Northeastern corner of Lake Moultrie near Russellville, S.C.

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Comment by Jeffrey D. Abney on November 20, 2011 at 5:04pm

My introduction came in 1982 when I reported to my first submarine for duty in Charleston...I most frequently went out of "Short Stay" and the "Hatchery"....Short Stay is a military recreation center.....I lived there through 1995 with great catches of Catfish, Crappie, Largemouth Bass, big Bluegills and awesome Shellcrackers......I get back occasionally with my current employer, so that's cool to get back out to those old honey holes....I have a day trip sometime this holiday weekend so I'm excited for that! 

Comment by Jim Gronaw on November 20, 2011 at 3:36pm

Me and a friend of mine fished Marion back in March of 1977...yeah, I'm that old! Anyway, we caught crappies from one to two pounds and a few channel cats out of Goat Island Resort as we hit the huge lake unguided. Still had a blast!

Comment by Leo Nguyen on November 20, 2011 at 12:08pm

Wow. Impale by structures or by toothy 1000lbs man eaters. No wonder the gills here are thriving. I would say they have grown extremely well with so little predators.

Comment by David, aka, "McScruff" on November 20, 2011 at 7:29am

I've learned that the lakes making up the Santee-Cooper system - lakes Moultrie and Marion - were impounded over un-cleared land. This means stumps and both standing and fallen dead timer are common. One has to be very careful when boating in these lakes, and they have a reputation as "boat eaters."

So once your boat is holed and you are sunk, along comes the toothy people eaters to finish you off!

Comment by Leo Nguyen on November 19, 2011 at 8:54pm

Yikes. Gators and gills. Not a fun combo. But, with a nice hover boat, fishing this area should be epic. Plenty of different species to hammer.

Comment by Jeffrey D. Abney on November 19, 2011 at 8:51pm

I wouldn't tube in this one Leo! Hunters are tagging gators over a thousand pounds in this lake now. Its a beautiful bluegill destination that's almost 75 years old.....Those flooded cypress really make the landscape unique.......

Comment by Leo Nguyen on November 19, 2011 at 8:37pm

WOW! Gorgeous. Wish we have a few of those in our neck of California. Wonder what else lurk below the water's surface as you tube and hunt for gills.

Comment by David, aka, "McScruff" on November 19, 2011 at 6:56pm

What is that canal like? Width? Depth? Shoreline?

I've heard of the Santee Cooper system, of course, living in SC. Never seen it myself, though, having been down that way only on occasion to visit Charleston.  Back when my dad got around a lot more, he went down there to fish. Ive only just now seen on the map that it is close to Charleston; moreso than I thought. No wonder you are hittin' it hard!!

 

Comment by Jeffrey D. Abney on November 19, 2011 at 6:34pm

Lake Moultrie is the location where the world record Channel Catfish was caught at 58 pounds. In addition, the South Carolina state record Black Crappie at 5 pounds and state record Shellcracker of 5 pounds 7.5 ounces was caught on the Diversion Canal between Lakes Moultrie and Marion.......

Comment by David, aka, "McScruff" on November 19, 2011 at 7:00am

The sand bars are what I noticed. Being bound to the shore, it seems that most of the fish I catch are relatively small and I look for offshore structure.

I feel pretty sure that bigger bluegill are found in deeper water, @ 10'-20' ft. of depth. The bottom edge of those sand bars are an example of this, within your picture. They're what I've heard called transitional areas within their environment.... elsewhere I've heard these called something like "edge highways." 

The shallow tops of the shelf and the trees or weeds along the edges might only hold smaller brim or only a few better fish. Meanwhile, the transitions in deeper water are where the better fish can be found.

My thinking these days is that I just don't reach enough of the right transitional areas, or am unable to recognize those that may be closer to me.

That sand bar is an example - it is well off shore and it's bottom edge is in deeper water. But, it's almost impossible to fish reliably from dry land.

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