Stripers aren’t the only target this month
June is a transition month for Santee Cooper fishermen, and many sought-after species, specifically crappie, largemouth bass, and striped bass, have completed the spawning process.
For striped bass, natural reproduction from the spawning run is a hit-or-miss proposition. But they do make the journey to spawn and create excellent fishing throughout both lakes.
Bream and shellcrackers have had their first big spawns, and these panfish continue to spawn through the warm months. The catfish spawn is likely underway now.
Limited Stripers
From a big picture scene, much of the fishing now will be post-spawn, and in the case of stripers, we’ll enter the closed season after June 15. Striper season re-opens on Oct. 1.
It’s important to remember that the closed striper fishing season is meant to protect the overall resource, not because of a poor fishing situation. The summer months provided excellent striper fishing, but the issue was the high catch-and-release mortality of stripers.
Based on data from the South Carolina Dept. of Natural Resources (SCDNR), because of elevated water temperatures during the summer, the stress of the catch-and-release process in lakes Marion and Moultrie caused high mortality of released striped bass.
But most striper anglers agree the striper fishery has benefitted from the current regulations. The striper population is flourishing, and some big stripers were caught this spring, with 30-pound fish occasionally caught and photographed.
If you want to stock up on striper action and fillets, do it before June 15.
The basic pattern for catching stripers is live bait fishing in deep water. The lower end of Lake Marion, in and around the old river channel, offers good fishing. However, the most productive area would be the deep holes of Lake Moultrie near the Pinopolis Dam.
On what would be their natural return to the ocean after spawning, Pinopolis Dam on Moultrie blocks our land-locked stripers, and they congregate in that area in late May and June.
Live bait
Stripers are generally deep by day, but slightly shallower during the low light of morning and evening.
Multi-species fishing guide Kevin Davis (843-312-3080), who works out of Blacks Camp, said to use electronics to search the deep-water areas. Use live blueback herring fished at the depth stripers are marked.
“But I’ll have baits at different depths, because not all the fish will be at the same depth. Anglers can generally spot a specific range of a few feet where most fish are holding,” he said.
Catfish Still Active
Davis said June provides productive catfishing, and while some catfish may be spawning, not all catfish spawn simultaneously.
“We typically enjoy good catfishing during June, but it may require moving more, or working harder than normal for catfish. But plenty of fish are available,” he said.
Some of the best catfish action will be in shallow-water areas around mussel beds, fished from anchored setups.
“Drift fishing deeper water, often 15 to 25 feet on lakes Moultrie or Marion, will be productive during June.
He prefers cut herring as his primary bait, but gizzard shad, white perch, and bream are other good offerings.
“One thing to watch for is with ample rain, we’ll have current flow in the Diversion Canal and have good catfishing here during June and July,” he said. “Bottom bumping is the best tactic for the Canal area, allowing anglers to cover plenty of water. When you locate a hotspot and catch multiple fish along a specific area, followed by a slowdown in bites, pull your rigs and motor upstream and re-drift that area. Catfish will congregate in a specific stretch of the Canal on some days.”
Davis said this ‘hotspot’ fishing relies on current flow and forage. So it can occur anywhere along the Diversion Canal.
Catfish never closes:
Striper season on the Santee Cooper lakes ends on June 15, but it’s always catfish season here. These lakes offer big numbers of catfish, and some of the biggest catfish throughout the nation.
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