Catfish
Keep your cool; big catfish will
The colder it gets, the hotter the catfish bite is on the Santee Cooper lakes. […]
Articles by Terry Madewell
Freshwater Fishing
December: It’s all about bait
As water temperatures dip in December, with frequent cold fronts blasting through South Carolina, the fishing on the Santee Cooper lakes, Marion and Moultrie, seem to defy logic and actually improves instead of slowing.
Catfish
Is High Rock the next catfish crown jewel?
Badin Lake on the Yadkin River chain in North Carolina has long been known as an excellent lake for blue catfish in the winter, but about 20 miles upstream, High Rock Lake seems poised to become the next winter hotspot.
Catfish
It’s all about the forage when searching for catfish in the winter
A recurring theme among all the catfish guides is that winter catfishing is all about the forage; you fish close to forage or you don’t catch fish.
Crappie/Bream
December slabs: a depth perception
Guide Dave Hilton spends a lot of time catching crappie on Lake Marion, and he’s learned specific tactics to improve success and describes them in his unique style.
Catfish
Top Carolina winter catfish lakes
Gone are the days when catfish were delegated to warm weather and water for consistent fishing. With the introduction of blue catfish into many lakes and rivers in the Carolinas, the cold-weather catfishing game has changed significantly.
Content
Cold crappie kickoff
Cool weather and dropping water temperatures are a very good combination for December crappie on South Carolina’s Lake Marion. Anglers with a good game plan find that crappies begin to congregate into tighter areas around deep-water cover and score outstanding catches.
Freshwater Fishing
Double dipping for stripers, cats
Veteran guide Dave Hilton from Ridgeville, S.C., has long cherished the opportunity to catch multiple species of fish at Santee Cooper. During November, the striper and catfish action is exceptional on Lake Marion and Lake Moultrie, so Hilton set out to learn how to double-dip.
Bass Fishing
Double-timing bass
Guide Jerry Kotal said that most of the time, Lake Russell bass will orient to a small, specific target on the bottom, and a school of fish is very concentrated in a small area, but that’s not always the case.
Bass Fishing
Spot on – South Carolina’s Lake Russell is a bass-fishing hot spot
Bass fishing is excellent year-round in the Carolinas, but any time the possibility exists to hook and land dozens of black bass in a day of fishing, it’s time to get the gear and go.
Bass Fishing
New Santee striper regs are popular
The new striper regulations implemented on the Santee Cooper lakes this past June have received rave reviews from fishermen, guides and landing operators around Lake Marion and Lake Moultrie. This has created a lot of optimism for the striper fishing season that reopens Oct. 1.
Catfish
Trophy cats: a biological perspective
Chad Holbrook, a fisheries biologist for the S.C. Department of Natural Resources who oversees the Santee Cooper lakes, said biologists use winter gill-net sampling to assess blue catfish populations and, the data shows increasing catch rates from 2016 through 2018.