All lakes and reservoirs in the south-east are the same but different.
A catfish is a catfish and they all have to eat but their feeding habits can be different from lake to lake.It can depend on the style of reservoir, the forage in it, wether the lake stratifies or not, how deep or shallow it is, how much cover and structure it has, what type of species is most wide spread and so-on.
In SC we have several different types of reservoirs.
We have two huge, low lying, flat, swampland reservoirs....Marion and Moultrie (Santee Cooper) Even though these two lakes are very similar and only seperated by a 7 mile long diversion canal, they are still alot different when it comes to certain things.
We have huge upstate reservoirs thats very deep and has lots of rugged, up and down terrain, with lots of tributaries that can be treated like individual lakes in themselves.The Savannah chain of lakes is good example and so is Murray.
We also have a very unique reservoir (Monticello). www.lakemonticellofishing.com Which does'nt even have a river feeding it.The lake was built to cool a nuclear plant and gets water from the Broad River which is pumped by a series of huge pipes and pumps up into the lake.This causes the water to fluctuate 1 to 3 or more feet daily, during peak power demands.This can also cause a unique current situation which is very important at certain times of the year.This is a lake in a class of its own and the fish, sometimes behave in a class of their own because of it.
Tactics and Techniques
Always stay humble and optimistic and try to be as versital with fishing methods as you can.Being hard headed and cocky and using the same methods over and over is not gonna put fish in the boat everytime.You have to change from season to season and lake to lake.
For example, the drift bite might be on fire at one lake.The lake 30 minutes down the road however, might have you begging for a bite drifting.
Another example, Just because you where catching fish a certain way, in a certain spot, in a certain month the year before, dont mean that it is going to be the same this year.Things change and it can be aggrevating but a change in methods or areas might be needed to prevail.
For the most part, there are 2 general methods.... Drifting and anchoring.Some people say "If I cant catch em drifting, I just want catch em" The other half says "if I cant catch em anchored, I want catch em." You cant have that attitude if your gonna consistently catch fish on different lakes.Theres several different variations of both but being able to switch over from one to another in a short time, can sometimes save the day and catch some fish or possibly even win a tournament.Lots of tournaments are won by people that find a way to adapt to the changes that usually occur on tournament day.In most tournaments, something usually happens with the weather that changes fish behavior from what it was during pre-fishing and thats where the versitility can play a big role in placing in the money or losing it.
Be Patient
When fishing for big fish be patient and stick with it.Your not gonna catch a big fish or numbers of big fish everytime you go out, nobody does.Thats just part of big catfish fishing, as it is with any other species.Reading articles, watching videos, talking and going fishing with other fisherman and guides will add alot more knowledge to your catfishing know-how.The other half of the learning curve is hands on experience.You just have to get out and fish.The other things I mentioned will get you started, but it has to be perfected by you and your lake, boat and situation and the only way to do it is to stick with until you figure some things out.
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