Hey Guys,
I am in Columbus, GA and am beginning to plan for a trip to fish Moultrie/Marion for a couple of weeks mid-March or early April.
My question is this; those two lake are all but absent in conversation on this board. Bassmaster ranks the lakes #2 in the Southeast.
Am I missing something? Are the lakes hyped and not-so-good?
Looking at spending some time on the Russellville Flats on Moultrie during the spawn. Any intel on Moultrie?
Thanks for your response.
Craig
2018 Bass Cat Margay
150 HP Mercury Four Stroke
It tends to be very spot specific. Bassmaster in the summary of the lakes a few years ago stated that it “can be feast or famine” and they hit the nail on the head. That time of year I would just keep moving around staying no deeper the 5’.
Good luck, you and everyone else will be here that time of the year.
2018 Phoenix 819 / 2018 Mercury 200 Pro XS
These lakes are no hype. October tournaments taking 30+ to win. I had a day in October with 27. And i thought that was good
No not hyped, but trust me these 30+ lbs bags are not being caught by first timers either.
Now that's a very good point Randy T ...
Russellville Flats in mid-March a good bet?
Craig
2018 Bass Cat Margay
150 HP Mercury Four Stroke
Originally Posted by cjrich
That would be a good bet. The fish will be shallow and some bedding.
You mean these?
That time of the year,you better bring something to throw at with you.There will be boats in front of you,behind you,others waiting to get in line & that"s about most coves & flats on the lakes.Saturdays are terrible.
UGGH!
I can pick my time to go. Is there an early range when it's not yet that swamped? Sometime in early March ... or even February.
I want to catch fish, but really don't like such crowds.
So there are 160,000 acres between two lakes ... sound like there are THOUSANDS of guys there at that time. Is that correct?
Craig
2018 Bass Cat Margay
150 HP Mercury Four Stroke
At at the end of duck season in Feb. the guns are put up & the boats come out.Tournament season starts & there will be tournaments (some big,some small) every Sat. Until June.so what you have is tournament fishermen,tourist & locals on the lakes every Sat. & some of each of these groups during the week.Week days are the best & sometimes not to bad.If you come early,like Feb into March,it will be colder & more wind,but the biggest spawns are in March & April.I have seen them on the beds in late Feb.Everything depends on water temps.As the water warms up, more fish move up.I will say,there are fish to be found in shallow water,all year.If you have not been here before,these lakes can be very dangerous & I would suggest a guide for a day or so.Take a look at my site if you would like.www.inkydavis.com
Last edited by santee bass; 12-13-2017 at 06:51 PM.
I agree with Inky on Saturdays. Packs Landing has roughly 120 parking spots and those are marked spots, let alone the free space available. Seen people park as far as 1/2 mile from the ramp.
Acreage wise, combined it might be 160,000 surface acres, but a good majority of that is 20+ feet deep. April 5-7 is the Costa and the next weekend BFL, so expect tons of practice boats around there too. Don't feel too ashamed, it is like that on all the lakes on a Saturday around here too. Heck mid-week is not much slower
Last edited by Randy T; 12-13-2017 at 11:29 PM.
There’s 160,000+ acres of water, but it’s amazing just how small and spot specific the place can be.
I fished Santee hard from the early 80’s to the mid 90’s, then stopped. My son got out of the Army, bought a boat, and we started hitting both lakes semi regularly starting this past February. Lots of things had changed there since I’d been out there last, and while we’ve caught fish we haven’t really “got on ‘em” like we’ve wanted to. I’ve never liked fishing in crowds, and more open areas that I’d expected to find deeper grass were completely barren. As a result, we struggled a lot, learned a lot, and will be trying some different things this Spring. I can tell you, if you look at a satellite map and get excited seeing big grassbeds, you’re going to be disappointed...they’re gone.
Quite honestly, if I was in your shoes coming to spend a week or two, I’d hire Inky for a couple of days just to get a grasp on what's working. It’s going to be money well spent, and you’re going to hopefully avoid floundering around wasting time.
Two things about Santee...(1) windy, bad weather can not only wreck your plans, if can make it very dangerous...and (2) EVERYTHING there looks good. You can waste a lot of time fishing areas that look like they should be on the cover of Bassmaster, and never get a bite.
I’m eventually going to hire him solely to learn how to navigate areas of Marion. He knows his stuff, he has a heck of a reputation. Save time, save gas, and save your lower unit...give him a call.
Be carful where you run. Some mapping software will help but it's not sure fire to keep you out of trouble.
I'll be one of those coming down for 3-4 days during the spring as it's too good to pass up and a shot drive from NC. We usually go the weekend of the ACC basketball tournament with is a little early sometimes but it's a great time fishing and watching some basketball with a few brews and friends.
Also, go somewhere and get you some gator bites while you're there. If it warms and sunny those guys will be looking at ya fish.
I would say the second week of March. CBC tournament on first weekend of March. 200+ boats. Russellville area Is not over crowded. Stay away from the hatchery everyone a day there mom goes there except me.
Great advice and direction. Thank you. Almost as if i should wait until May or June to avoid all the crowds.
Craig
2018 Bass Cat Margay
150 HP Mercury Four Stroke
You’ll most def have better weather may and June but the best fishing will be over. Dont get us wrong it’s crowded but worth it. I’ve only had a hand full of ingnorant people. Most of the time everyone just rotates around the area. Just don’t think that you will have any area worth having to your self.
also look at the lunar table if you are wanting to catch them on the bed.
2018 Phoenix 819 / 2018 Mercury 200 Pro XS
Well if you fish Taw Caw the 2nd weekend of Arch you would probably catch 40 to 50 fish a day. I would not be afraid of all the boats. Weekdays such as Monday Tuesday and Wednesday there won't be a lot of boats on water. The lower lake (Moultrie fishes small. And it gets pounded harder. From the mouth of the Canal to Eutaw creek has 1000's of acres of bass to fish. And you might not see a soul. Plus great place to be out of wind. If you want to fish the swamp call Inky.
Staying at Blacks Fish Camp will give you the option of dealing with strong winds. You can fish either lake and avoid a beating.
March 24th is the Spring Fling out of Blacks 150+ boats also so you can see what the lake is really made of.
My boater in a BFL a few years back had a 32lb sack. Caught all the fish in less than 40 minutes. If you come during the summer, its does get a tad warm, bring a straw hat. Good luck. Costa is at Santee in March and BFL in April.
Craig, I suggest you stay with your time frame as planned, observe and scout on the weekends and fish during the week. There are ramps all over both lakes to make access very easy. Do not wait until May or June, once the fish leave the shallows they become very elusive! If you do consider a guide, you may want to consider one for crappie or catfish.
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