After we had that really cold spell , the fishing has been real tuff . I am casting everywhere and nothing . Do you think its possible that the water cooled down so fast that it stunned them ? I mean every lake is like dead . No breaks on the water like there alwayz is , no crashing on the banks . Its been like 4 or 5 years since it has been this cold with lows in the 20's and highs around 35 . The past 2 days have been warm . Hopefully it will pick up by the next full moon ? Thanx for any help .

fishing was a little tuff out here on the main lakes,but it was pretty good on one of the ponds i fish,i caught five in the 2 hours i was there,i was fishing a spinner bait around cover deep. got 2 on that and 3 on a shakeyhead with a zoom trick worm, i would just slow down and finesse the fish,if they are there,then they can be caught,just got 2 hitem in the mouth with something they like, sorry i havent made it down there yet,i just got a buzy spell of work and got 2 catch up on bills, u know how that goes

Oh yeah i know what ya mean man . Yeah i have been fishing everything slow , slower , and alotta more slower . I bank fish so maybe i need to get out in a small boat with a troller on it . And hit a new spot . I think you should hit it here when a full moon is about to light up the sky or shortly after . During this time i catch my biggest bass .

I want to fish this lake but it has big alligators in it . I wounder if they mess with boats . 2 of them around 12 feet and one monster around 15 to 16 foot . But there is huge bass in this lake i mean huge . This is the lake with the mullet that got washed in during huricane hugo 18 years ago and they have done well in there and the bass have plenty to eat . This lake drives me crazy cause of the bass you catch in there . Just get with me i will figure out something around spawn time in this lake and have a 14 foot john boat ready .

from my expirence,they wont mess with u. if u dont mess with them,i have fish in the water with waders looking at a gator 40 feet from me and later that day one swam rite in front of me,but didnt even pay me any atttenion,he must not of been hungry, lol but i would rather se them than snakes, anyday of the week

Cold fronts can be a B*tch! The more drastic the change, the tuffer the fishing seems to get. Not to mention that the fishing is usually insane right before the front hits. I have heard a few different times from different sources that this feeding frenzy has a lot to do with why they stop feeding... they're just full!

Sounds like great a swimbait lake to me ...

Reminds me of the lagoons at the tressels I used to fish each summer in San Diego

Now that you mention it brendan , the fishing was insane . For a week straight i caught nothing but big bass . When ever the fish charts says good to great fishing it seems like they hit reaction baits like rattle traps , spinnerbaits . But it seems like when they are poor you have to fish slower craws , worms , jigs ,etc . Am i right on that ?

Bassboy that lake i was talkin about is the lake me and you are going to hit . We will wait till around spawn time or when the fish charts are good around a full moon . Do you have a couple of smallmouth bass fishing holes you can take me . I have never fished for them .

You've got it... slow down and downsize... it's a pretty consistant remedy for cold front bass. You may also notice that the bass are more interested in "vertical presentation" now... I believe this happens because when a front hits, the bass will hold tighter to cover and jigs and worms make contact and stay in the strike zone longer than horizontal lures. Don't get me wrong, you can still get reaction strikes with your spinnerbaits and crankbaits, but you'll need to bump cover to trigger a strike and need to make repeated casts at the same target.

Fun stuff... eh?

Thanks for the info . But thats how i seem to catch my bigger fish . By casting to same target . The past couple of days if they dont hit a spinnerbait or rattle trap i have gone to a weightless senko . I started useing them when i first started fishing, and that was the only thing i could catch them on . I almost forgot how great those worms are . I started out with the 4 inch white with black and silver flake . But when i changed to a 5 inch green pumpkin with black flake , I found the color they were wanting . Caught ten fish around 2 to 3 pounds and a pretty 6 lber that had great color and looked like a football was in its belly .

so i guess what i am saying is dont forget your senkos and when one side gets wore out flip it around . Spring is almost here . And the good fishing days are comein . From the 4th to the 8th is spiked on the fishing chart .

Ya the slow vertical can be deadly this time of year and the senko does an excellent job.

I also use a copy of the Ika that doesn't fall as fast as the original and pitch to cover(continous) or spots i know will hold a fish and watch that line.

there is a couple of rivers i herd about,yhat is inbetween us,and lake jocassee,but we need a boat 4 them a both,and lake jocassee is great 4 trout,smallmouth ,spotted bass and has some large mouth.but its on the west side of south carolina,those rivers are somewhere near columbia,i will try and find out where it is and i would love 2 hit it sometime,and i talked 2 a friend in va,and he does stocking i va,he told me that smallmouth can live in any pond that largemouth live in but might not spawn,so we got 2 find some and put a couple in your pond so we can catch them on regular basis

I kinda have a boat . It's a 14 foot john boat , That i got for free cause it was in such bad shape . I sanded it down painted it put a false floor and outdoor carpet and seats in it . I only have a 15 horse merc on it . It wont break any speed records but it's a solid little boat . I just got a trollin motor 50# thrust on it .

The only pond in my neighborhood that i would put smallmouth in is the deepest pond at 16 feet . If i could catch small 1 pounders it might work . Clemson is comeing out here to check my pond cause the fish i put in there they are doing well but they are real hard to catch . I know they have a ton of food cause before the first spawn last year me and some friends put 2500 bluegill in . And we put 30 threadfin shad in .

Out of 160 bass 5 died . There are 2 pounders all the way up to 10.5# , there are 4 fish that are in double digit . Alot of 5 to 8#ers . I just think they are getting used to new waters . I see new bass that are in the 5 to 6 inch range, so they did spawn last year . I am willing to bet the water needs to be fertilized . I have heard this makes the fish feel happy and more agressive . And my friends at pond boss help me out too .

I will keep an eye on the water temps and when they get to or just below 60 the spawn will be on .We will try and catch that monster in that lake i was tellin you about .later on

You have your own pond?

Yeah , sure do robo . The HOA ( home owners association ) let me do what ever i want to with 2 of the ponds in the neighborhood . So that was my little project . Was to stock them better and with lots of fish . #1 pond that is my baby is about 3 acres that has a rock dam that feeds into a protected marsh . Crawfish live in the marsh and go into the pond when they feel like it . It is also about 16 foot deep . I am trying to get all the catfish out of it cause i want trophy bass in this one .

#2 pond is a long 3 and a half to 4 acres around 8 foot at the deepest . This has very healthy bass and up to 35 pound catfish . There are bass from 3 pounds to 9 pounds in this one . I have got to break down and put up all these pictures on this site . So far all fish stay healthy and fat . I am haveing trouble with pond #1 they are super healthy but not aggressive . I cant wait to see what clemson has to say .

I think all the fish in my area are freakin out cause most of them have never seen snow . Twice this year we have gotten snow . What a weird winter it has been in MYRTLE BEACH . I wounder what that does to them . I know this must chill the water fast .

I am sure the colder spikes in weather can also be good. Algee will die off and clear up the lake a bit. Exspecially if it is colder than normal. Gives your lake a little purge.

I'm all for you posting pictures of the ponds you've been stocking/managing and also some of the pigs that you put in there.

I think most of the guys would like to see that...

BC