sc bass fishing » Fly Fish SC

Spring Is In The Air

Mar 032011

Finally! We can shed a few layers of clothes and hit the water. Winter has lightened it’s grip on us down south, and you know what that means… the fish are moving up shallow from their deep water haunts. I have been catching some decent fish around the house, including one close to 10lbs. last week. I finally got Mark on the same schedule and we headed out Wednesday afternoon. Flippin and pitchin around docks did nothing, so we headed out to some brush piles and standing timber in about 5 ft. of water. That’s where I’ve been catching a few on soft plastics and jigs. I think Mark shot some video of the day’s events, maybe I can ask him to post that up here.

This is where I like to assert my ‘admin’ dominance into Chris’s posts. Sometimes I go fishing with the intention of taking pictures and some video. This was one of those days where I really hadn’t thought about it much. When shooting video, it seems like you get a lot stuff you don’t want or shouldn’t have shot. If that’s not the case, then its not unusual to get caught off guard and miss something good. I managed to piece a few tidbits together to make a short video. So, without further delay, let me introduce you to Chris’s little friend…

A Welcome Change

Bass Fishing No Responses »

Jan 312011

Burned a few vacation days last week, since temps were almost 50 degrees, Mark and I headed to a local power plant lake to try our luck for some bass. With water temps in the low to mid 70s, we caught a bunch of fish. Almost all of them came on a drop shot rig, and they were scattered. We caught fish in 14 feet of water and we caught fish in less than 14 inches of water. Tough to establish a consistent pattern in water like that. None of the fish were much bigger than two pounds, but it was fun to get out and catch some.

Most of the fish Mark and I caught were this size.

Finally… temperatures reached out of the 40s this past weekend. Actually temps reached to the mid 60s, so my tournament partner and I headed to Santee Saturday morning. A bit surprising, with water temps hovering just above 45 degrees, the day started with a bang catching fish almost immediately. We found a secondary point covered with stumps and brush piles, not far from the launch ramp. The bass were chasing crankbaits and green pumpkin jigs bounced through the wood in seven feet of water. The fish were holding tight to the wood, if you didn’t bounce the bait off of the wood, they wouldn’t touch it. The day ended with 15 bass, the best five weighing 14.3 pounds. All of the fish were between two and four pounds, with the best fish going 4.3 pounds. All of my crankbait fish were caught on a Denali 7′ Jadewood medium action cranking stick with a 6.3-1 Quantum Smoke reel with a Bandit Flat Maxx medium running crank in the threadfin shad pattern. The jig fish came on a Denali 7′ Rosewood medium/heavy jig & worm rod with a Quantum PT reel and a homemade (thanks Mark) green pumpkin 1/2 oz football head jig and a Rage Craw trailer.

Tough to get a good picture.

Low Water and New Rods

Bass Fishing 3 Responses »

Nov 292010

Since I wasn’t invited to Mark’s Thanksgiving feast Saturday, I loaded the boat for a trip to Santee to test out my new Denali Rods. Expecting tough fishing, since a strong cold front had blown through late Friday night and left us high skies and a cold start, I put in at a ramp close to a spot where I can always find some keepers.

As I idled to the back of my favorite creek I was questioning my decision of fishing Santee because the water was down five to six feet. Hard to find keepers when the money docks are sitting high and dry. I ran across the lake looking for water and found an area I had never fished before. I found some deep docks surrounded by very low water, a couple of casts with a Zoom Scuppernong Mag II worm and I never questioned Santee the rest of the day. Finished up the day with 19 bass, the best five weighing just over 14lbs, with the big fish weighing 5.13. Lots of 2+ pound fish caught around deep docks on the Zoom worm, green pumpkin jigs and shallow running crankbaits in Tennessee Shad colors. I basically ran the same half a dozen docks all day, giving them a chance to reload. I guess the low water really positioned the fish where they were easy to find, or it could have been the new rods.

The Best Fish of the Day

The new Denali Rods are the best rods I have ever used plain and simple. They are lightweight and sensitive beyond my expectations. I cranked with the Jadewood Series 7′ medium cranking stick. Unbelievable rod at a great price. Fast tip with plenty of backbone to control the fish once hooked. My worm rod is the Denali 7′ Rosewood Matrix Series Medium Heavy. Once again, incredible sensitivity, with power to get the fish coming to the boat before he can get you tangled. These are truly great rods at a great price. Jadewood Series rods come with a one year warranty. Rosewood Series rods come with a lifetime warranty. They have rods for every technique and every price range. Check them out denalirods.com

A Tale of Two Lakes

Bass Fishing No Responses »

Nov 162010

My team tournament partner and I layered up and hit the water this past weekend, heading to Lake Murray on Saturday. We were met at the ramp with 30 degree temperatures and heavy fog on the water. We started with topwater around the ramp waiting for the fog to lift, no takers. As we moved around hitting some isolated wood with jigs and spinnerbaits we were greeted by two good sized Jackfish (watch those teeth).

As the fog slowly lifted we made the 13 mile run down the lake to crank some points. I needed about two more layers for the ride. We started cranking a rocky point with shallow crankbaits and were catching decent fish almost immediately. The best was close to 4 pounds, with several 2s and 3s mixed in. As the sun got higher the fishing slowed so we moved shallower, nothing. We moved deeper, nothing.

Hoping and waiting to find some schooling fish in the creeks we hit some docks with plastics and caught three keepers, the biggest weighing 2 pounds 3 ounces. Schooling fish never showed Saturday. We headed to the ramp without a decent pattern and a few fish for our efforts.

The view of the ramp from 30 yards Sunday morning.

We decided to try our luck Sunday at Lake Greenwood. 25 degrees and heavy fog at the ramp once again. We started with topwater waiting for the fog to lift. Nothing happening with topwater, so we idled to a hump sitting in 16 feet of water topping out at 3 feet. One good fish hit a shallow crank but came unbuttoned half way to the boat. We cranked rocks, points, flipped scattered laydowns, no takers.

As the fog lifted we ran to a creek up the lake, once again hitting some docks waiting for schooling activity. The fish came fast off the docks. Plastics in Watermelon Red seemed to be working regardless of the size. We caught several decent fish on 10 inch worms, several more on 4 inch shakey heads on deep docks towards the backs of creeks. The best fish was just over 3 pounds, with several 2s and 2 1/2s. We had to cut the day short so we headed for the hill just after lunch, trying to figure out why we couldn’t catch fish cranking points or rock like we did the day before, or why the day before, we couldn’t get a solid pattern working on docks? Anyhow, I guess that’s why it’s called fishing, not…well you know.