This time last week I was fulfilling a bucket list dream: Fishing the Santee-Cooper in S. Carolina. These lakes were 1st in the nation to see a population of ocean rockfish (pure stripers) which migrated in from the ocean 100 miles up the Cooper River over a half-century ago.

My guides, Kevin Davis & Johnnie Johnston, fish ’em out of a 30′ pontoon boat with foot-long herring for bait, spidering 6 rods around the boat, cuz when stripers hit, they RUN.
Santee guides call the fish in with an old 2-stroke, 4.5 hp Mercury outboard–not making this up!

The biggest fish out of Black’s Camp the week I was down there was over 30 lbs. We caught nothing that big. Santee also has a world-wide reputation for monster blue catfish. Blues over 100 lbs get caught every year. didn’t fish for those. We have plenty of big cats in the Miss, even though ZERO blue catfish swim this far north in the River.

There is lots of history around Charleston. Got to visit the grave of Francis marion–the Swamp Fox. Monck’s Corner, just a few miles away was the site of over 30 Revolutionary War battles.

Kevin Davis’ brother-in-law is descended from Rebels who found a treasure of Yankee gold buried in the cemetery of an old black church. After the War of Northern Aggression they built the nicest brick house in Cross, SC.

Kevin, Johnnie & me caught a nice mess of slab crappies and honkin’ big LMB. Specimens of both grow bigger than they do here on Pool 9, but I could hardly wait to get home–after convincing my new fishing brothers to visit the Driftless later this year.

Over the past week the River has entirely opened up, with just small vestiges of ice remaining in some of the backwaters. Navigation is easy beyond the channel BUT as the remaining chunks of ice break loose and become growlers those bassholes running willy-nilly looking for walleyes might discover the sticker shock of lower-unit replace.

A flotilla of boats are camped below lock & dam 8. Clement’s fishing float is pretty much elbow-to elbow. walleyes, sauger & perch are being caught, but playing ‘bumper boats’ is something i just don’t wanna do.

The fish are also swimming downstream, with boats clustered at community spots in lesser numbers, still something i try to avoid–and in 5 other spots I probed where only one boat was within a quarter mile at one of them.

Water temp is beginning to tickle 40 degrees on the River mainstem. With little snowmelt coming from up north we may see a spawn around April Fool’s day like we did a few years ago rather than the usual April 15.

That’s the beauty of the Immortal River. Who would have thunk we would be at major flood level for 6 weeks beginning in June last year?

A cold front and heavy rain is supposed to blow in later today. We’ll deal with these pickles if and when they arrive. Right now, dawn is just breaking. The boat is hooked up & I’m gonna go catch a couple ‘eyes for supper before the crowds & weather show up on a Saturday morning in the middle of March.