Santee Lakes - 6/8

Had a "lazy Sunday" and decided to hit Santee Lakes for a bit. Started at lake 3 and within 15 minutes had my new PB and first swimbait bass. The poor angle of the photo doesn't really show how big she was, but she hit the bait like a hammer and fought like hell! She tried to dig into the weeds, but I was using 40lb braid and a stout rod so I was able to bring her in after quite a battle.

I've never caught a bass that I've considered worthy of weighing, so all I had was one of those crappy, $2 spring-based scales which read over 5 pounds. I would guess she weighed 6 or 7 pounds (creeping towards 10 as I continue to talk about it, haha!) but the satisfaction of landing her is enough for me. I didn't realize I was hootin' and hollerin' so loud, but as soon as I grabbed her, I looked around and saw everyone watching and even got a "thumbs-up" from a nearby angler.

This type of fish is the crack that will keep me coming back

 

Owen -- I'm no expert, but I'm more than happy to share what I was doing. I've tried everything at Santee and this was the first fish I've caught there, so take it with a grain of salt .

I was fishing from the dock and casting into the deeper portions using a Huddleston Deluxe Weedless Shad Swimbait (http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Huddleston_Deluxe_Weedless_Shad_Swimbait/descpage-HDWS.html#multiview), which is a smaller bait that wasn't getting stuck in the weeds much. I had it rigged using 40lb Power Pro braid without a leader on a Denali Jadewood 7'11" XH with a Curado 300E. It was my first time using that particular bait, so I was really just trying to figure it out. When she hit it, I had let it sink down a bit and was twitching it periodically to mimic a struggling fish during a slow-medium retrieve. At first, I thought I was stuck on something, but my drag started screaming and I knew it was on

On the very next cast (after calming down and getting her back in the water), something big hit it hard again, but I missed it and it ripped the bait. That was the end of my success on this day as that was the only one I had and I couldn't figure out what they wanted for the rest of my time there. Santee, like Murray, is extremely pressured from shore, so it seems that the goal should be to get it as far was from shore as possible. In this case, it worked. I'm still trying to figure out Murray and still need to be convinced there are actual bass in there .

Joe -- I'm ready whenever you have a spot my friend! I may have an extra spot for Barrett on the 29th if you're interested!