Humminbird Map help on Santee Cooper Lakes

[KevinDaniel]

Have the humminbird helix 10 mega, but the builtin charts are terrible for Lake Marion. The LakeMaster HD only includes Lake Moultrie and not Marion which is just crazy to me. Any one here running the humminbird units and have a good recommendation for a good chart software for Lake Marion to show general contour lines and other route info? Is the Navionics + a good base starting point? We have learned a bunch by idling around and following others that "seem" to know what they are doing as far as navigating the lake, but would love to have some view of things before even heading out. Maybe I should have went with Lowrance but too late now.

[Randy T]

Use the navionics app and your phone or get a navionics map chip

[AKRISONER]

Unfortunately the navionics charts for marion dont show much either. They do provide a safe navigation route from north to south on the lake, however details outside of the main river bed are sparse to nil.

If you are trying to plan ahead check out the navionics webapp

https://webapp.navionics.com/#boating@6&key=itdeGz__fN

[santee bass]

I have known several people who tried to get USGS contour maps of these lakes.I think there were maps available of Lake Moultrie but very little if anything on Lake Marion.I think this kind of goes along with the way the timber was cut in the lakes.The Lake Moultrie timber got cut & the workforce started cutting in some parts of Lake Marion but World War II started & the workforce had to go fight for our country & the mapping didn"t get done.This is my guess.

[g-string]

I like to watch people follow people who they think they know we're they are going. There are now safe places on these lakes.

[KevinDaniel]

Thanks all! Inky will connect soon for another bass trip. If anyone knows this place Inky does.

[santee bass]

Thanks all! Inky will connect soon for another bass trip. If anyone knows this place Inky does.

Thanks Kevin,look forward to it.

[rammerjammer]

I have known several people who tried to get USGS contour maps of these lakes.I think there were maps available of Lake Moultrie but very little if anything on Lake Marion.I think this kind of goes along with the way the timber was cut in the lakes.The Lake Moultrie timber got cut & the workforce started cutting in some parts of Lake Marion but World War II started & the workforce had to go fight for our country & the mapping didn"t get done.This is my guess.

For years I have wondered why Lake Marion was left untouched and Moultrie seemed to be cleared. I remember one of the first times I was down there (before Hurricane Hugo) and seeing all the standing timber out on the main lake above I-95. It was a sight to see for a kid who grew up on highland reservoirs.

[Kodiak16]

Make your own with the Auto chart live.

[santee bass]

For years I have wondered why Lake Marion was left untouched and Moultrie seemed to be cleared. I remember one of the first times I was down there (before Hurricane Hugo) and seeing all the standing timber out on the main lake above I-95. It was a sight to see for a kid who grew up on highland reservoirs.

You should have seen it back in the early 50"s before Hurricane Hazel & then later Hugo,broke off most of the timber in the open lake.Where I live(Wyboo area)the shoreline had button bushes about every 10ft all the way around the entire shoreline.As people bought lots & build houses on them,the 1st thing they would do,clear the shoreline so they could swim & ski.Spawning took place along the whole shoreline for miles & miles.The state record bass 16lb 2oz,was caught in 1949 about a 1/2 mile from my house.To bad the lake dosn"t have anywhere near the natural cover it had back then,plus maybe a little hydrilla hear & there.

[rammerjammer]

You should have seen it back in the early 50"s before Hurricane Hazel & then later Hugo,broke off most of the timber in the open lake.Where I live(Wyboo area)the shoreline had button bushes about every 10ft all the way around the entire shoreline.As people bought lots & build houses on them,the 1st thing they would do,clear the shoreline so they could swim & ski.Spawning took place along the whole shoreline for miles & miles.The state record bass 16lb 2oz,was caught in 1949 about a 1/2 mile from my house.To bad the lake dosn"t have anywhere near the natural cover it had back then,plus maybe a little hydrilla hear & there.

I agree on the cover but they say alot of it was "invasive" I remember one of the first trips I had down there in the late 80s and fishing the hydrilla beds on outside of the southern end of the hatchery and watching the big kitty cats following my spinnerbait back to the boat. My dad also had a big striper blow a spook about 3 feet out of the water there too. Good times!

[santee bass]

I agree on the cover but they say alot of it was "invasive"

Back in the 50"s & 60"s my fishing was on the lower end of Lake Marion near my dad"s lake house.If I remember,the lake level was kept at a lower level in the 50"s & there were button bushes & row after row of willow trees.Then as the lake level was brought up to higher levels the willow trees died,the button bushes for the most part were taken out by land owners.I started fishing the whole lake system in the late 60"s.The Alligator grass was in lots of areas of the upper end of Lake Marion.In the early 70"s,the willow trees had died,but stilled formed big long rows of dead stickups.If you knew where these stickups were located in 3 feet or more water,giant bass would live in them year round.These stickups rotted out after a number of years.In the late 70"s Brazilian elodea got into the lakes,could grow to 15 feet deep & took over big areas of the lakes.After they got rid of that,along comes Hydrilla, which looks similar to Brazilian elodea, but can grow to 30 feet deep & we all know what happened to it.The floating hart is next up,nothing to kill it & it does hold fish.If these mats cover to large of an area,the oxygen level has gone to between 1 & o in July & Aug.This past fall Santee Cooper found a new invasive vegetation above Packs in the swamp.They have put posters & flyer"s at the marina"s.I don"t remember the new name,but the head fisheries biologist for the lakes told me it could get bad.

[rammerjammer]

This past fall Santee Cooper found a new invasive vegetation above Packs in the swamp.They have put posters & flyer"s at the marina"s.I don"t remember the new name,but the head fisheries biologist for the lakes told me it could get bad.

So if I am reading between the lines correctly, more spraying and asian carp is on the agenda? I noticed on the updated Google maps that there are large areas of dead grass up in the swamp.

Inky, what is your opinion on the local authorities introducing herbicides, chemicals, and invasive species of fish into the lakes?

[artdevilish]

Carp won't eat the crested heart but every native between here and yon. Only thing that can compete with the crested heart is hydrilla and elodea. That is why i am proposing to reintroduce both back into the lake. ONLY to control the crested heart of course.

[c rig]

They spray, they dump record amounts of grass carp, and the end result is even eelgrass seems to be gone....at least we haven't found it. Used to be huge areas of it, now those areas seem to be deserts. Those carp eat everything except floating heart.

Every lake that has big hydrilla reduction programs seems to experience a dropoff in the entire fishery, because bait/fry lose those nurseries to hide in.

If they want to control shallow hydrilla, have a major drawdown every couple of years. That'll keep the shallow hydrilla knocked back, let it grow out in deeper water.

Tourism, license sales, marina business, etc is a big part of the economy around those lakes. Having good vegetation makes the fishing better...better fishing means more business. While there are some big bags weighed in during the spring, look deeper into the weigh in results...the same few guys are at the top. Then look at the middle down...lots of small bags, lots of zeros.

There has to be some way to reach a middle ground, I'm not sure how much input SC DNR is giving in this. From what I've noticed about them, they seem to be more reactionary, waiting until a problem is bad before they advocate action.

[Reelsore]

The issue is that Santee Power company actually owns the lakes and can do whatever they want with them. They don’t care about the fish or tourism, all they care about is the water for hydro-electric Power.

[Jeff Hahn]

The issue is that Santee Power company actually owns the lakes and can do whatever they want with them. They don’t care about the fish or tourism, all they care about is the water for hydro-electric Power.

THIS^^^ is always what I have always heard from locals. But, I hear that Santee Power is in financial trouble. Maybe they'll cut back on the spraying and grass carp to save a few $.

[CaptainSolo]

Here are some screenshots of what to expect from Navionics on Moultrie.

[usmc03]

For years I have wondered why Lake Marion was left untouched and Moultrie seemed to be cleared. I remember one of the first times I was down there (before Hurricane Hugo) and seeing all the standing timber out on the main lake above I-95. It was a sight to see for a kid who grew up on highland reservoirs.

I was told by a SC forestry guy, that during the building of the dam and the lake itself, WW2 kicked off, and the just left the timer standing. There were other priorities than cutting the timber down.

[santee bass]

THIS^^^ is always what I have always heard from locals. But, I hear that Santee Power is in financial trouble. Maybe they'll cut back on the spraying and grass carp to save a few $.

I was told 10,000 more carp this year.I tried pulling up the 2018 DRAFT S.C. Aquatic Plant Management Plan (for Santee Lakes Marion & Moultrie pdf file,but get 404 error).