I'm looking for a fall trip in late October to hit up Santee and Murray. I'm planning on staying at Santee State park. Looking at the Navionics chart and the Google Earth imagery is making me a bit concerned that I'll leave a lower unit somewhere along through there. Is it that bad? Or is there a marked, easy to navigate channel that you can get to from the state park without leaving a prop stuck in an old dock pile-on?
Thanks in advance
b
2019 Ranger Z520C
2019 Mercury 250 ProXS 4S
Twin 8' Powerpole Blades
Lowrance HDS Live 12
Lowrance HDS Live 9
The main channel in the main lake at Santee is marked. Otherwise, you're on your own. Watch where the locals run. If you don't know what's under you, go slow...the fishing can be worth it.
"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
Very dangerous, and there is a giant tournament on the last week of October
Thanks for the heads up. What tournament series?Originally Posted by g-string
2019 Ranger Z520C
2019 Mercury 250 ProXS 4S
Twin 8' Powerpole Blades
Lowrance HDS Live 12
Lowrance HDS Live 9
yes , get Fishing Hot Spots map , it will help somewhat, to see shallows and stump fields ,but if your out of the channel go slow and like Jeff said watch the locals, good luck
2009 ELITE 210
Carolina bass challenge championship. And never just watch where the others run. Not all of them no whats under the water themselves. When you are in 8 foot or less you better ideal. Plus keep an eye on lake levels. When it drops 2 foot is when it starts to get bad. Best thing to do is pick your areas out where you want to fish and put boat in as close to that area as possible. I remember when i first moved here 26 years ago i would fish every Friday Saturday and Sunday. I would see alot of boats shoot the gap in between two islands, so i did it a couple of times. No problem. Had dad out with me one day i shot the gap. He started screaming at me. So i sat boat down, he said you know there are two giant stumps there in gap. I said no. He jumped on troll motor and went to the gap and showed me. Sure enough i was probably missing them by about 8 to 10 inches. If water would have been down. So would have i. Just be careful and safe. Water level check. At 1-800-92lakes.
Treacherous is an understatement..........
It is pretty scary. I have went there for 3 years on an annual trip and even though I hired a guide 1 time most time is at idle.
Roger Jenks Jr
2021 Bass Cat Lynx
250 Pro xs 4S Serial # 3B010758
Can be very bad as others have said when water is low. Even safe channel can have floating stumps-logs so you have to watch out. Buddy of mine said this to me about Santee "You have more time than $$, if your not sure don't run!"
Thanks for all the input guys. I just bought this boat this year... I think I'll take it to Murray lol!
2019 Ranger Z520C
2019 Mercury 250 ProXS 4S
Twin 8' Powerpole Blades
Lowrance HDS Live 12
Lowrance HDS Live 9
Several years ago I fished with a local in a BFL and I asked him about his "mismatched" lower unit. He said it was one of three lower units he has. One on the boat, one at the house ready to go, and one at the shop being repaired. He said all the locals have a spare lower unit or two. Part of doing business on Santee.
Ive now fished out of the state park for the past two years and I personally wouldnt run it without someone showing you the way the first time...even then it still scares the hell out of me. So far Ive only put one small log into my motor after going from full throttle to a stop...i then bumped the log and it got wedged between my outboard and boat.
As far as the stumps go...out of the state park its fairly safe if you run up and down the shoreline about 100 yards or so off shore. While doing this you still need to pay super close attention to 1. the lake and the marked hazards along that run and 2. to your GPS to avoid the marked fish attractors and other hazards.
If you are trying to go up into stumphole, what i suggest is running at idle speed along the shoreline 100ish yards off shore? and marking a safe drive line. There is still one hazard probably halfway up to stumphole that still scares me...its just randomly there and I almost hit it all of the time lol. Then entering into the creek channel even now that I know the safe way in I slow right down to idle to creep in. Theres a friggin brick wall on the west side of the creek channel that you have to cross. Once you are in the creek channel I personally preach following the stakes closely, but staying about 10 yards off of them. You go right to them and youll hit stuff, you go too far off of them youll hit stuff. The creek channel is well marked, but can be confusing as they rely on single markers which makes it seem like you should be making direct cuts from each marker to each marker...the problem is that if you do that youll end up in the stumps as well, watch your GPS very closely to stay in the creek channel until you get to the next marker.
Finally...dont even bother trying to follow the creek channel once you get close to i95 and the bridge...get the hell outta there and stick back to the shoreline, those markers friggin dont mean a thing nor do they make any sense at all.
Finally if you go south of i95, you can pretty much follow the stakes down all the way to the lower lake. From there basically all of the hazards are pretty clearly visible. Its still scary as hell when you are making the run because at 50+mph those stumps that are going to cause you problems are only 1 foot tops out of the water and come up quick. They arent marked unless you are lucky enough for a bird to be standing on it.
Respect the lake and go slow. As the park rangers said to me when they came past my campsite, after questioning me about driving my boat on the lake and me explaining how it still scares the living heck outta me even after boating it for 10+ days now..."Good, the moment this lake stops scaring the heck out of you, stay the heck off of it!"
People talk a lot about my home lake on Georgian Bay Lake Huron as being one of the scariest places to drive a boat because of the rocks that are absolutely everywhere....G Bay doesnt even touch how scary marion is to drive lol Muddy Water, shallow and friggin wood absolutely everywhere. Its a fun lake though when the fish are cooperating.
06 Stratos 294 ProXL
I've been boating on Santee for the last 15+ years. I've hit 2 stumps in all of that time and they were due to me getting into areas I shouldn't have been running. Yes, Santee can be dangerous but it's not some mine field you can't navigate unless you've grown up on the lake. I'd echo the statement about either finding a guide or local to show you the runs before heading out on your own. Once you've been shown, you should be good. Someone else mentioned water level. Any time you see the water level at 74 or below, Santee becomes much more difficult to navigate. This is where a lot of the horror stories come from. Keep those things in mind and Santee can be an amazing place to fish.
On another note, there hasn't been a better lake in the state than Murray this year. You can't go wrong there either.
The OP was not talking about someone that had fished it for 15 yeas & lives in Manning. He is in Richmond Va so I don't think he has had the good fortune of fishing it religiously. There is a difference. As far as water levels, I have seen & heard of horror stories at all levels. Santee can & is a very treacherous lake if you're not familiar with it. I'm sure your 1st time on the lake, 15+ years ago, you didn't put in and haul ass everywhere. I've heard a lot of guys say " run where the locals run". How do you know they are locals. Oh that's right, they have a sign on their boat that says, " I'm a stupid local, follow me", LOL. Don't get me wrong, I just tell it like it is. I would never tell anyone, even a local, to not worry about it. Although I haven't fished Santee for 15years, I have probably fished it 15+ times. I'm still very aware of the dangers there, and always will be. Had a good friend that grew up on Santee, was a guide, & later became a well known pro tell me, "when you get to the point that Santee doesn't scare you some, You're in trouble or will be". So to the OP, use common sense & just be cautious & safe. Enjoy your trip, don't regret it.
I don’t want to start an argument but it’s like you didn’t read my post at all. The simple point is that you need to find a local or a guide to show you around before you run the lake. Once that’s done, you should be fine. The stigma around Santee is overblown. Don’t push the limits, drive where you know, and you will be fine. Accidents happen but Santee is built up to this mythical monster where stumps grow up overnight just to take down boats. It’s simply not true. I was new to Santee once. I followed the rules and had no issues until I pushed the limits. The hazards of Santee should be respected and planned for, not feared. It’s a Great Lake and worth anyone’s time to visit.
Oh good Lord.......
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