Latest Santee Cooper Fishing Report
Striper Season is OPEN! Thanks to Captain Joe Joseph Dennis and Captain Kyle Austin Fishing for providing this monthly fishing report.
Striper
Striper season opens October 1st, and anglers should start looking for fish in 30–45 feet of water along flats and creek areas.
For the best results, fish a Carolina rig with live herring or live shad. Some schooling activity has also been reported on Lake Moultrie.
For schooling fish, bucktails, Charlie Brewer Slider grubs, and pearl-colored swimbaits are excellent choices.
Bass
Bass fishing can still be challenging with water temperatures remaining in the 80s, but Santee Cooper continues to offer opportunities for some quality fish.
DON’T SLEEP ON THE SHALLOW BITE
Even with hot temperatures, don’t overlook shallow water. Better oxygen levels in some shallow areas can create an excellent bite.
Try frogs, buzzbaits, and Texas-rigged plastics around shallow grass and cypress trees. These areas can produce some big bites.
GRASS BITE
The hydrilla and eelgrass bite is still going strong.
Look for grass lines and isolated grass clumps in 8–15 feet of water.
Topwater walking baits, big worms, jerkbaits, and flipping jigs can produce both numbers and quality fish.
DEEP-WATER PATTERNS
Traditional summertime techniques are still producing fish.
Target 10–25 foot ledges, rock piles, and brush piles.
Effective choices include:
* Deep-diving crankbaits
* Flutter spoons
* Big worms
* Carolina rigs
* Jighead minnows
These techniques can produce bites throughout the day.
Crappie
Crappie are being caught in 20-30 ft on brush. Small jigs like Charlie Brewer Slider in black and chartreuse and live minnows seem to be the bait of choice.
Cooper river salt water.
Trout, reds, black drum and sheepshead are biting good along the creek mouths coming into the cooper river. Live shrimp and
Finger Mullet under a popping or slip cork are the bait of choice.
Catfish
There are still plenty of catfish being caught on top of the 8–12 foot hills, as well as in 20–25 feet of water.
More catfish are also beginning to move into the 40–45 foot creek channels.
Try Santee Cooper Rigs baited with fresh herring, perch, or gizzard shad. Fresh bait will be key to getting bites.
Bream and Crappie
Both bream and crappie are beginning to make their way toward 25–30 foot brush piles on Lake Moultrie.
For crappie, try casting small Charlie Brewer Slider jigs, or fish a live minnow beneath a slip cork.
For bream, crickets, worms, and shrimp fished on a Carolina rig over the brush can all produce fish.
Redfish & Trout – Bushy Park
This is the time of year when redfish and trout fishing can really get good around Bushy Park and the Cooper River.
Live bait is going to be your best choice. Try mud minnows, live shrimp, or live finger mullet fished on a Carolina rig or beneath a slip cork.
Concentrate on grass lines and creek mouths.
For the best tidal movement, focus on approximately the last 2½ hours of the falling tide and the last 2½ hours of the rising tide.
