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Winter Whiskers From the Palmetto State

Sizable catfish opportunities abound at Santee-Cooper when conditions are the most uncomfortable.

Winter Whiskers From the Palmetto State
Santee-Cooper in South Carolina offers world-class catfish opportunities, professional bass angler Kyle Austin knows how to catch them with regularity.

Images of Kyle Austin lifting a big, shiny trophy at the 2024 Bassmaster Open event on his Santee-Cooper home waters might foster inaccurate assumptions about the local guide’s preferences.

In fairness, Austin’s obviously an accomplished bass angler and major tournaments of recent years have shined a spotlight on South Carolina’s standout largemouth fishery. But there’s more to these conjoined lakes (Marion and Moultrie) and Austin’s one of the best at unlocking the (spoiler alert) slimy bounty.

“I run about 150 guide trips a year and 100 of them are for catfish,” he said. “Santee-Cooper is the Lake Okeechobee of catfishing. More people visit for catfish than bass.”

Considering the impressive state of the Santee-Cooper largemouth fishery, that’s saying something. Glamorous? Nah, cats aren’t going to win any beauty contests.

But if it’s a fight you seek, Santee’s whiskered warriors will give you all you want.

“What people don’t realize, it’s almost like catchy a freshwater shark,” he said of the aggression and pulling power.

With a mix of channel, flathead and blue catfish, Santee-Cooper offers an appealing mix of quality and quantity. His looking to thrill his clients with a cooler full of “eaters,” while offering a few shots at hulking giants.

01-winter-whiskers
Numbers of big catfish can be caught at Santee-Cooper.

“A good one is in the high teens, but a big one is 30-plus,” he said. “Catching a 40-pound catfish on Santee-Cooper is like catching a 7-pound bass.”

Thrill In the Chill

Calling his home pond gold mine a year-round opportunity, Austin said the worst times for bass fishing—winter and summer extremes—are best for catfish. Winter’s his favorite for the easy food supply.

“Blues are huge predators and all they want to do is eat,” he said. “Winter gets the bait grouped up and high in the water column. You can find them on deep flats where you’ll have bait for miles, or in places like the bend of the old Santee River that runs through Lake Marion.”

The fish tend to roam, so he advises his clients to bring a few hours’ worth of patience.

“It’s a lot off looking, but once we find them, we can fill a 120-quart cooler in half an hour,” he said. “We’ll have multiple hookups and lines going everywhere. It’s nothing to have five on at a time and all the fish are big and healthy.”

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Baits & Rigging

While flatheads occasionally prefer live bait, Austin does most of his catfishing with dead stuff. He catches his own threadfin and gizzard shad, while local bait shops sell blueback herring—Austin’s personal favorite.

With any of his dead offerings, he’ll cut off the head and butterfly the bait. While not totally dismissing the scent and taste elements commonly associated with catfish, Austin believes these fish are visual feeders that’ll quickly spot a flapping bait.

For optimal catfish-tempting presentation, Austin uses the renowned Santee Rig. Starting with a 1 1/2- to 2-ounce slinky weight (a fabric sleeve with lead BBs) slipped onto the main line with a sleeve swivel, a standard power swivel connects main line to a leader that holds a rattle above the circle hook (5/0-6/0 for threadfins and bluebacks, 8/0-10/0 for gizzards).

The key element is a cigar shaped peg float that lifts the leader and holds the bait higher in the water column. Working similar to a Carolina rig, the Santee Rig stays in the catfish zone, while keeping the bait high and noticeable.

How to Get ‘Em

Adaptable for personal preference and presentation specifics (bait height off the bottom), the Santee Rig works equally well with his drifting and anchor fishing tactics. Noting that he drifts for cats 90% of the time, Austin said he’ll anchor during the dog days of summer, or anytime wind speed limits his mobility.

For drifting, he uses 8-foot medium light rods, which allow enough give for a fish to connect without pulling a bait out of its mouth. That’s less of a concern when he’s anchored, so a 7-foot medium-heavy rod does the job.

02-winter-whiskers
The rig is simple and productive, which is an attractive part to pursuing these whiskered giants.

For both scenarios, Austin likes an old school round bass reel for the line capacity. He finds 80-pound braided main line with leaders of 65-pound braid the ideal setup for user-friendly simplicity and practicality.

“If I get hung in (bottom structure), I can tighten my reel and break off a lot easier than I could with a fluorocarbon leader,” he said. “Also, with 80-pound braid straight to my weight, the (lighter leader) will break first.

“On average, I’ll break off 10 times a day, so I’d rather lose a hook and a cork than the (more expensive) slinky weight.”

The Fight, the Reward

With the proper tackle and rigging, catfish typically hook themselves. From there, it becomes a battle of wills, especially with the giants.

Do your job and you’ll be rewarded with bragging rights photos and/or tasty fillets. Species preference varies with many dubbing channel cats the perennial favorite, however, Austin’s a firm believer that the smaller blues offer superior table fare.

To get those filets on ice, he suggests a simple battle plan: Reel down until you come tight on the fish, then maintain steady pressure and only reel when you can gather line.

“Use your whole body to move the fish; you can’t move a 40-pound cat with the reel,” he said. “You can manhandle a 7-pound bass, but not these big catfish. It’s like reeling in a 5-gallon bucket of water.”

Only difference is a 5-gallon bucket doesn’t tire. Outlast your fish and the game is yours to win.




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