Santee Cooper Midday Update – Day 1
Cold snap temporarily delays the sight-fishing program
Pros hoping to sight-fish on the first morning of the Costa FLW Series Southeastern Division event on Santee Cooper experienced a bit of a rude awakening thanks in large part to the 40-degree air temperature at dawn, a pesky 10- to 15-mph wind out of the northeast and an 8-degree water temperature drop overnight.
As pros trolled around backwater pockets checking their marked beds from practice, some bass were still around, but the majority had fled the scene. Pro Yoan Alvarez of Florida had plucked one nice fish from a bed early but was seeing a lot of empty white spaces.
Most pros trolling the pockets agreed that the fish would likely return to the beds with the higher temps and diminishing winds in the afternoon. But as for the morning period, it was a case of trying to adapt to the front with jerkbaits, lipless rattlers and umbrella rigs in the deeper ditches and holes in spawning ponds.
Anglers banking on the deeper bite out off main-lake breaks and in ditches were faring a little better early. Well-known Santee Cooper pro Lex Costas had already sacked a decent limit early and was hunting upgrades with bottom-dragging baits. From the looks of things, sight-fishing was not in his game plan.
A few boats made the long run to the lower end of the lower lake, but a lot of boats opted to stay close in the Wyboo, Taw Caw and Potato Creek areas, likely to avoid wasting time with long, rough boat rides.
Weigh-in begins at 3 p.m. ET and will be broadcast live from John C. Land III Landing. Tune in to see if the Southeastern Division’s top pros really can sack up the big weights that were predicted coming into today.