My brothers heading up to the lake and ill probably go up there and do some fishing with him. I was wondering if there was any stripers by the dam or the canal that goes from marion to moultrie. Any tips are greatly appreciated.
40incher, since you haven’t been overwhelmed with replies, will relay this information, but since it is from 15 years ago, you’ll have to evaluate how good it might be.
Before moving to Columbia from Asheville, we used to book a guide for striper fishing twice a year out of Black’s Camp. In October, we’d head for the Canal. There was a stretch clearly marked by large rocks (possibly an old roadbed or bridge) on both sides of the Canal. We’d go above the rocks, downrod, and drift over the area defined by the rocks. Once clear we’d pull up, go back above the rocks and repeat. They were there, then.
Have no idea about current state of the fishery or even if the rocks are still at the Canal, but it may be worth making an inquiry.
I heard there is a ton of smaller fish to about 25 inches and thats the reason they reduced size limits. Apparently the fishery has rebound some since it bottomed out years back. The good striper fishers down there seems to be pretty tight lipped.
If the water is moving through the canal, the rock pile is good. Get your bait to the bottom as soon as you clear the rocks. It’s a short drift before you have to pull up and reset, but effective. Other than that, you just need to look for the schools of bait and stripers on the main lakes. I have heard some good action was happening around marker 48 I believe, which isn’t far from the dam. Other than that, hopefully you can find some let us know where they are.