Placing bets on.....

[BottomBouncer]

Mrfish. Now I thought FM and those guys were gonna tear up Santee. Now if FM and Mrfish come up short.....that tells me maybe I shouldn't waste time down there. Mrfish has the boat advantage.........they should get something?

I'm betting largest fish of 27lbs.

Place your bets, we'll see this weekend!

I forgot.....FM.....you did get a 100lb. + toothy critter:D I never did ask you, how'd that thing fight....seriously?

[flathunter]

I would imagine Jim had a very good trip

[Flatheadmaniac]

first, Jim is down there during a good time..from now til late April is prime...he has a boat and is fishing the tailwaters where the spre spawn fish start collecting..plus the bait are at the current areas right now there.
We went down only knowing a few places that bank anglers catch some nice fish..we were there during one bad drought..and had been bad for months!
That Gator was about 10-12ft long and probably over 200lbs?
FIGHT...on my 11ft st. croix surf rod rated 1-4oz..and my big baitrunner long cast(uk) loaded with 17lb test(about 500 yrds of it)..it was the best fight on rod & reel ive ever had..them things are powerhouses!!

I say Jim or his partners big cat..around 40lbs easy! (thats my bet)

[Erie]

.. Angler Jim is noted for doin' his "Homework" ahead of time & bein' very successful, so I would expect his results to be nearly on Par with the local Santee Anglers for the timeframe that he is down there fishin' .. Jim doesn't miss much & is very creative & might even put a Ohio River twist on the Santee fish, that they have never seened before .. he's a complete fisherman with a "open" mind & this trip will be another rung-on-the-ladder for him in his Quest to be a Giant amoung Giants in the sUMo Cat chase world!

:)

[Doctor]

Jim went to the Doctors school of basic training for catfish anglers, he is a fast learner and he has done great for his first year. I told him after he went out with me that he would get "Hooked on Catfish" because he was a diehard Striper fisherman. Man look at the results.

He has spent an enormous amont of time with Jigger and Dave knows catfish and there habits so I would say that they are going to break that 65# mark.

Jim has enough rodholders on that boat to put out 15 rods so they should get into something, and when it comes to fishing I think they both would stay up 24 hours if the fish are biting.......Doc

[cwcarper]

I fished Santee in May with the Catking -- we didn't have the best luck either. Big cold front brought record temps the first day and it didn't warm up until our last. Most of the guides weren't even bringing in fish. I did manage a nice, fat blue cat. Weighed in right at 25 lbs, with a few more between 8 and 18 lbs between the two of us. I'd post the pics but don't have them with me.

I can't wait to hear how Jim did.

[Ðe§perado™]

Jim should do go with the weather he is having. That lake could top his personal records very easy.:D

[BottomBouncer]

I wouldn't mind going down there in Ocotber or November. I bet the flatties would be feeding good! I remember watching a show when they were cattin' down there, the guy was using a bluegill that I would make a sandwich out of..........

[BottomBouncer]

Man.....do I see MrFish signed on? Back early? Or you're doing really well and went to a public library so you could brag while down there?

Let's hear it.........

[Flatheadmaniac]

I thought Jim said that Dave had to be back Weds. and they were coming home then.....hes probably downloading his pics down now(all 150 of them..lol);)

[flathunter]

Jim has posted today, so he is back..Jim wheres the feesh!!!!:D

[mrfish/OH]

Got winds from 10-15 MPH will push you off the lake !! The "hot bite" was over. We weren't fishing the tailwaters. We fished the dam at Marion. The shad stack there, then the blues do, then they are caught by the boatloads & eaten ! So after a few weeks of 150 boats bringing in 50 fish, the schools are depleted. Prime time to go bank fishing is close to when Catking goes. No one was catching fish except for a guide who obviously didn't tell where his honey hole was, and someone who lives there too. We outfished the other locals. They were getting 2-3 fish a day, we caught about 12 the 1st day, maybe 8 the second and 8 the last. Got chased off the water on Tuesday by waves crashing over the bow. Our best fish was 16-4. On the way in, the waves got up over 3-4'. The whole 105,000 acres is all submerged trees & you must idle the whole time. So once you work you way out into the old river channel, it takes a long time to work your way back.
Of course there's a learning curve anywhere you go. We heard of a 38# fish in the stump field & a 60# fish caught in the diversion channel. Our total weight the first day was 47 pounds. We saw the guide bring a guy in who got 63# of fillets !! So his catch was actually about 200#
I got alot more than 150 pictures too !! ;)
A cold front moved thru, lows 27-33 at night, highs 47-53 during the days. Winds W NW @ 10-15 put the bite down. That's the worst you can have them. We talked to a commercial fisherman for quite some time & the guide too. It's a different world there. He runs 6 jug lines with 50 hooks, has a FDA fish factory. Puts them out every day. Today's winds were 15-25 so it's not fishable, The guide said under 20 & he'll run his big pontoon, but he'd rather not as the waves will come over it. Better to fish under 10 MPH The winds at night seemed like they might blow the trailer over !
We didn't catch what we wanted, but we wern't skunked, and we faired better than all the natives with 2 exceptions. Trick is you HAVE to hire a guide to learn some spots. We were fed some misinformation. It was good information for last week, but not good for this week. The shad were all over the face of the dam, in a solid cloud 6' thick for miles. No fish in it's right mind needs to do anything but swim with it's mouth open to gourge itself !!
To catch fish there now, you have to get out from the crowd, way out. Look for pods of bait & a few fish. Guess what? Not real safe trying to graph the area as you WILL bump submerged trees. We were just starting to get onto some fish on the last day when the wind whipped up. At idle speed, we were a good hour from safety. Those waves impale you on the trees, have to take it real slow. Thanks everyone for your compliments. We'll definitely get them next time. Maybe we'll just hitch a ride in FM's new Carolina Skiff next trip and show you our "secret spots"
Next time we know what to do. We considered leaving on Friday, but there was no point, no way to fish.
There's another possibility, that would be for about 4 of us to go, rent a 2 bedroom trailer, go with a guide the first day, then rent a pontoon. Make it a full week, 2 days to travel, 5 days to fish. Pontoon is $100/day- only $100 each that way for the boat. Probably get by under $500 each for a week.

[mrfish/OH]

I was going to post.....we slayed them......we REALLY SLAYED THEM !!!
Then post these pictures !
http://www.fishingworks.com/Users/UserFolders/mrfishohio/PhotoImages/Fishing65-bodies.jpg
These are 2 tubs of fish remains and a cooler full. These were the only good catches caught.
http://www.fishingworks.com/Users/UserFolders/mrfishohio/PhotoImages/Fishing66-more%20bodies.jpg

[mrfish/OH]

Here's what one man who lives there at Randolph's Landing caught.
http://www.fishingworks.com/Users/UserFolders/mrfishohio/PhotoImages/Fishing64-cooler.jpg
Here's the best fish of the mess.
http://www.fishingworks.com/Users/UserFolders/mrfishohio/PhotoImages/Fishing69-bigblue.jpg
Here's the fillets.
http://www.fishingworks.com/Users/UserFolders/mrfishohio/PhotoImages/Fishing67-fishcleaning.jpg

[mrfish/OH]

I'll show you some of the better ones first. these were from our last day, We had finally got on a spot & had a few nice runs, and some better fish.
This is the 1st fish on Tuesday.
http://www.fishingworks.com/Users/UserFolders/mrfishohio/PhotoImages/Fishing78-jimfish1.jpg
Here's the next.
http://www.fishingworks.com/Users/UserFolders/mrfishohio/PhotoImages/Fishing84-jimfish2.jpg
4th fish....Dave didn't want to take a picture of it !!
http://www.fishingworks.com/Users/UserFolders/mrfishohio/PhotoImages/Fishing86-davefish-4.jpg

[mrfish/OH]

6th fish.
http://www.fishingworks.com/Users/UserFolders/mrfishohio/PhotoImages/Fishing88-jimfish6.jpg
5th fish
http://www.fishingworks.com/Users/UserFolders/mrfishohio/PhotoImages/Fishing87-davefish5.jpg
This says 6th fish ?
http://www.fishingworks.com/Users/UserFolders/mrfishohio/PhotoImages/Fishing92-davefish6.jpg
Now that I look at the water, looks like my 6th was a different day, or mislabled

[mrfish/OH]

Dave was on a roll.....he landed one when his other rod went down. We had 3 fish on this spot, mine wrapped me on a tree......
Then the winds ran us out. By the time we got halfway back they died down a little, so we tried some spots there. But of course we had to try to find that honey hole. I think we were close, but , after 20 minutes travel time, we ran out of time qick & had to motor to the safety channel where you could open up th emotoer above idle speed.
http://www.fishingworks.com/Users/UserFolders/mrfishohio/PhotoImages/Fishing93-davefish6_7.jpg
Seventh fish.
http://www.fishingworks.com/Users/UserFolders/mrfishohio/PhotoImages/Fishing94-davefish7.jpg

[mrfish/OH]

This was our last fish of the trip. The eighth one on the last day.

http://www.fishingworks.com/Users/UserFolders/mrfishohio/PhotoImages/Fishing99-davefish8a.jpg
the other fish above, that I said was the 6th with me holding it, was the 5th....therefore, I take the fifth (amendment-not-not the Jack)!!;) Here's a zoomed in shot of the camp.....a good distance !!
http://www.fishingworks.com/Users/UserFolders/mrfishohio/PhotoImages/Fishing95%20Camp.jpg

[mrfish/OH]

I felt like I was in an Alfred Hitchcock movie set........gulls, loons, and cormorants.
http://www.fishingworks.com/Users/UserFolders/mrfishohio/PhotoImages/Fishing76-gulls%20on%20boathouse.jpg
Flock after flock of cormorants would skim the water. I even resorted to using my lucky charm on my new rod !! It worked, caught fish on every rod I took !
http://www.fishingworks.com/Users/UserFolders/mrfishohio/PhotoImages/Fishing4-lucky-cormorant.jpg
http://www.fishingworks.com/Users/UserFolders/mrfishohio/PhotoImages/ACFE82.jpg

[mrfish/OH]

We got a 2 bedroom trailer, had a kitchen, full bath, cable TV, HEAT, nice set up. The ramp was in front of our door too.
http://www.fishingworks.com/Users/UserFolders/mrfishohio/PhotoImages/Fishing71-site_14.jpg

Here's the boat......
http://www.fishingworks.com/Users/UserFolders/mrfishohio/PhotoImages/Fishing72-boat%20in%20slip.jpg
Some of Tuesday's wind, just before we went in.
http://www.fishingworks.com/Users/UserFolders/mrfishohio/PhotoImages/Wind%20whipping%20up.jpg

[BottomBouncer]

That's not bad for a first time. How does that fisherie survive if people are hauling in fish and eating them all?

[Flatheadmaniac]

Glad ya had fun and caught some fish.
Yea fishing that place from a boat is the way to go for sure.
AFTER our trip i found out so many spots that we could have hit to maybe have a chance?
IF i was to head back down there i would take a boat and hit Lake Moultrie as it is a man-made lake and is a lot deeper..plus the Pinopolis dam is the best area to hit as there is no shore fishing allowed below the dam.but boats can go all the way up to the gates..this is where the lake runs into the Cooper river and is suposed to be the best area to hit big blue cats..they say in the spring the menhaden(sp?) run hard up this dam out of the ocean(same route the big stripers used to run before they land locked them)..they say also during winter the other baitfish like shad and blueback herring stack up at this dam..along with big blues too.

BB, as many guides & comercial fisherman as they have on those lakes for cats..its a wonder there are any big cats left in there at all..give it a few years and see what happens...they will destroy an awsome fishery for sure!
As far as it looks though, i went once, had a good time with buddys..but the chances of me making a return trip are slim to none!

[BottomBouncer]

I wouldn't mind going down there to fish a week. Definately do a little research and ask lots of quesitons. I've heard that Santee is a good place for striped bass?

Fishing below that dam you talked about sounds good, to me big river dams seem to be the best big cat areas, at least in the early season when fish move up stream. Are there any Ohio river dams that you can fish under or close to?

I've also wanted to try the Tennesse river and next time I go to Kentucky lake I'm going after the blues!

[flathunter]

Thanks for sharing the pics Jim, You did rather well for your first time on the lake!

[Erie]

I sure enjoyed the photo's of the stump field. When I lived in the area in the early 60s it was a forest of trees that you would get lost in without a compass to get back to the channel .. needless to say the trees did cut down on the wind & waves back then. I'll be lookin' forward to more photos of the Blues Bros Santee trip for sure!:)

[BottomBouncer]

We need a forum just for Jim's pics......

[mrfish/OH]

I think if the fishery was going to hurt it, it already would have. I think it was formed in 1932 ? The fish grow fast, and you can fish anywhere, but you are really limited by your speed too. It is a very seasonal place. The fish don't stay in the same areas all year. It's a huge area, lots of places for the fish to live & grow. Just like in the Ohio River, stripes in the spring, cats in the fall, saugers in the winter, etc. seasonal.
Like I always say, experiance is the best teacher, other's experiance is good & quicker. We went with the local advice for what was working now vs. trying to spend a lifetime trying to learn that place. The deepest water is by the dam, in the old river channel. A guy said last week he counted over 165 boats in that area, all catching fish. We were told to by more people than just the bait shop owner how to fish it.
You tie on a stump, put 3 shad on a hook, drop it just off the bottom. Every 20 minutes, move, freshen your bait. Now, we found out other stuff. Wind will mess you up, because now the bait is jumping up & down quite a bit in 2' waves. Variations are use a 2' leader vs. a short one. We started casting away from the boat, also started catching fish. You WILL lose tackle, but you can also back the boat over some of the snags & get them back. 30# test is recommended, 1-2 oz sinkers too. I was using what I had, heavy sinkers. I kept mine locked down most of the time, Dave used the clickers. Seems like clickers began to overtake the lock down. Might be the 1 1/2 oz sinkers he was using too letting them run with the bait ?? Don't know, I caught more the first day, he got more the next days. It was a light bite too. Not those famous blue slams.
Here's a shot in the dark. I've brightened it all I can. this was with my old camera, I wish I took it with the new to see what kind of difference it would've made.
http://www.fishingworks.com/Users/UserFolders/mrfishohio/PhotoImages/Dave-Randolphs%20Landing%201-5-03.jpg

[mrfish/OH]

First day......#1 Dave
http://www.fishingworks.com/Users/UserFolders/mrfishohio/PhotoImages/ACFE4F.jpg
#2 Dave
http://www.fishingworks.com/Users/UserFolders/mrfishohio/PhotoImages/Fishing10-Davefish2.jpg
#3 Jim
http://www.fishingworks.com/Users/UserFolders/mrfishohio/PhotoImages/Fishing15-jimfish3b.jpg

[Wise1]

Welcome back Jim and Dave.....Nice Fish !!! Looks like you had a time with the Wind ..........It looks COLD as well.

We were all sitting here wondering how yall would do down there.

Glad you guys had a safe one!!!! :D


S

[mrfish/OH]

#4-Jim
http://www.fishingworks.com/Users/UserFolders/mrfishohio/PhotoImages/Fishing19-jimfish4b.jpg
#5-Jim
http://www.fishingworks.com/Users/UserFolders/mrfishohio/PhotoImages/Fishing20-jimfish5.jpg
#6 Jim
http://www.fishingworks.com/Users/UserFolders/mrfishohio/PhotoImages/Fishing29jimfish6.jpg

[mrfish/OH]

But he always holds his own. I knew it was going to be short lived. Fun to have a little competion when we fish.
Here's # 7 fish- Jim
http://www.fishingworks.com/Users/UserFolders/mrfishohio/PhotoImages/Fishing31-jimfish7b.jpg
#8-Dave gets a nicer fish, we were hoping now ! I think this was just over 10#
http://www.fishingworks.com/Users/UserFolders/mrfishohio/PhotoImages/Fishing32-Davefish8.jpg
#9 Dave
http://www.fishingworks.com/Users/UserFolders/mrfishohio/PhotoImages/Fishing34-Davefish9.jpg

[mrfish/OH]

http://www.fishingworks.com/Users/UserFolders/mrfishohio/PhotoImages/Fishing39-davefish1.jpg
Here's a sunrise on the 6th at 7:15 AM and below freezing & a strong bone chilling wind !!
http://www.fishingworks.com/Users/UserFolders/mrfishohio/PhotoImages/Fishing37-712%20sunrise.jpg
Here's me with a fish too.
http://www.fishingworks.com/Users/UserFolders/mrfishohio/PhotoImages/Fishing40-jimfish2.jpg

[mrfish/OH]

#3 Dave
http://www.fishingworks.com/Users/UserFolders/mrfishohio/PhotoImages/Fishing46-davefish3.jpg
#4 Jim
http://www.fishingworks.com/Users/UserFolders/mrfishohio/PhotoImages/Fishing50-jimfish4a.jpg
#5
http://www.fishingworks.com/Users/UserFolders/mrfishohio/PhotoImages/Fishing51-jimfish5.jpg

[mrfish/OH]

#6 fish- Jim
http://www.fishingworks.com/Users/UserFolders/mrfishohio/PhotoImages/Fishing53-jimfish6.jpg
#7 Jim
http://www.fishingworks.com/Users/UserFolders/mrfishohio/PhotoImages/Fishing60-jimfish7b.jpg
Some wind coming in & a boat out a little farther.
http://www.fishingworks.com/Users/UserFolders/mrfishohio/PhotoImages/Fishing62-wind.jpg

[mrfish/OH]

Gulls were plentiful, lots of food for them too.
http://www.fishingworks.com/Users/UserFolders/mrfishohio/PhotoImages/Gulls1.jpg
Windy..that stump is 30' tall !
http://www.fishingworks.com/Users/UserFolders/mrfishohio/PhotoImages/Waves.jpg
Kooko birds ??
http://www.fishingworks.com/Users/UserFolders/mrfishohio/PhotoImages/Fishing75-bird%20&%20Jim.jpg
;)

[mrfish/OH]

http://www.fishingworks.com/Users/UserFolders/mrfishohio/PhotoImages/Fishing11-rods.jpg
http://www.fishingworks.com/Users/UserFolders/mrfishohio/PhotoImages/Fishing106-gull%20dive.jpg

[flathunter]

So Jim, was this trip a one shot deal? Or do you have plans to return?

[BottomBouncer]

That sunrise picture is great! Is that ALL the rods you had out?

[Erie]

:cool: ~ Great Shots!!!

:)

[mrfish/OH]

That wasn't all the rods out......you can't see the ones in the front !! Only 6 were mine, the 4 CT700 & the 2 7000C3 ;)
The guides use 18 rods !!
With all the trees, you are doing alot of retieing.
Have to say this too, got to try out those Line Keepers that a member here recommended. They are really nice & easy to use. They look like springs & you put them on your line after breaking off, or cutting your line. They keep your line from going up into the rod & having to re-tread each time. I used them alot there & in the river as most times I break off is when I'm going to move the boat. Then I have to leave alot of line flapping in the wind, or wind it down & lose all that time when I get to the new spot prior to retieing. A good idea to keep some handy :)

[mrfish/OH]

Yes, I will go again !!;) Checked the weather for Marion, SC.....60 today !!

[mrfish/OH]

That place is calling to me now !!
This is how it looked just before we left Wed AM !! Winds were getting up fast.
http://www.fishingworks.com/Users/UserFolders/mrfishohio/PhotoImages/1-8-03%20Santee%20Dam%20AM.jpg

[mrfish/OH]

They were always there.......here's one from the last day as the sun was going down.
Now common sense lets you know we are a long way off in still in the stump field just before dark......not a good thing to do there !!
http://www.fishingworks.com/Users/UserFolders/mrfishohio/PhotoImages/Fishing104-gull%20diving.jpg