Water was down over there about 6-7 feet and they pulled more as the day went on. That usually makes for tough fishing. No crappie, but we did catch around 60 perch. Most were very small, but my uncle boxed 22 decent ones for a fry. We wasted money on minnows as most were caught on spoons in 30 to 40 feet of water. At the tackle shop, I bought one of the 1/4 ounce new Flexit Spoons in pearl and silver. The fish liked it on a 6 pound test outfit… Not it exactly what we were hoping to do, but we still had a good time!
Sounds like a fun day with family! What was the water temp over there? Did you hook any largemouth or cats? Did you try your famous double rig or stick with the smaller spoon?
And last question, will you be at your next club meeting and can you pickup a cable there for me? Check out my post about needing a power cable. I kind of volunteered you to pick it up for me. Odds are that I’ll be seeing you or your Dad soon and can get it then.
I had 1 second hand report that the crappies were biting but I have no idea if they were fishing the banks or trolling jigs. I tried lake wylie Monday without any bites(perch or crappies). I can’t seem to be able to find the perch any more at wylie.
Depending on the weather, I would like to try monticello for cats this coming friday.
Charles, I didn’t see anyone pulling for crappie and I never marked any suspended fish on which to drop tight lines. That’s how I usually get a good mess of crappie over there this time of year. We were hampered by a strong north-east wind and were stuck on the 215 side of the lake. I didn’t want to beat everyone up with 3-5 foot waves on the power plant side; so I was limted in my searching.
Dave, I know we talked, but to benefit others, water was 56 degrees. No cats or blacks, but we did have a couple shellcrackers. I stuck with the mini spoon as it was working, and my double rig was under my striper gear in the rod locker. Probably should have dug it out. That was only the second time I’ve pahfished this year. Been too consumed with stripers and tournaments in my spare time:sunglasses:
What about white bass up there? Many years ago we used to catch some of the biggest white bass I ever saw casting spoons near the power plant, but never seem to hear about them up there any more.
Same thing in the Congaree, but the fish were much smaller. They would come up the river before the stripers in the late winter/early spring and there were tons of them…over the years they seem to have disappeared.
Since 911, you can’t get near the power plant. When I fish over there regularly, I occasionally get into some white bass. They’re usually big and mean but few and far between. Like on Murray, when the perch showed up, fewer and fewer white bass are seen. I guess the same holds true for the Santee system. Can’t say exactly why. There are many theories out there.
I have often wondered why they don’t stock a few stripers in that lake. It is really deep, and it’s used for pump storage so its constantly getting new water. Seems like a good environment for them do do well in as long as its only a few.
Hybrids would be an even better option for that lake in my opinion since it’s not as big as Murray, the Hill, and Greenwood. However, since it’s connected to the Broad River that meets up with the Congaree, I think the DNR is concerned with maintaining the integrity if the Santee striper gene pool. Fish are pumped in and out of the river all the time, and hybrids have been shown to not be 100% sterile. Entranement is probably how the perch got in there along with the smallmouths that are in the there.
In some of my research on white perch I seem to remember that 90% of their diet in spring consists of other fish eggs. They were suspected of hurting the walleye population in the great lakes. Possibly they have been hurting our native white bass and other native fish populations. I remember schools of white bass in Murray that literally covered acres of water. After the white perch became prevalent the white bass in Murray became few and far between. Maybe that’s one of the reasons white perch are no longer considered gamefish. In years gone by I also saw schools of white bass become baitfish when the really big stripers would start slamming them from beneath. It was fantastic to see the water start exploding with monster stripers hitting pretty decent sized white bass!
The DNR bioligists do consider white perch a noxious species. They want you to kill everyone you catch or keep for the fry daddy:smiley: However, it is apparent to me that they can’t be stopped. Atleast, they’re good eatin’. Sometimes I do miss going to Monticello in the fall and throwing Rooster Tails and Lil’ Fishies at schools of slob white bass… Rainy weather and time off puts me in a reminiscent mood:sunglasses:
We put all the perch we catch in the box! NO throw backs!!! Please do the same, almost like Lion fish, they all do a lot of damage! If not big enough to eat use them in you garden, they make good fertilizer and are darn good in the fryer. DNR took any limit off them last year, could be good commercial product!