Deep water holds big bream and crappie

Bull bream are caught in big numbers during December by anglers working Santee Cooper’s deepwater cover. (Picture by Terry Madewell)

As 2024 ends, the Santee Cooper lakes and nearby areas provide many opportunities for December adventures.

The cooling water temperature creates fishing patterns that anglers can exploit, and most fish species provide good fishing opportunities.

Deer hunting is entering the post-rut phase, but big bucks are still available, although they’re now more wary at the end of the hunting season. However, with some planning and legwork, putting meat in the freezer is a good option. Hungry does respond well to food plots and bait stations since natural food sources are now scarce. Plus, many small game hunting opportunities are underway, providing outdoorsmen with multiple choices for year-end trips.

Crappie on cover

Crappie fishing is often associated with the spring, but December produces excellent results on the Santee Cooper lakes. The key is finding the combination of crappie and forage on specific targets.

Capt. Stacey Weatherford has been crappie fishing for years. He recently acquired his USCG Captain’s license and is now guiding for multiple species on Santee Cooper. Weatherford said December is excellent for crappie fishing because fish get into reliable patterns.

“The keys are finding the right cover and having forage for the crappie to eat,” he said. “This occurs in both lakes, and the fishing is associated with brush piles, natural woody cover along ledges, and the many artificial fish attractor sites in both lakes Marion and Moultrie.”

Weatherford (SW Guide Service, 854-206-0199) said the depth pattern can vary based on weather and water temperature, but crappie typically orient to deep cover.

“The general depth is a bit of a moving target, although on specific days it will likely be specific,” he said. “We’ll find fish from 15 to 30 feet deep on most days, but fishermen must be willing to search shallower or deeper depending on weather and water conditions. Depending on the best bite pattern of a given day, I’ll use small jigs or live minnows. As the water temperature cools, live bait seems to improve, but be prepared by having both.”

Weatherford said that the artificial fish attractors on both lakes are overlooked targets. These attractors are marked by buoys, and the GPS coordinates are on the Santee Cooper Country website at https://www.santeecoopercountry.org/fishing/attractors/.

“Since these are public attractors, many anglers think they’re over-fished, but that’s not the case this time of year,” he said. “I’ve found that some individual targets around each site are isolated from the primary material concentration. I like to find and fish these smaller, isolated targets.”

Bull Bream

Slab crappie are caught all winter long on the Santee Cooper lakes.

Warm weather is a prime time for catching big bull bream out of the Santee Cooper lakes, but Weatherford has learned it’s not the only time. He is a bream fishing addict and has learned to target these fish year-round.

“By December, bream cluster around deepwater targets in both lakes Marion and Moultrie,” he said. “The best targets are typically deep brush piles, but they’ll orient to many other objects, too, including rock piles, channels with woody cover, and certainly the same type fish attractors I fish for crappie.”

Weatherford said his favorite tactic in December is using electronics to scan deepwater cover to locate bream in huge numbers on specific targets. He said the fish are often not extremely deep, but they’ll migrate deeper throughout the winter as the water temperature cools.

“An ideal situation is to find bream marked on top and along the sides of the fish-holding target,” he said. “That usually means they’re in a feeding mood. I’ll fish crickets on light spinning rigs and drop them to a specific depth. Once we catch a couple, it fires the others up, providing action as fast as any bream bed fishing. It’s a unique experience for many fishermen and a great way to catch limits of big bream in December.”

Consider targeting these two species for December fishing on Santee Cooper because slab crappie and bull bream offer the opportunity to finish 2024 with fast-paced fishing success.