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  1. #1
    I'm your Huckleberry Chuck D's Avatar
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    Taking a break from the salt to get on the pre spawners on Moultrie

    Going to go after some fish up there and leave these salt water fish alone for a little while. Not ready to attempt Lake Marion (too many stumps for my big a** boat) so I'm going to poke around on Moultrie and see how she goes. Been doing a lot of map study and have some ideas. Anyone have any local knowledge or ramps that they recommend please share as I currently know zero about the place other than I want to go there. Thanks guys!

  2. Member santee bass's Avatar
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    #2
    The lower lake has just as many stumps as the upper lake.In the lower lake the trees were cut,but the stumps (2 to about 5 feet tall are all over the shallow flats.There are a couple of sunken islands with stumps out in the middle of the lake going towards Russellville Flats.In this area you can be running in 30’ or more of water & all of a sudden just 3’.

    In the upper lake.some areas were cut,but the stumps are still there.The rest of the lake the trees were broken off,mostly by hurricane’s.

    Either lake can be dangerous at any level.There are areas in both lakes that you can run,but you need to know them.I would suggest that you use a guide the 1st day or 2 & be very carefull when on the lake in your boat.

    Inky

  3. Member santee bass's Avatar
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    #3
    The lower lake has just as many stumps as the upper lake.In the lower lake the trees were cut,but the stumps (2 to about 5 feet tall are all over the shallow flats.There are a couple of sunken islands with stumps out in the middle of the lake going towards Russellville Flats.In this area you can be running in 30’ or more of water & all of a sudden just 3’.

    In the upper lake.some areas were cut,but the stumps are still there.The rest of the lake the trees were broken off,mostly by hurricane’s.

    Either lake can be dangerous at any level.There are areas in both lakes that you can run,but you need to know them.I would suggest that you use a guide the 1st day or 2 & be very carefull when on the lake in your boat.

    Inky

  4. I'm your Huckleberry Chuck D's Avatar
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    #4
    Thanks Inky, it's a far cry from Lake Norman where I've been the last 22 years for sure. I'll be on the trolling motor a lot and slowly picking apart the areas near the ramp that I use as I slowly learn where I can and can't run. Hopeful not to tear anything up when running the TM after idling out of the channels. Running WOT ain't on my radar anytime soon for sure. Too expensive to put my mess back together!

  5. Member Jeff Hahn's Avatar
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    #5
    Quote Originally Posted by Chuck D View Post
    Thanks Inky, it's a far cry from Lake Norman where I've been the last 22 years for sure. I'll be on the trolling motor a lot and slowly picking apart the areas near the ramp that I use as I slowly learn where I can and can't run. Hopeful not to tear anything up when running the TM after idling out of the channels. Running WOT ain't on my radar anytime soon for sure. Too expensive to put my mess back together!
    The only marked channels run in the middle of the lakes. When you get out of the marked channel, you can still be a mile or more from shore!

    For early pre-spawners, I'd start in Angel's Cove. Angel's Landing would be where I would launch. But, like Inky said, getting a guide for a day or two would help you learn where to run and make you feel much more comfortable running.
    "The man of system is apt to be very wise in his own conceit; and is often so enamored with the supposed beauty of his own ideal plan of government that he cannot suffer the smallest deviation from any part of it…He seems to imagine that he can arrange the different members of a great society with as much ease as the hand arranges the different pieces upon a chessboard.” Adam Smith, The Theory of Moral Sentiments

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    #6
    As Jeff suggested, Angels is a good area to start.

    Another suggestion is Blacks Camp, it’s just off the lower end of the Diversion Canal where it dumps into Moultrie. Put in at Blacks, drop your TM, start fishing. Lots of backwaters, depressions, ditches, pads, etc. Back during the drought around 2007 or so they dug a ditch all the way to the Diversion Canal, it’s marked with pvc. Run into the Canal, good place to fish when it’s windy. Nice deep water, steep drop off the banks. There are cuts off the Canal leading into backwaters, you can fish the backwaters or fish the cuts like you’d fish ricefield breaks in the Cooper River.

  7. Member santee bass's Avatar
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    #7
    If your 1st day is on Sat. Just put tm down & follow the 20 boats in front of you.Don’t worry about the 20 boats behind you,you will get the 1st cast on them.

  8. I'm your Huckleberry Chuck D's Avatar
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    #8
    Got out and back Saturday with no damage done (to the boat or the fish)... I put in mid lake on the West side over in Bonneau and fished the entire NW and SW side of the lake all day without a single bite covering a variety of depth ranges. I ran offshore in the channel and marked a ton of fish swimming inside of what looked to be a 2 mile long bait population that was out in 20' of water over 30'. Dropped the kitchen sink on them and never got a bite (spoons, flutter spoons, jerkbaits, spy baits, swim baits, swim jigs, etc). Only thing I did not throw was an AL rig which probably would have worked....

    Water temp was 51 and got up to 54 (surface temp) on the lower end along the rip rap near the lock but still no bites and that had the sun beating down on it all day which had me thinking the rocks would heat up some and draw some fish to it but no luck... Will be back but I did mark a ton of offshore stuff on my GPS that I want to revisit including the cypress trees up on the NW side near the spill way that feeds the Santee river. I like that area a lot and think that in a few weeks it'll probably be pretty darn good.

    Anyone catching em on Moultrie now and if so any info you can share on depths that are working would be great as I'll never ask you for spots or what you are throwing, that's my job to figure out and I will. Cold deep water is something I am totally comfortable with and I found massive fish populations suspended offshore, I suspect that they'll start to move up and stage in the near term and may give the NE side and diversion canal a go on my next outing. Thanks for any info you guys can and/or are willing to share.

    Inky, btw, Boots says to give him a hollar some time, he's at the same place up on Norman he's been for years. I'll get back up to fish with him this Spring and have a cold beer or 10 in the boat room I'm certain!
    Last edited by Chuck D; 01-29-2019 at 08:39 AM.

  9. I'm your Huckleberry Chuck D's Avatar
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    #9
    Jeff/C-Rig, what is it about the North end that you guys like so much? Trees, stumps, cover or is the lower end not as productive typically throughout the year? Also, you guys don't have spots in that lake do you?

  10. Member KHNC's Avatar
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    #10
    I have always liked Rock's Pond area in Feb/March time frame. It has plenty of spawning area in the backwaters under the little bridge going back into the swamp. Doesnt seem as treacherous running around in that area as some others either. However, the crowds will be larger and larger as the season progresses. Seems like the whole world wants to be on Santee in prime time. lol
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    #11
    Are the lakes as muddied up as the river ? River has been pretty tough

  12. Member Jeff Hahn's Avatar
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    #12
    Quote Originally Posted by Chuck D View Post
    Jeff/C-Rig, what is it about the North end that you guys like so much? Trees, stumps, cover or is the lower end not as productive typically throughout the year? Also, you guys don't have spots in that lake do you?
    We’ve always found that Angels Cove warms more quickly that other parts of the lake. We usually fish the slave ditch area, from the mouth of Angels back to Quattlebaums early in the year.
    "The man of system is apt to be very wise in his own conceit; and is often so enamored with the supposed beauty of his own ideal plan of government that he cannot suffer the smallest deviation from any part of it…He seems to imagine that he can arrange the different members of a great society with as much ease as the hand arranges the different pieces upon a chessboard.” Adam Smith, The Theory of Moral Sentiments

  13. I'm your Huckleberry Chuck D's Avatar
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    #13
    Yes the lake is far from clear from all of the rain.

    Thanks Jeff, thanks C-Rig. That all makes total sense. I aim to get back up in Feb before I go down for a while getting a knee replaced mid Month.
    Last edited by Chuck D; 01-31-2019 at 08:38 PM.

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    #14
    Quote Originally Posted by Chuck D View Post
    Jeff/C-Rig, what is it about the North end that you guys like so much? Trees, stumps, cover or is the lower end not as productive typically throughout the year? Also, you guys don't have spots in that lake do you?
    Ditto what Jeff said. I’ve always started early in the year in Angels, then start spreading out. Wish the hydrilla was still here.

    Nope, we don’t have spots. But I’ve seen pics of 3 smallmouth that as far as I know were caught in upper Marion, they came down from Columbia.

    Big thing to remember is be patient and check your ego at the door, this can be an extremely frustrating place to fish. Even when the monster bags come in this Spring, pay attention to the standings... LOTS of guys struggle.

  15. I'm your Huckleberry Chuck D's Avatar
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    #15
    Nice, thanks Joe. Heard tell of smallies from Columbia making in down stream, that's pretty cool, hope they fare well in those lakes as they are awesome fish to tangle with. 100% in agreement on patience and for sure no ego here, can't afford to make costly assumptions as they will be "costly" and then some.... So much water for certain but through elimination it'll come together, attempt # 1 for me was a miss but that's happened before trying to learn a new lake. That makes the burn to have trip #2 be productive that much more intense.

    Man I did not know how much I really missed this, it's been nearly 4 very long years since I bass fished thanks to a nasty divorce and all that follows that miserable process including selling my last bass boat. This recent small taste of respooling, rigging rods, sorting tackle, and just getting back on a lake felt awesome. The whole deal has me chomping at the bit to get after em again soon. That's why I love it so much; we're all trying to solve the same dang puzzle. It's never totally solved but some days it sorta feels like you got it. Plus it's just so much fun to go out to a new to me place (or one I know well) give it everything I got and see how the scoreboard looks at the end.

    Right now the scoreboard for me personally just sucks; after the first quarter it's Moultrie bass =1 and me = 0... . The 2nd quarter starts soon I hope time and weather permitting I can get back up there before Feb 20th when I get the ol' knee swapped out! Thanks for all of the help guys, can't wait to get back up there, put the big motor up, the TM down, my head down, and go fish hard.

  16. Member santee bass's Avatar
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    #16
    Hope everything goes well with your knees & wish you the best of luck when you get on the lakes.

  17. I'm your Huckleberry Chuck D's Avatar
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    #17
    Thanks Inky. Gonna try to make it out this weekend for my last hurrah before the knee get swapped out for a bionic one and has me sidelined for a Month or so. May go back up and poke around the hatchery or fish up around blacks camp and angels to see if I can't hang one or ten that's not paying attention. Looking forward to a big late spring/post spawn bite when I can get back in the boat and topwater in the stump fields. Senkos and worms will get dusted off and put to use too when I get back and it's good and warm!

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    #18
    First set of deep trees off a river channel.....spinnerbait! Find old road beds before getting to deep trees with deep diving crankbait. That’s been good for over 20lbs the pass few Saturdays. Not telling you where, just how and what to look for.

  19. I'm your Huckleberry Chuck D's Avatar
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    #19
    Tough, Tough, Tough...... Santee is kicking my NC transplant a**.... .

    I had a very tough day yesterday and saw no fish shallow other than some massive carp and a few jack fish. Not a single cruising bass, no beds, and no panfish after 8 hours of heads down fishing and not much big motor running.


    I fished 2 hrs in the duck pond, the back side of the hatchery, several coves on the NW part of the lake, various road beds & deeper creek channels with big blades, a little john DD and a norman DD22 that my Navionics chip showed me, and then ran down to pinopolis to flip and jerkbait fish some deeper docks and nothing was going on for me despite the nice weather. I'm just a little ahead of them right now I guess and I have a habit (not sure if it's good or bad) of fishing fast which I'm used to doing in colder water that have both spotted bass and small mouth in them vs FL strain largemouth only filled lakes. Hard lesson learned, slow down and commit to an area which is hard to do when you have no confidence in any one area being new to the lake. Boils down to time on the water and help you can get from others who know that getting beat up is no fun.

    My biggest mistake looking back is fishing too fast and likely not deep enough. Targeted 10' - 1' and hit every stump that I could with a crank bait and spinner bait as well as flipped trees for hours with worms, jigs, and senkos.


    Tools used; Square bills, deep cranks, jigs, TX rigs, spinner baits, jigs, senkos, swim jigs, and jerkbaits were selected for the job yesterday with nothing more to show than a lonely jackfish that I hooked up with shallow on a tx rig GP 7" worm. Frustrating day for sure and even more so now that I am out for the next 3-4 weeks with a knee replacement taking place tomorrow. I'll be counting the minutes until I can get back out there. I'll be back and have topwaters tied on when I do. That duck pond area looks ideal for a buzz bait with a zoom horny toad trailer on it and I'll have that fluke or senko follow up bait ready when one misses it if she does.

    Post results if you guys will, I'll be sitting on the couch healing up so it'll be great to read how others are making out on the lakes. Tight lines guys!
    Chuck D
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  20. Member KHNC's Avatar
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    #20
    Sorry it didnt work out for you. You described my last two trips down there for sure. Except i went in March. Plenty of empty beds and barely caught any bass at all. That lake is super tough every time i go there.
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