Santee cooler
Cold front could spell slow bite, numb fingers on day one of EverStart Lake Santee Cooper
MANNING, S.C. – While they didn’t quite have to scrape the ice off their windshields, the 330 pros and co-anglers who took off this morning from the John C. Land III Sportfishing Facility for day one of competition in the EverStart Eastern Division’s third $185,000 tournament of the year were all bundled up tight to protect them from near-freezing temperatures.
Competitors had high hopes for a big spawning bass bite this week at Lake Santee Cooper, but a cold front moved through South Carolina and effectively slowed down the fishing. Some bass have already moved up onto the beds to spawn, but a drop in temperatures over the past few days has prevented more of the big ones to come up shallow. Overnight temperatures in the area fell into the 30-degree range.
“It’s going to be tough until we have a night over 50 degrees,” pro Ricky Shumpert of Lexington, S.C., said at takeoff. “Right now it’s a spinnerbait bite.”
Shumpert is one of the anglers to watch this week. Lake Santee Cooper is his home lake and he’s fishing well at the moment, placing fourth at last week’s Wal-Mart FLW tournament at Lake Martin, Ala. Last year, he took runner-up at the EverStart event on Lake Santee Cooper and placed fourth in the 1999 Red Man Tournament Trail event here.
He said the water level on the lake has risen several feet in the last two weeks, muddying the shallows and making it more difficult to find the spawning bass. Still, he pointed out that there are big ones within striking range and the action should increase as the week wears on and temperatures rise.
“If you can make it into Friday and Saturday, the fishing could be really good,” Shumpert said.
Weigh-in begins today at 2:30 p.m. at John C. Land III Boating and Sportfishing Facility near Summerton. The four-day tournament lasts through Saturday, when the winning pro will receive $15,000 and a Ranger boat. The winning co-angler will receive $6,000.
Day-one vital statistics
Sunrise: 6:15 a.m.
Temperature at takeoff: 32 degrees
Expected high temperature: 60 degrees
Water temperature: 55 degrees
Wind: From the Northeast at 6 mph
Relative humidity: 57 percent
Day’s outlook: Partly cloudy