Santee Cooper Crappie Fishing Advice

Lake Marion and Lake Moultrie are where crappie,40s, guides and local anglers have sunk their own
largemouth, striper and monster catfish arestructure to create their personal honey holes.
hunted by anglers in the know when they take toConsequently, it only takes a short run by boat to
the water in South Carolina. There is plenty offind productive water.
room for all comers; Marion covers 110,000 acresIf you hire a guide you can expect to pay for it.
while Moultrie weighs in at 60,400 acres.Unless you've got very deep pockets you might
Now, these lakes weren't always what they arewant to consider using a guide the first day to
now. As a matter of fact, they were not thereget a feel for the lay of the water and then take
at all. They were created when the Santee Riverit from there for the rest of your trip.
and the Cooper River were dammed. ThisFor two people you can expect to pony up $150
occurred in the 1940s and as little as twentyto $280 depending on if you furnish your own bait
years later the lakes had already gained alures and tackle or leave that up to the guide.
reputation as a crappie fishing hot spot.Accordingly, the fee for 6 people can be as steep
Types of Fish in the Santee Cooper Arenaas $480. So you see, how much you rely on the
Of course it's become a haven for trophyguide service or your own adventuresome spirit
Crappie, or "papermouths", as they are commonlydetermines how you structure your trip.
referred to. But don't be surprised if you reel in aWhen and Where to Fish for Crappie
monster catfish. These range from five poundersAlthough crappie can be caught year round, the
up to fifty pounds, rivaling anything caught in themost productive time starts in early March and
Mississippi or anywhere else for that matter. Tryends in mid December. Crappie have their
putting one of those babies in your pan.temperature comfort zone and they try to stick
But crappies are what we are talking about andto it while staying in structure. This has them
the best way to fill the boat with keepers. Thismoving deeper and the temperatures fall and
won't be hard to do in these two lakes if you canthen moving back closer to shore as spring
just find them.approaches.
How to find Keeper CrappieAs the weather warms, crappie start getting
Crappie like to hang out in and around underwaterready for spawning. They spawn in structure in
structure. If you are not familiar with the Santeethe shallow water, depositing eggs in structure for
Cooper lakes, consider using a fish finder to revealthe safety of the eggs and the subsequent
underwater structure. The lakes are fairly denseminnows. After depositing the eggs they will
with it. In the first place, the damming of themove back into slightly deeper water.
rivers and subsequent flooding left plenty ofOnce they begin spawning, the best place to fish
growth underwater. In addition to that, since theis where permanent grass might be found.