Our own Gordon Hodges took his annual July 4th catfishing trip with his son Spencer and Spencer’s regular tournament fishing partner, Wayne Estes. As usual, they headed to one of the fish camps located on the diversion canal that connects the two huge lakes referred to as the Santee Lakes in South Carolina. They fished from about sundown until early morning each night, mostly on Lake Moultrie, referred to by the locals as the “Lower Lake”. The first 2 nights were really active with many 20 -29 lb. fish caught and the 150 quart cooler easily filled each night with 8 – 15 lb. fish. The 2 nights yielded approximately 60 lbs. of catfish fillets that would be taken back home to some friends that were planning big fish fry cookouts. The third night started off with rough winds, so the fishing started out where the canal opens into the upper lake, then as the winds calmed later in the night, they moved back to the lower lake. The third night yielded the same results with many fish caught & released, but still no fish topping the 30 lb. mark. On the fourth and last night of the trip, the fishing was a little slower, but the fish were big. Before the night was over, a 42 lb. blue cat and a 32 lb. flathead had been caught, photographed, and safely released. As always, the big fish are photographed and safely released to insure the future of trophy fishing.

For anyone hoping to catch a really big catfish, the Santee Lakes are a great place to go, but they are huge, open bodies of water and can be very dangerous. When the wind picks up, the waves can go from lake-like to ocean-like in 15 minutes. There’s also a lot of shallow water scattered throughout the lake with many stumps right at the water level. The upper lake still has thick standing timber in 20’ – 30’ of water, with the tops rotted off right at the water level. It is smart to use an experienced local guide on your first trip to the lakes. Fisherman not experienced on these lakes and trying to fish from smaller boats without full electronics can be a recipe for disaster. Safety should always be practiced on the water and especially on these two large lakes.