Team Drifting Stix won by more than 20 pounds
Fishing in the Mid Carolina Catfish Club tournament at Santee on Aug. 15, Josh Christopher, Clay Henderson, and Capt. Jason Wolfe caught three catfish totaling 103.7 pounds, winning the competition by more than 20 pounds.
Their biggest fish weighed 47.7 pounds. Their second biggest weighed 38 pounds. And their third fish tipped the scales at 18 pounds. They took home $1300 in prize money.
The team caught a total of four fish on the day. The tournament limit was three, and the one they tossed back was not their smallest.
“We already had two fish longer than 36 inches, and that’s all you can have. Our fourth fish was bigger than our smallest one, but we had to throw it back because it was also longer than 36 inches,” said Wolfe.
But that didn’t hurt their standings. They would have won the tournament even if they’d only brought their top two fish to the scales. Those two fish combined for 85.7 pounds. The second place team, Set ‘em & Net ‘em, had a total of 82.65 pounds.
Wolfe said the conditions were perfect for the way he prefers to fish. Drifting sideways is his favorite tactic, but it’s not always feasible, especially when the wind doesn’t cooperate. But on tournament day, the wind was just right.
Drifting sideways covers much more water
“When you drift sideways, you just cover a lot more ground. Your rods are spread out the entire length of your boat. So instead of just covering five or six feet (like you would from the back of the boat if trolling), you’re covering more than 20 feet. We were able to do that all day,” he said.
The team’s Drifting Stix also played a big role in the win, said Wolfe.
“I can’t say enough about those Drifting Stix. We fish with Santee rigs, but instead of egg sinkers or slinky weights, we use Drifting Stix. They are very thin, and streamlined to get you through all the snags along the bottom of the lake. It’s extremely rare to get hung up when using them. Where egg sinkers and even slinky weights get hung up, Drifting Stix will slide right through. Every so often, I’ll think I’m hung up. But by the time I move toward the rod to free it, it comes loose. That saves so much time,” he said.
They were fishing in the lower lake, and drifting over depths that ranged from 15 to 25 feet. For bait, they used a combination of live and cut bait purchased from Jamie K Outdoors in Fort Lawn.
Team Set ‘em & Net ‘em took first place in the Big Fish Category with a 47.80 pound cat.
Mid Carolina Catfish Club Tournament
Santee, S.C. Aug. 15, 2020
Be the first to comment