Lake Murray and Lake Wateree SC
I have fished private ponds most of my life, where making good casts around cover would produce every trip. I have recently attempted to tackle some big reservoirs like lake Murray and Lake Wateree in SC which has been daunting, to say the least. I have watched tons of videos, improved my electronics game and am pretty savvy with google earth and navionics. I have followed the advice of pros regarding lure selection, seasonal patterns/structure and am still struggling! Therefore, I am looking for some on the water help so that I can put it all together.
I guess my question is, can anyone recommend a guide/coach to help enable me to turn the corner and catch more fish? I’m not looking for a waypoint share, have no aspirations of tournament fishing, just some on the water assistance so I can take my boys out and catch some fish.
Thanks!
Coming from the exact same background the biggest adjustment I had to make was not pound one place to produce a bite the way I would on a pond that has limited bass hangouts. My first recommendation that you may not be getting from the videos explicitly (but almost all the pros recommend it) is to cover water and look for a reaction bite. While you may have 4-5 sure-fire spots that produce a bite on a pond every trip, the fish population is much larger in a big reservoir, and the water volume is exponentially larger. As a result, there is a lot of dead water, but when you find where the fish are on a given day, there may be more fish in a single area than in the whole pond you're used to fishing. Electronics can help find baitfish, and predators are usually nearby. Again, coming from ponds, I would fish 1 area for an hour or more without a bite. Now, I keep moving and trying different baits until I find something or at least have a fish show themselves. Once you catch a fish, you may be able to determine other similar areas that might have fish that day. I hope this helps.
