Santee bass ready for varied, mid-depth offerings in June

Pro bass angler shares tips on catching early summer bass

June is a hot month — in more ways than one. That’s especially true when it comes to the bass bite on the Santee Cooper reservoirs. Whether you’re fishing Lake Marion or Lake Moultrie, you’ll have no problem catching your share of largemouth as long as you keep a few things in mind.

Guide Marc Deschenes of VIP Adventures (843-708-5473) said many anglers believe you can only catch bass this month very shallow in the early morning, then very deep in the heat of the day. And while anglers can catch bass that way, he said the most- consistent way of catching bass this month is by fishing brush piles in water that ranges from 6 to 10 feet deep.

“It gets tough to catch bass on brush piles through April and most of May. Those fish are spawning, getting staged to spawn, and recovering from the spawn. But by June, they are back on the brush piles. They like the 6- to 10-foot range, especially if the brush is near deeper water,” said Deschenes, who guides on Santee and on a series of private ponds in Summerville.

On some days, Deschenes said bass bite better on the surface above the brush piles. On other days, they prefer to stay on the bottom around the base of the brush.

“It changes from one day to the next, so you have to be prepared for both. If I’m fishing a tournament, my partner will fish with a Heddon Spook on top. You want a topwater lure that has some rattles and makes some noise. They won’t generally come up for a lure that isn’t making noise. And while he’s fishing on top, I’m fishing a big worm along the bottom,” he said.

Once they determine what’s working best, both anglers go with that method. If things slow down, Deschenes said he won’t hesitate to try fishing the other way again, because just as the bite changes from one day to the next, it can change just as easily from hour to hour on the same day.

“If the fish are looking up, they’ll hit that Spook, but if they’re looking down, it’s going to take a big worm to entice them into biting. Just try each until you find out what’s working, but always be prepared to switch back if things slow down,” he said.