake Trout: Guide Sam Jones (864-280-9056) reports that in February the trout fishing should continue to improve from what has been a good January. outside structure 15' to 25'. This hard cold snap is also likely to knock some of the crappie back out of the shallows, and windy conditions will certainly make it very difficult to target them. Thornhill said a cold-weather mindset will help fisherman catch more bass at Santee Cooper during February, in addition to understanding the how, when and where. Some monster catfish were caught in the Big Cat Brawl over the weekend on Santee, and Captain Stevie English (843-709-8138) reports that there were a couple over 70 and the winning team had 6 fish over two days that were well into the 200s. Just before the last new moon they could literally see the fish moving onto beds in droves. Salt water Bushy Park. Bass: Tournament angler Andy Wicker of Pomaria reports that there will be a number of variables that affect the bite in February, but as of the beginning of the month low water levels and muddy conditions have somehow combined to create an outstanding bite both shallow and deep for several weeks. They will also feed more willingly. Catfish: Captain Bill Plumley reports that February patterns are almost entirely dependent on the weather, and if it gets warm later in the month fish should move shallower into the creek channels. They will be after the bream again this weekend and will report back. Herring, shad and mullet have all been working for his boat. 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. Carolina rigs, shakey heads, and jigs are working the best but occasionally you can pick up a fish on a crankbait. 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