etaggart
05-13-2012, 02:00 PM
May 11, 2012 - Striper Slay in South Carolina - Hooah!!!
OK, so I know this location is a bit off target for a So Cal fishing network, but I hope the mods will let it stand since this is where I post all my fish stories.
Pics will come later – I wanted to get this post up soon before I forget the details. Pictures are stuck on my old camera until I can get the interface I left in Big Bear or can find an old-style USB cable that fits it.
My wife Donna, her brother Aaron and I went to South Carolina this past week for his son Adam's US Army boot camp graduation at Fort Jackson in Columbia, SC. Incredibly emotional two days, but this is a fishing report and you don't want to hear about a bunch of grown-ups crying their eyes out. The little SOB is going into explosive ordinance disposal and this was just the first of many hard steps along the way - Hooah to Adam!
Adam's been my long time fishing buddy and he and his dad have spent countless hours on the water fishing and growing up together over some great fish stories.
Donna had the brilliant idea to look for a fishing opportunity as a graduation present. South Carolina is home to the immense Lake Murray (just look at it from Google Maps and start drooling over how many insane bass spots this lake holds http://g.co/maps/hk76n). She connected with Captain Mike’s Striper Service (http://www.stripermike.net/). Capt Mike Glover lives on the lake and has been guiding there many times each week for 26 years. The man KNOWS his lake.
We drove up to the lake (about 90 minutes) from Fort Jackson to Lexington and the boy didn’t know what was up. At first he thought we were going to our hotel, then was scratching his head since we were driving so far. At one point he saw a sign for a firing range and thought that was the present. We stopped at Hardees (Carls Jr) just before we got to the lake and a big boat with a dozen big rods pulls up. Aaron’s thinking “Who the heck is this psycho with the ocean-worthy boat and the big rods going to fish a freshwater lake?” We didn’t realize it then, but it was Capt Mike getting a soda and gas!
Adam still didn’t have a clue.
We drove to the lake past some incredible views with points and tributaries everywhere, joking about how we wish we had some poles to slay some LMBs. Kept driving and could tell this was one hell of a big lake. We pull into a small marina on Dreher Island State Park and there were a bunch of bass boats in the parking lot. Talked to some locals and found out there was a big tournament going on. Asked a couple older guys what was hitting, and the said the large mouth were few and far between.
Adam still didn’t have a clue – later he told us he thought we were just gonna walk around, enjoying the scenery and chatting for a while.
Donna finally reaches into her pocket, pulls out some papers and gives him 4 South Carolina 1-day fishing permits ($11 each actually good for 7 days). He’s still scratching his head – and I thought he was the smart one. We finally explain we’ve chartered a guide for the afternoon to get in one more bass trip – stripers with live bait are the call of the day. He’s stoked!!!! If he ever had a clue, he didn’t let on for a minute.
We meet Capt Mike, get on the boat, speed to a spot and within 15 minutes from stepping on the dock he’s got 8 rods out in the water with live blue herring set 20’ to 40’ down with a big sliding sinker about 3’ up the line on each.
We’re chatting on the ride out and Aaron’s making it clear we’ve all been fishing before, just never slayed the striper – a few now and then, but nothing huge. Capt Mike gives us the low down … These are planted stiper, put in as fingerlings by the millions each year and grow in the lake. Striper are very sensitive and the strike on blue herring is specific. They bite the bait sideways, travel a bit, then spin it around and swallow head first. They’re very sensitive to the bait moving weird, so keep the rods in the holders, don’t touch them when they go bendo, only pull straight up (no cranking) once they start to spool. Don’t bother setting the hook, once they’re spooling, the circle hooks do all the work. We’re hearing, but clearly we’re not all listening ;)
Fish finder’s marking some OK fish and blammo, first rod bends tip to water. Adam takes the first, waits for Mike’s command, then lifts and lands a nice 3 to 4 pounder!!!
Rod near Donna goes off next and she’s perfectly patient – she was listening. Lands a nice 6 pounder – we’re thinking that may be the biggest of the day. By our normal Big Bear standards, that would be a prize size fish any of us would be happy to land!!!
I farm the next one – too quick on the draw. Pull in the herring and it’s got teeth scrapes all along its sides. Aaron farms one trying to set the hook too hard, and rethinks his bass expertise!
The air temp was maybe 80 degrees, mostly clear sky, very light wind – just enough to put a ripple on the water! We’re simply drifting with the wind/tide over pretty much the same large area for the afternoon. Every so often the fish finder goes black with activity!!! The pic I’ll post later only shows about half the fish density of the most active times.
The finder goes a little light, and Capt Mike picks up a 2” thick, 3’ long wood stick we noticed getting on the boat. We all thought it was a gaff at first, but it didn’t have a hook. He sits in the back of the boat and starts banging the stick on a floor hatch about two beats per second. We start thinking he’s crazy and look sideways at him. He says “These fish were farm bred and respond to thumping – just watch the finder.” We look up and a little bit later, see the fish start marking. Don’t know if it’s coincidence, but the fish are on. We joke the rest of the afternoon with him about it, but each of us took our turn thumpin the magic stick and the numbers don’t lie!!!
We start hitting fish more regularly with a couple double hookups. I get my first at the same time Donna’s landing her second. Adam and Aaron are each catching as well. Aaron and I get the two biggest yet – maybe 6 to 7 pounds – at the same time. His is an inch longer than mine. Adam picks up a nice one fly-lining. Aaron got a couple followers with a plastic on a spinning rod, but no takers. All the stripers were beautiful. We’re all C&R since we don’t want fish on the airplane and Capt Mike gets all the fish he can handle.
The afternoon sun starts going down and I get one last hit – farm it of course!!! As we’re letting the last bait run out on their lines Aaron gets the last fish of the day and it’s a fighter. Lands a nice 8 pounder – maybe a bit more.
Final tally: Adam 5 (1 farmed), Donna 5 (1 farmed), Eric 5 (3 farmed), Aaron 4 (2 farmed). 19 fish in four hours. The smallest were about 3lbs and the biggest were 6+. No monsters, but a great afternoon.
Captain Mike was AWESOME!!! He knew his lake and his fish – we all learned something new about live baitfishing for striper and had a great time. Capt Mike had some great stories and was a genuinely good guy who was a pro the whole time – even when a new Sherriff came to fully inspect us on the water for compliance. Biggest lesson learned … when fishing a new lake and you want to be productive, find a good guide, listen carefully and learn what he’s got to teach. We would have spent all day driving around catching very little if we tried it on our own in a rental.
If you’re ever in central South Carolina and want a great time, call up Capt Mike and make a reservation. He says morning fishing is definitely best, but he can make it work any time, morning, afternoon or night! He bent over backwards to show Adam his appreciation for his service to the country. His boat fit the four of us nicely – more would have been too crowded. Conditions were perfect and it was a great way to celebrate Adam’s accomplishment.
I’ll close with Capt Mike’s best saying of the day: Love the Warrior – Hate the War
Cheers, and I’ll post-up pix as soon as I can.
Eric
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OK, so I know this location is a bit off target for a So Cal fishing network, but I hope the mods will let it stand since this is where I post all my fish stories.
Pics will come later – I wanted to get this post up soon before I forget the details. Pictures are stuck on my old camera until I can get the interface I left in Big Bear or can find an old-style USB cable that fits it.
My wife Donna, her brother Aaron and I went to South Carolina this past week for his son Adam's US Army boot camp graduation at Fort Jackson in Columbia, SC. Incredibly emotional two days, but this is a fishing report and you don't want to hear about a bunch of grown-ups crying their eyes out. The little SOB is going into explosive ordinance disposal and this was just the first of many hard steps along the way - Hooah to Adam!
Adam's been my long time fishing buddy and he and his dad have spent countless hours on the water fishing and growing up together over some great fish stories.
Donna had the brilliant idea to look for a fishing opportunity as a graduation present. South Carolina is home to the immense Lake Murray (just look at it from Google Maps and start drooling over how many insane bass spots this lake holds http://g.co/maps/hk76n). She connected with Captain Mike’s Striper Service (http://www.stripermike.net/). Capt Mike Glover lives on the lake and has been guiding there many times each week for 26 years. The man KNOWS his lake.
We drove up to the lake (about 90 minutes) from Fort Jackson to Lexington and the boy didn’t know what was up. At first he thought we were going to our hotel, then was scratching his head since we were driving so far. At one point he saw a sign for a firing range and thought that was the present. We stopped at Hardees (Carls Jr) just before we got to the lake and a big boat with a dozen big rods pulls up. Aaron’s thinking “Who the heck is this psycho with the ocean-worthy boat and the big rods going to fish a freshwater lake?” We didn’t realize it then, but it was Capt Mike getting a soda and gas!
Adam still didn’t have a clue.
We drove to the lake past some incredible views with points and tributaries everywhere, joking about how we wish we had some poles to slay some LMBs. Kept driving and could tell this was one hell of a big lake. We pull into a small marina on Dreher Island State Park and there were a bunch of bass boats in the parking lot. Talked to some locals and found out there was a big tournament going on. Asked a couple older guys what was hitting, and the said the large mouth were few and far between.
Adam still didn’t have a clue – later he told us he thought we were just gonna walk around, enjoying the scenery and chatting for a while.
Donna finally reaches into her pocket, pulls out some papers and gives him 4 South Carolina 1-day fishing permits ($11 each actually good for 7 days). He’s still scratching his head – and I thought he was the smart one. We finally explain we’ve chartered a guide for the afternoon to get in one more bass trip – stripers with live bait are the call of the day. He’s stoked!!!! If he ever had a clue, he didn’t let on for a minute.
We meet Capt Mike, get on the boat, speed to a spot and within 15 minutes from stepping on the dock he’s got 8 rods out in the water with live blue herring set 20’ to 40’ down with a big sliding sinker about 3’ up the line on each.
We’re chatting on the ride out and Aaron’s making it clear we’ve all been fishing before, just never slayed the striper – a few now and then, but nothing huge. Capt Mike gives us the low down … These are planted stiper, put in as fingerlings by the millions each year and grow in the lake. Striper are very sensitive and the strike on blue herring is specific. They bite the bait sideways, travel a bit, then spin it around and swallow head first. They’re very sensitive to the bait moving weird, so keep the rods in the holders, don’t touch them when they go bendo, only pull straight up (no cranking) once they start to spool. Don’t bother setting the hook, once they’re spooling, the circle hooks do all the work. We’re hearing, but clearly we’re not all listening ;)
Fish finder’s marking some OK fish and blammo, first rod bends tip to water. Adam takes the first, waits for Mike’s command, then lifts and lands a nice 3 to 4 pounder!!!
Rod near Donna goes off next and she’s perfectly patient – she was listening. Lands a nice 6 pounder – we’re thinking that may be the biggest of the day. By our normal Big Bear standards, that would be a prize size fish any of us would be happy to land!!!
I farm the next one – too quick on the draw. Pull in the herring and it’s got teeth scrapes all along its sides. Aaron farms one trying to set the hook too hard, and rethinks his bass expertise!
The air temp was maybe 80 degrees, mostly clear sky, very light wind – just enough to put a ripple on the water! We’re simply drifting with the wind/tide over pretty much the same large area for the afternoon. Every so often the fish finder goes black with activity!!! The pic I’ll post later only shows about half the fish density of the most active times.
The finder goes a little light, and Capt Mike picks up a 2” thick, 3’ long wood stick we noticed getting on the boat. We all thought it was a gaff at first, but it didn’t have a hook. He sits in the back of the boat and starts banging the stick on a floor hatch about two beats per second. We start thinking he’s crazy and look sideways at him. He says “These fish were farm bred and respond to thumping – just watch the finder.” We look up and a little bit later, see the fish start marking. Don’t know if it’s coincidence, but the fish are on. We joke the rest of the afternoon with him about it, but each of us took our turn thumpin the magic stick and the numbers don’t lie!!!
We start hitting fish more regularly with a couple double hookups. I get my first at the same time Donna’s landing her second. Adam and Aaron are each catching as well. Aaron and I get the two biggest yet – maybe 6 to 7 pounds – at the same time. His is an inch longer than mine. Adam picks up a nice one fly-lining. Aaron got a couple followers with a plastic on a spinning rod, but no takers. All the stripers were beautiful. We’re all C&R since we don’t want fish on the airplane and Capt Mike gets all the fish he can handle.
The afternoon sun starts going down and I get one last hit – farm it of course!!! As we’re letting the last bait run out on their lines Aaron gets the last fish of the day and it’s a fighter. Lands a nice 8 pounder – maybe a bit more.
Final tally: Adam 5 (1 farmed), Donna 5 (1 farmed), Eric 5 (3 farmed), Aaron 4 (2 farmed). 19 fish in four hours. The smallest were about 3lbs and the biggest were 6+. No monsters, but a great afternoon.
Captain Mike was AWESOME!!! He knew his lake and his fish – we all learned something new about live baitfishing for striper and had a great time. Capt Mike had some great stories and was a genuinely good guy who was a pro the whole time – even when a new Sherriff came to fully inspect us on the water for compliance. Biggest lesson learned … when fishing a new lake and you want to be productive, find a good guide, listen carefully and learn what he’s got to teach. We would have spent all day driving around catching very little if we tried it on our own in a rental.
If you’re ever in central South Carolina and want a great time, call up Capt Mike and make a reservation. He says morning fishing is definitely best, but he can make it work any time, morning, afternoon or night! He bent over backwards to show Adam his appreciation for his service to the country. His boat fit the four of us nicely – more would have been too crowded. Conditions were perfect and it was a great way to celebrate Adam’s accomplishment.
I’ll close with Capt Mike’s best saying of the day: Love the Warrior – Hate the War
Cheers, and I’ll post-up pix as soon as I can.
Eric
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