[Jared]

Well, I guess this would more properly fit on a board called "Gone Ridin'" as opposed to "Gone Fishin'" lol I spent my Saturday down on Santee Cooper running around figuring out how to get from point A to point B without tearing off the foot of my motor. Good news is my boat is stilll in one piece lol Bad news is I barely made 50 casts all day long. However thats ok, I still got what I had set out to do accomplished. I found a bunch of nice areas, relocated some areas I had been taken to in the past and laid down some nice trails and way points to nagivate myself through the ocean of stumps come tournament day. :clap:


I actually lucked out at a few places. I was sittin in the middle of nowhere, reading my map and checking out my GPS when a boat came flying by, going the direction I either wanted to go or that I have never been, so... guess what I did? LOL Yep, put the map away and followed them from a distance. lol I felt kinda funny following them. One boat was going much slower than mine would so a couple times I had to set her down and wait a few so they could get further ahead and then continue following them lol I ended up with some good trails in and around The Brickyard from one boat I followed :thumbup01: LOL

All in all my GPS trip calculator clocked 63 miles on the way yesterday lol That gas bill is gonna suck come friday when I fill her back up lol

I didnt stay as long as i had intended. I was going till stay till dark but the wind came on hard and heavy after noon and I enjoyed it for a while. At one point I was hauling out to the lower lake and the waves were getting quite huge... in the area of 6 footers... which for those unfamiliar with Santee, is still quite small for Santee waves when the wind gets up... anyway, I recalled what Jim said about when he hits rough water, he keeps it trimmed up and moving pretty good. So thats what I did. It was probably a very good thing I had no rider lol I kept her trimmed and i think I spent more time in the air than in the water. The first time i heard that motor and prop suddenly wind up as the boat left the water kind of freaked me out but after that it was music to my ears lol I cant help but wonder if you should not do that if that quick wind up of it coming out of the water is bad for the motor? Eventually what I did was when I felt myself get airborne was get off the hot foot a sec until I landed. (Id love to know whats good and bad in this situation... or was i just going too fast??) Anyway, I had fun running in the wind and waves for a while but it sure wore me out and by 3pm i was done and back loading up to make my 2 hour trip home. Next weekend I plan on heading back to Santee but I am headed to the northern end rather than the middle of the lakes. I believe I will be putting in at an area called Packs next weekend. I think I iwll even get some fishing in next weekend lol
Ya know what will tick me off too? If my club meeting comes the Thursday before the tournament and the guys decide to put in on t he lower lake at a place like Angels or something. That would suck because I have no idea how to run that area and dont have the time to figure it out lol

Anyway, that was my saturday. :clap: So how about some advice on driving in high winds and huge white caps?? lol

 

[Guest]

Jared my man, anytime your boat and prop is leaving the water entirely is a BAD THING. I know it might seem like fun but safety first bro. Tackling 6' waves is insane in any bass boat. I know folks often over exaggerate height of waves because well we exxagerate our fish too but if they where really 6 footers (Consider the waves that are at the oceans edge for comparison. Most of those are less then 6 feet high unless on the west coast or during storm surges) then consider yourself lucky that you didn't get swamped. Weather is never something to play with. When things get rough get out of there ASAP. It only gets worse the longer you wait.

Also, when driving into big waves try to cut into them from an angle. Not straight into them but at a 35-45 degree angle that gives you more boat to handle the wave then just nose first. Plus it helps you not to spear a wave thus adding allot of water into your face. I have done this and it is not fun. Basically tack to the left then back to the right in a zig zag pattern.

If you can bridge the tops of the waves then by all means do that and ride on top of them. However, I have observed in really big lakes or really long ones that the waves are more like swells that we see in the ocean. This means they are larger and further apart. In this case it is not a good idea to go running 50-60mph into them or you could get in serious trouble. If they are whitecapping and are close then try to ride on top. If not, then you have to go slow and ride them sort of like a surfer does.

Best advise I could give is not to handle big waves but to avoid them at all costs.

Here is an article I found that is interesting: http://www.greatlakesbass.com/fishing/bigwaterboating.htm

 

[Guest]

Im glad your enjoying your boat. We can tell your having the time of your life just by what you type. :thumbup01: :clap:


Have fun and be careful. We still have that Lake Fork trip to go to.

 

[fish4funinfl]

Im guessing you had the Beach Boys in the c.d. playing huh ( Catch a Wave ) lol

Seriously though, Safety First !!

When I was a non boater, I was always asking questions about different situations like the one you mentioned to the boaters I was with.

 

[Jared]

I had a feeling it was bad lol And I had a feeling I should have slowed down. lol

As far as cutting them at an angle, I believe they call it quartering, I think thats the hardest thing about navigating Santee. Sometimes it's just doesnt seem possible to do that either due to the very narrow submerged treeless/stumpless path you have to stay on (such as when crossing Santee's dam) or, as in my situation yesterday, where the canal just didnt seem wide enough to really do much more than run right into the waves. I dont believe I speared any waves thouigh, as I never got wet, I just tried to keep the boat going forward and trimmed up to stay on top of them. It just seemed like every so often the waves would add up and then Id hear my motor wind up and knew I was airborne lol I didnt think that was a good thing for sure, but the waves serioously were high enough that I felt if I slowed down, Id have eaten a whole lotta water as Id have been down within the peaks rather than on top of them.

I know 6 footers are big waves, and I do know that many people will exagerate, but on Santee, 6 footers happen and more often than us anglers desire. BFL Lost a few boats a couple years back due to waves that were over 12 foot. The waves can get GROWN on Santee in a hurry with a strong wind blowing in at just the right direction. Ive been in boats as a rider when the winds were at their worst and have seen how high those jokers can get. The waves becoime so high that when you go down inside between the peaks all you see around you is HUGE walls of water stretching to the sky. It's a scary ordeal. Saturday was by no means that bad, not even close, but they were definitely 4 to 6 footers.

That article looks pretty good. I definitely need to read it. Thank you for the find Keith :thumbup01: I know i have a lot to learn about boats and boating.

 

[Jared]

Im guessing you had the Beach Boys in the c.d. playing huh ( Catch a Wave ) lol

Seriously though, Safety First !!

Hey thats what I need! a radio on the boat! LOL

I completely agree Rodney, safety first definitely. First thing i plan on doing this morning when I get to work is picking the brains of my buddie,s who work there, that have been boaters, and dealing with Santee, for 30+ yrs each. I figured if anyone can shed some light on whats safe and whats not theyd be as good of a place to start as any. :thumbup01:

 

[Guest]

Sounds like you did the best you could do so that is a good thing. Glad you are ok.

If you ever hear of wind like that and your lake gets monster waves please stay home. We all like this site and would prefer to have you and it around for a while

 

[Jared]

12 footers huh?

Actually, BASS was on Santee back in late 94 and there were reports from the pros of waves that were close to 17 feet tall. I think what makes the waves grow so big on Santee is its such a shallow lake, majority of the 170,000 acres is 10 foot deep or less. Also in front of the dam on the upper lake (which is the fastest way to cross the lake by a long shot) you end up with the waves coming down the upper lake and crashing into the dam. Once they hit the dam, the crash and rebound back off of it and go rolling back up the lake. What ends up happening is the waves coming down collide into the rebound waves going up and the mixture creates waves twice the size of the orginals. Even worse than the size at that point is the fact that there is no one direction that the waves are traveling and you end up with a mix mash of criss crossing waves that have been known to trash many many boats. I had a rib busted riding across that during a tournament back in 94. I plan on doing all I can to not have to cross at the dam lol

 

[TampaCountryBoy]

:wack: :wack: :wack: Dude, does that hotfoot only have two positions idle and WAO :rofl1: :rofl1: :rofl1:

Been there done that on Santee - I was riding with you while reading your post. It can be fun, but please be careful :thumbup01:

You are right Packs is in an area that is full of stumps but there is good access to the river channel over the other side by Low Falls Landing. If you decide to run west back towards the diversion canal and the lower lake once you reach the state park you will pick up channel markers, until then you will be safe if you are running in 6 to 8ft of water. Go slow until you hit the markers.

But discount the Packs area as there is good fishing close by from Packs down to the state park.

I use to fish weedless spoons, crankbaits (floaters and suspenders), rat-L-traps, jigs, T-riged worms and lizards around submerged points, drop off at the river Chanel and of course the cypress trees and stump fields. Do not forget to check out the railroad trestle it can hold fish year round.

In the old days most folks did not go that high up except perch jerker's and the bass were not that pressured. If you get a chance to pre-fish this area can surprise you.

Another advantage is the Congree dumps into this area and can add flow to the water which can push the baitfish to the Bass. Watch for the flow and follow it to the best ambush points.

Best of luck and watch that lower unit