Lake Wateree is one of the most-heavily developed lakes in South Carolina in terms of the number of houses per mile of shoreline. Many of those homes either have or once had a private boat ramp, usually made of concrete. Whether those ramps are still serviceable or are damaged beyond the point of use, they have one thing in common important to bass anglers — they attract fish as well as anything in this lake.
“Bass just love to get around that concrete, especially the ones that are busted up with the debris still submerged,” said guide and bass pro Dearal Rogers.
One particular spot lake Rodgers likes near Clearwater Cove has a private boat ramp in usable shape, an old, busted-up ramp next to it, a wooden dock next to that and a deep drop-off just a few feet off the end of the dock.
“This spot is usually a guaranteed bite,” said Rodgers, who attributes that to all that spot’s different features. “These fish like to relate to areas that have a difference. Structure, a ledge, a change in depth… any type of change is what these bass love to hang around.”
The concrete of the boat ramps creates a change, heats up, holds heat and attracts baitfish — all of which makes it attractive to bass. Rodgers pays close attention to these areas and works them thoroughly before moving on.
Other old boat ramps that get a lot attention from Rodgers are ones near concrete walls and rock walls. A number of them also have downed timber nearby, and Rodgers especially likes to find an old ramp with a partially submerged fallen tree running parallel to the ramp. If surface grass is present between them, that’s even better. If deep water is nearby, Rodgers will spend a lot of time there, and if he catches nothing, he will make it a point to come back to that spot later that day.
“It’s got everything the bass want. At some point, they will be there, and at some point they will bite. It may only happen for 15 minutes in an eight hour period this month, but it will happen. The trick is to be there when it does,”Rodgers said.
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