SANTEE COOPER CATFISHING GUIDE .. CAPT. LEE JACKSON

7-10 until 7-20

2009-07-08T11:14:00.000-07:00

My family and I are going to be out of town on a cruise to Mexico until July 20th. I am not fishing a gain until 7-21-09. Hopefully we will have a good (well deserved) vacation and return home safely. My phone will be out of service until I return so if you need any info. you will have to contact me by email because the cruise line has wireless Internet on the vessel. Until then, tight lines!!

6-27-09

2009-07-08T11:12:00.000-07:00

I had Mr. Lee Snell and crew back again for a days catfishing on Lake Moultrie. The numbers were good but the quality wasn't there today. Everyone that we talked to had small fish and just couldn't find the big ones. They ended up with 17 or so catfish with the biggest one being a 19 pound flat head.

6-25-09 (day and night)

2009-07-08T11:08:00.000-07:00

I had Mr. Roy Roden from Ohio on board with me today for a day trip. We got on fish early and he managed to boat 20 fish with several over twenty pounds with the biggest weighing in at 26lbs. We missed a bunch of fish as well but the box was full and you couldn't put another one in it.

Tonight I had Keith Walters, his wife, and two kids from Ohio as well. We were on good fish from the start. Not even 15min. into the trip, his daughter boated the first bite of the evening, a 26 pounder!!! The winds got up before dark but we managed to stay on fish boating 17 fish, the biggest weighing in at 36 pounds.

6-23-09

2009-07-08T11:06:00.000-07:00

I had David Wright and his 4 grand kids with me tonight and boy did those kids have a ball. We were on fish from the start and I think they boated 19 or 20 catfish for the trip. They didn't catch any big ones but they were satisfied just catching fish. I hope they come back because I really enjoy watching those kids catch fish.

6-21-09

2009-07-08T11:01:00.000-07:00

I had Mr. Hank Austin and his wife Kari on board tonight for a night of very rough fishing. We had a 15-20mph. West wind and no matter where we went, we couldn't get out of it. We went to the North side of the lake to try and hide the best that we could but the fish just weren't there. Just before dark the winds eased up and we came back to the South side and set up a drift. In a matter of an hour or so they boated a 34lb. flathead, a 16lb. blue and a 14lb. blue. They were amazed by the size of the fish and were satisfied to call the trip after that drift. We ended the night early but they had a blast and were very well satisfied with their Santee Cooper experience.

6-20-09

2009-07-08T10:59:00.000-07:00

I had Mr. Parry Thompson and his family on the boat tonight for a family outing. They managed to boat 17 catfish with the biggest one weighing in at 29lbs. 14oz.

6-14-09, 6-15-09

2009-06-16T13:29:00.000-07:00

I had Mr. Don Woodward, his son, and his grandson on board with me for two days of santee cooper catfishing. We had two great days of fishing with the first day being the best. On day one it was all about Dons' grandson Justin catching fish. He managed to boat 21 out of the 24 fish for the day including the biggest one which was a 39 pound blue! The only fish that he didn't catch was when we had 3 doubles on in a row. Since we had two rods down at one time, his dad BJ helped him out. Day two was a little lower but they still managed to land 18 fish in 5 hours (we quit at 1:00) with the biggest fish of the day being a 24 pound blue. You could tell that Mr. Don really loves his grandson and they were a pleasure to be around. It reminded me of hunting and fishing with my "PaPa" when I was a kid. Those are deafinately memories that will last a life time. To me, this is what it's all about!

6-13-09

2009-06-16T13:26:00.000-07:00

I had a group from Sparta NC today and we had a blast. We managed to fill the box by 2:00 and ran out of bait. This is the first time in my life that I have ran out of bait but we missed so many fish that it was just a shame. We could have easily had 30 fish or more. They managed to land 21 fish with the biggest weighing in at 37 pounds. Not a bad day in anyones book!

6-6-09 (night)

2009-06-07T19:14:00.000-07:00

I had Mr. Bobby Hamm and four of his friends tonight for another night of catfishing. We were on fish all night but we just couldn't find any quality fish at all. They boated 16 fish and I don't think that any of them would have weighed 10lbs. Just a bunch of smaller fish and that is frustrating to catch that many fish and just can't get a big one to open his mouth. This is one of those trips that I can't explain. Just gos to show you that fishing is a lot like the weather, hard to predict.

6-6-09

2009-06-07T19:10:00.000-07:00

I had Mr. Jason Johnson, his wife, and three young boys with me today on Lake Moultrie. Things started off kind of slow with most of the fish being small. We missed a few and caught a few but it wasn't until later in the day when we found some quality fish. They managed to boat 17 fish with two of them in the teens and two of them in the mid twenties. The kids had a blast and almost filled the box in the process. Just a enjoyable day on the water watching those kids catch fish. I hate it took all day to find good fish but like they say, 90% of the fish are in 10% of the water and you just have to find that 10%. That is sometimes hard to do with 170,000 acres. LOL!!

5-23-09

2009-06-07T19:04:00.000-07:00

I had Mr. Eric Ward and friends on board with me today for a day of catfishing on Lake Marion and boy was it a good one. The winds blew for the third day straight but the fish seemed to cooperate with us early today. They had the box full by 11:00 with just 9 fish. They had a 34 and a 35lb. flathead, six more in the teens and one little peanut. They hooked another BIG ONE that we just couldn't turn around. When we finally got him coming back towards the boat, he wrapped us around a stump. We pulled up everything and went to him but just couldn't get him unhung. I guess that is why they call it fishing but it still doesn't make you feel any better when you loose a fish of that caliber.

5-21, 5-22

2009-06-07T18:59:00.000-07:00

I had Mr. Danny and 3 of his friends down for two days of catfishing and boy was it windy. We battled 25mph+ winds on Thursday and managed to catch a
good mess of fish anyway. The winds were out of the East and it allowed us to trailer down to the dam and fish close to the wall. They managed to boat 11 cats with one of them over 20 pounds. Friday was a much better day with the winds not quiet as bad. They managed to boat 7 fish with all of them in the teens and a few of them in the twenties. They said that they had enough fish and called it quits at lunch time. They managed to take home over 50 pounds of fillets for their two days of fishing.

5-17-09

2009-05-18T08:55:00.000-07:00

I had Mr. Patrick Wood and his friends out today on Lake Marion and you could tell that we had a storm front approaching. The fishing just shut down today and was very slow for everyone. They managed to get 5 fish to the boat with one of them being 11lbs. and the rest were in the mid teens. They have been with guides before and have done better, they have also done worse. They seemed to understand that the weather wasn't on our side and are planning on coming back for the cold weather bite and try to catch the BIG ONE! Look forward to seeing this group again.

5-16-09

2009-05-18T08:52:00.000-07:00

I had Joe and 3 of his friends out on Lake Marion today and they almost filled the box. They ended the day with 12 fish with the biggest one weighing in at 26lbs. and most of them in the teens. They came all the way from Virginia and had a blast on Santee Cooper. This was a great group of guys and I could tell that they were having a blast.

5-15-09

2009-05-18T08:47:00.000-07:00

I had Mr. Lou and his wife with me today and it was SLOW! We headed to Lake Moultrie and only boated 2 fish before the storms ran us off of the water. We packed up and headed back to Bells Marina to eat lunch and the weather had passed so we put the boat back in the water on Lake Marion and went out for about an hour and a half and managed to boat two more nice blues. I have never worked so hard for 4 fish in my life. We burned a tank of gas, 5 dozen bait, and fished two lakes for 4 fish. We gave it 100% all day but just came up short today. Days like today have a tendency to keep you humble and realize that no matter how much you fish, you will never completely figure them out.

5-12-09

2009-05-18T08:43:00.000-07:00

I had Mr. Tooty, his son, and his son inlaw on board today for a day of catfishing on Lake Marion. The fishing wasn't fast but we kept getting one along and along and managed to fill the box by around 2:00. They decided to call it after the box was full so we went in and I cleaned their fish for them and they managed to take home almost 40lbs. of catfish fillets with all of the red meat cut out and trimmed. We didn't have any big fish today but most of them were in the mid to upper teens.

5-10-09

2009-05-18T08:37:00.000-07:00

I had sinus surgery on Thurs. and had to cancel my trip on Sat. with Mr. Slavy who was my big fish winner for last year. I talked to him and explained the situation and we re-booked for Memorial day. I am going to take him to Lake Moultrie this year to see if he can break the current record for this year which is 51lbs. Since I had help on the boat,(I had already contacted Mr. Al Duncan to take my party if I couldn't make it) I decided to go ahead and fish today. I had Mr. Lacey and his two sons on board for a day of Lake Moultrie catfishing. They managed to get 28 fish to the boat with the biggest one weighing in at 31lbs. 8oz. We had a great day on the water and managed to stay on the fish all day long. I hope they will be back because they have been on the boat with guides before and knew exactly what to do and that sure made my job a lot easier.

5-2-09

2009-05-18T08:34:00.000-07:00

I had the conar family out with me today for a day of lake Marion catfishing. They managed to get 9 good fish to the boat today and they had a blast spending the day together on the water. All of the fish were good quality fish with most of them in the teens and they took home some mighty fine dining!

4-25-09

2009-04-30T08:32:00.000-07:00

I had Mr. Dana Erickson and his son Josh back with me today. This is the group that fished with me earlier in the year when we only caught one fish and I gave them their money back. This time was much better with them putting 11 nice fish in the boat and we missed at least that many more. We were fogged in until about 9:30 when the fog finally decided to lift. We managed to put a 23lb. and a 15lb. flathead during the fog. After the fog lifted, we went to the North side of the lake and managed to find some good quality fish with the majority of them in the mid to upper teens. We all had a blast and they are planning on coming back during June or July and trying a night trip to Moultrie. Great guys that really do enjoy their fishing, just a pleasure to spend the day with.

4-19-09

2009-04-24T08:58:00.000-07:00

I HAD MR. TOM JOHNSON AND HIS DAD BACK AGAIN FOR ANOTHER GO AT IT AND AGAIN THEY PICKED THE WRONG DAY. WE CAUGHT 6 FISH IN THE FIRST TWO HOURS AND THEN THE CLOUD COVER ROLLED IN AND THE FISH ROLLED OUT. WE NEVER PUT ANOTHER FISH IN THE BOAT AFTER 9:00. WE HAD AT LEAST 5 OR 6 OTHER GOOD BITES IN THAT TWO HOUR PERIOD AND NOT ANOTHER FISH OR GOOD BITE THE REST OF THE DAY. I HAVE SEEN THEM BITE AND SLOW DOWN BEFOR BUT NEVER JUST SHUT DOWN THAT FAST. HOPEFULLY THEY ARE COMING BACK AGAIN THIS SUMMER AND THINGS WILL BE BETTER. I GUESS THAT IS WHY THEY CALL IT FISHIN>>>

4-18-09

2009-04-24T08:55:00.000-07:00

DAVID HILTON, AL DUNCAN, AND MYSELF HOSTED A LARGE CHURCH GROUP FROM GEORGIA TODAY AND CAUGHT A GOOD MESS OF FISH FOR THEM TO TAKE BACK HOME. I ENDED THE DAY WITH 11 FISH AND MOST OF THEM WERE IN THE MID TO UPPER TEENS. AL ONLY ENDED UP WITH A HAND FULL OF FISH BUT HE HAD A 52 POUNDER. IF THAT FISH WOULD HAVE BEEN FAT, SHE WOULD HAVE BEEN AT LEAST 65 POUNDS. THAT WAS ONE BIG FISH!

4-17-09

2009-04-24T08:52:00.000-07:00

I HAD MARK, HIS BROTHER AND HIS DAD FOR AN EVENING TRIP AND IT STARTED SLOW. WE STARTED SHALLOW AND DIDN'T HAVE ANY WIND AT ALL. WE HAD 3 FISH IN THE BOAT AT DARK BUT IT PICKED UP AFTER THE SUN WENT DOWN. THEY BOATED 11 CATS WITH THE BIGGEST 19LB. 14OZ. AND MOST OF THEM IN THE TEENS. THEY FINISHED THE NIGHT WITH 3/4 OF A BOX FULL AND SHOULD HAVE HAD THE BOX FULL BUT WE LOST A COUPLE OF GOOD ONES. THEY HAD A BLAST AND ARE TALKING ABOUT BOOKING ANOTHER TRIP SOON.

4-11-09

2009-04-15T09:49:00.001-07:00

I had Mr. Bobby Ham and friends from Anderson down again for a day of shallow water fishing but our day got cut short, real short! We made one stop and were on the way to another spot when I hit a stump (I guess it was a stump) and tore the end off of one of my pontoon logs. The day was over at that point but thank goodness they understood that things like that happen. They are already scheduled for a night trip in June and want to come back before then if the fishing ever gets consistent. I put the boat on the trailer and took it to Beaudraux who runs Cajun Guide Service and he was kind enough to drop what he was doing and give me a helping hand. We had it repaired in a few hours and water ready once again!! Be back after them again Fri. night, Sat. and Sun. Wish us luck!!!

4-9-09, 4-10-09

2009-04-15T09:44:00.001-07:00

Capt. David Hilton and myself had a group from Ohio who fished with us last year down for two days of fishing. Thursday was beautiful with a good SW. breeze and we managed to put 12 fish in the boat with the biggest one weighing in at 21+lbs. Fri. was different with a storm system coming in and a STRONG South wind blowing and getting stronger as the day went. We still managed to get 7 fish in the boat with the biggest weighing in at 18+lbs. We missed several fish that just buried the rod in the rodholder but the fish seemed to be winning more than they were loosing. The guys had a blast and are making plans for a few days of fishing with us again next year. This is without a doubt one of the funnest groups that we have each year. Can't wait until next time!!!

4-5-09

2009-04-07T18:38:00.000-07:00

After having a cancellation for Sat. we headed back to moultrie for a days catfishing. This group has been with me before and preferred to fish Moultrie because we agreed that it was our best chance at a BIG fish. After a slow start we got on some decent fish. We managed to get 9 fish in the box with the biggest fish weighing in at 31lbs. 4oz. We lost another fish right at the box that I am sure was at least 25lbs. and likely more. We hung another big fish that was peeling drag in the rod holder and the hook broke. I can't really complain because that is the first hook failure that I have had with Gamakatsu hooks. We missed quiet a few fish as well, with just a little bit of luck we could have filled the box and then some. All in all, not a bad day because Justin and Justin JR. caught the biggest fish of their life's. A great day on the water with the kids anyway you look at it.