On Mon, 01 Jan 2007 11:17:43 GMT, Tom Francis
wrote:

On Mon, 01 Jan 2007 01:06:38 -0500, Jack Goff wrote:

Before some of the non-boaters show up, let me say... I own a boat.
Was on it Saturday. The weather is nice in SC.

I'm heading down there this week to close on a house at the lower end
of Lake Moultrie.. I'm looking forward to checking out the winter
fishing scene down there.

So, as it happens, I have a couple of questions.

How is the Santee Cooper lake system fishery this time of year?
Active, non-active? Species? How about the Charleston area?

Oh, does the State support open launch ramps or are they mostly
private?

Tom, I've only been on Lake Murray and Lake Thurmond (AKA Clark's
Hill), so I can't help you with Moultrie.

From the website www.sclakes.com
"Moultrie is the sister lake to Lake Marion owned by the utility
Santee Cooper. Moultrie is 60,400 acres and is connected to Lake
Marion by the Diversion Canal. Moultrie is located in the lowlands of
the state near Charleston South Carolina. The lake's large oval shape
and huge width can draw high winds creating high seas type conditions.
The world record channel catfish came from these waters in 1964, and
the state record black crappie was caught here in 1957. Fishing guides
are available at this lake. Although not as many as Lake Marion, there
are plenty of campgrounds, marinas, restaurants, places for lodging,
and boat ramps. There is no state park on the lake, but the closest
state park is Old Santee Canal State Park."

Lake Murray is owned by SCE&G, and has a few public boat ramps, along
with several privately owned marinas. I suspect that Moultrie will be
similar. As far as fishing, again from the same website:

Lake Moultrie:

Largemouth Bass: Slow. Try plastic worms deep.
Striped Bass: Good, fishing live herring off the bottom, trolling
Stretch 25s or jigging Flex-It spoons.
Crappie: Slow. Try minnows around fish attraction areas.
Catfish: Excellent, using cut bait, shiners and nightcrawlers.
Bream: Slow. Try red-worms around public fish attractors.
Shellcrackers: Slow. Try red-worms around public fish attractors.

You'll like Charleston. Lots of history, great food.

On Mon, 01 Jan 2007 09:21:34 -0500, Jack Goff wrote:

You'll like Charleston. Lots of history, great food.

Oh yes, do not miss the Charleston Grill. We had a crew dinner there
on our trip north 2 years ago and it was fantastic.

Charleston City Marina is a first class facility and well worth a few
minutes walking the docks.