Koz

I live on the mainland side of Hilton Head and the bass fishing is great down here. However, some of the best fishing is in gated communities and some of those communities are strictly private. If you go to the Island you can pay a gate fee and get into Sea Pines and there's great fishing in many of the lagoons. My suggestion is to bring or rent a bike and use Google Earth to bike your way from lagoon to lagoon and fish. Keep in mind that you cannot fish on the golf course lagoons and access to many lagoons is restricted because of houses along the water. Hilton Head Plantation also has good fishing and you can get a pass at the gate to go to Skull Creek and the Old Fort Pub restaurant and then bike to different lagoons. If you park on the road or in the grass off the road in most plantations security will find you and ask you to move your car or have it towed. Palmetto Dunes has 12 miles of connected lagoons and you can rent canoes or kayaks. However, there will be a lot of tourists paddling around. I also think most of that is brackish water anyway. Off Island near Exit 8 on I95 is Sergeant Jasper County Park and they have a number of large lagoons. You don't need a fishing license there but there is a daily fishing fee that is around $6. You can also rent kayaks for the larger lagoon in there, but I never had much luck there. There's some decent sized water near the primitive camping area that is about a mile from the main parking lot, so again you may want to bring a bike. I have not fished there yet, but it's somewhere I want to try. I've never heard of 10 pounders in there, but there are 5-6 pounders. There are also tons of lily pads so bring a frog and some heavy braid. In Sea Pines and Hilton Head Plantation I know of 7-9 pounders landed there, but I don't know the specific lagoons. Keep in mind that small lagoons around here yield big bass as well. Many of the lagoons are interconnected via the stormwater system. Jarvis Creek Park on Hilton Head is another place to fish, but the biggest I pulled out of there was just over 4 pounds. They also have had issues there with people feeding alligators and we've had gators get aggressive when we have fish on the line. And yes, the gators can get up on the concrete fishing pad there. Hampton Lake in Bluffton has great fishing but it's a strictly private community. They have stocked their lake with largemouth and tiger bass. There are also a number of communities that are not private so you can drive right in and fish. However, I would first use Google Earth and historical satellite imagery to see how old those lagoons are. Fishing is usually poor in lagoons less than 10 years old unless the community has an active fishery, and none of the non-gated communities have active fisheries. There are literally thousands of lagoons around here and most have decent to good fishing, but again a lot are on private communities or private property. If you look at Google Earth there are a ton of lagoons in the woods but you need to be wary of those because we have an abundance of alligators. Personally, I never fish in heavily wooded areas where I don't have a good line of site along the water and a quick egress from the shore. Gators do travel in the woods and the females make their nests and lay their eggs in the woods. Be wary of any large mounds in the woods as it is probably a gator nest. The weather is warming and the gators are getting active. Mating season starts soon so the males will be more active looking for mates. Also keep in mind that in many cases topwater baits will attract alligators. You can fish them, just keep an eye out. Anyway, enjoy your trip. Any lagoon you find that's at least 8-10 years old should be holding some bass.

Where in South Carolina?

I love to grab a baitcaster and power fish but the fishing has been slow so far this year. Normally by this time of year we've had a few weeks of warm weather and this fishing is great, but this year the temps have been up and down. I had about 90 minutes to fish after work today so I forced myself to put the baitcaster and power fishing aside for once. Instead I grabbed a spinning reel and a medium rod and tied on a beetle spin, but the weather was not cooperative as there was a constant 15-18 mph wind even late in the day. But on the third or 4th cast I caught a one pounder and within an hour I caught 4 more from the bank. No giants today as the heaviest weighed only 3.7 pounds. But about that - she was long but skinny. When I saw the size of it as I was bringing it in I thought it was a 5 pounder. In that same lagoon a few weeks ago I had the same thing happen when by length I thought I had a 7-8 pounder but it weighed in at just under 6. My guess is with the water warming and cooling the water hasn't stayed warm enough for them to go into pre-spawn feeding mode yet. Hopefully that happens soon. But I'm definitely heading out tomorrow to toss some more beetle spins and probably some small spinnerbaits as well. Maybe I'll finally give a shaky head a try as well. I've got all day to fish and I'll be there as long as my knees hold out.

That's definitely the way to go and at only $6.00 or so it's worth every penny.

I had never heard of those before and had to look it up. Interesting...

That was an unfortunate - and costly - situation. Personally, I never leave a hook or lure on my rods. A lot of that is because I drive a small coupe and have to fold down the back seat to get my rods in and I don't want the hooks to stick anyone or the interior of my car. I either tie off or put on a snap and clip up the line.

I was going to post a picture with my original response but I Googled an image for it and it's something you just can't unsee. I decided to spare everyone else the horror.

I fish from the bank, don't fish tournaments, and fish in areas with hundreds of lagoons. If someone asks I'll gladly tell them what I caught and where I caught it. The way I see it is that whatever secret spot you have is also fished by a few dozen other people throughout the week. The place that I fish mainly is in a 55+ community and most of the old timers are just throwing a plastic worm or occasionally a crankbait and don't have the range of tackle that I have.

Mankini?

Interesting interview and even more interesting that Gary seems a little perturbed about those managing the company that feel the need to keep inventing and pushing new products.

I love braid on my baitcasters but not on my spinning gear.

I'm right handed and: Spinning - cast right, reel left Baitcaster - cast right, reel right. Switching the rod to the other hand just happens. I don't even think about it. However, when fishing a buzzbait timing is critical. But because there are times when casting left handed would give me a better angle I have worked on back handed casting both sidearm and throwing from over my left shoulder. Reeling left seems natural on a spinning reel as does reeling right on a baitcaster. My son bought a LH retrieve baitcaster and I gave it a try and I just could not do it all that well. It definitely did not seem natural. I think that if I tried a RH retrieve spinning reel I'd probably end up tangled up in the line ?

My son and I were fishing some of our favorite bass waters yesterday and he was throwing a Mann's Jelly worm. The lagoons we fished were really stained with little visibility. He didn't catch any bass, but the catfish were hammering his Mann's Jelly worm all day long. I've tossed a Mann's a handful of times and haven't even had one bite. I'll keep trying.

I've never lost a fish that I thought would be my PB, so I can't tell you if I'd be haunted by it. But I did lose a 5+ pounder last week as I was trying to get it up the bank. I was disappointed for a minute or two, but just went back to fishing. I'm lucky enough to live in an area with a lot of quality bass and I know the next cast could bring in a trophy. But if I lived in an area where big bass were rare I'm sure it would be a different story.

They take their bass fishing tournaments seriously in Texas! https://nypost.com/2019/03/14/fisherman-charged-with-fraud-for-cheating-at-bass-tournament/?utm_campaign=iosapp&utm_source=mail_app

Here's a shot of my son nearly getting drilled in the head in his middle school game on Tuesday night. The other team had a kid throwing close to 80 and he purposely drilled the first batter he faced and our player had to leave the game. Later, when my son stepped up to the plate the catcher actually whispered that the pitcher was going to hit him in the head. My boy did not hit the deck. Instead, after leaning back to avoid the pitch he stepped out of the box and stared down the pitcher for 30 seconds. I really thought he was going to charge the mound, but he held back. Instead - when he pitched later in the game he drilled two of their guys in the thigh. He's allowed to seek revenge, but not head hunt. The other team was complete bush league, led by their coach. Our guys lost, but I think the next time we face them there's going to be more than one pitcher tossed from the game.

Meanwhile, I'm stuck with temperatures between the mid 60's and high 70's Of course, come mid June when it's 94 with 78% humidity I won't be smiling so much.

That's one of the things I don't like about the iBobber - it has a 100 foot max distance. It also has a narrow sonar cone which doesn't do a whole lot of good when the lagoon is only 8 feet deep. But the advanced Deeper products have a 300 foot range and also allow you to switch between a normal scan and wide scan. If you have a heavy or extra heavy rod and a round baitcast reel that holds a ton of line I bet you could cast it out there pretty far.

Well, I'm not a pro like some of the guys here but my 7' MH/F is my all around rod. I fish from the bank and if I can park my car where I fish I also bring a heavy rod and spinning gear. But if I'm going to be on foot or on my bike hopping from lagoon to lagoon I bring only the 7' MH/F and will throw everything on it except S-Waver sized swimbaits. It's my Swiss army knife of rods.

We have a few lagoons with some really thick surface vegetation on them and I've done well dragging a Booyah Pad Crasher over the top. The bass still come crashing through the thick stuff. However, along with your 3 pound bass you're also reeling in another 2 or 3 pounds of vegetation so make sure you've got some stout braid and at least a medium heavy rod going for you. Invariably there are also open pockets in the vegetation where you can toss a Senko or pause the frog, but once the fish runs you still end up reeling in a ton of vegetation.

As mentioned, dragging a bait across the bottom can help you feel what's there. I prefer using a jig for something like that. If you want to invest some money you can also use Deeper or iBobber to map the bottom. I have an iBobber but in hindsight I should have bought the Deeper castable sonar. Here's a comparison of the two: https://deepersonar.com/us/en_us/comparisons/ibobber-vs-deeper If you do purchase one of those I suggest using a heavy or extra heavy rod and 50 pound braid. You don't want to break your rod or have the line break and lose it. Honestly, I mile around should be no problem for a young guy like you I bank fish and cover a ton of ground on foot and if I'm lagoon hopping I sometimes ride my bike. I've also found that it's easier to cover ground with a backpack than using a shoulder bag. A cove is like a mini bay. It's a narrow area with land on three sides making it easier for bass to trap prey. If you aren't ready to purchase castable sonar you can get creative with Google maps and different colored drop pins and markers on your smartphone. I love bank fishing and hopping from lagoon to lagoon (except for the alligators). I'm lucky enough that there are nearly 300 of them in the residential community where I fish and literally thousands of them in my area.

Pre-spawn or post spawn? If it's pre-spawn the pond / lagoon bass here are very active late morning through early afternoon and around sunset as they gorge after the colder winter months and as they get ready for all of the energy they need to expend during the spawn process. If there's aquatic vegetation along the shore, weed lines within the basin, or laydowns they'll use those for ambush points. If those items are sparse it's not uncommon to see them come out of the deeper water (relative term) and cruising near the shore looking for prey. During this time of year in the sunset hours I have also seen them using coves to trap bait fish, especially if the wind is blowing on those small coves. As it gets closer to spawning season look for the male bass creating beds in the shallower waters. The bigger females won't be far behind. I love lagoon fishing this time of year because the bass are voracious eaters as their metabolism begins to speed up in the warmer waters. The good thing about fishing ponds and lagoons is that you can cover all or most of the basin with your casts. Personally, I look for the features I mentioned above and if I'm not getting a decent number of bites I'll pick a spot and fan cast the area, then move down the bank and fan cast again while overlapping my previous spot. I'll be attacking all of this this weekend. After a cold snap for 3 days it was in the 60's today and will be in teh 70's on Saturday and 80's on Sunday. Laissez les bons temps rouler!

Universal? No. But if for some reason I was limited to fishing one bait only for the rest of my life I'd choose a Senko because of its versatility.

Chuck Norris is so tough he can make a Happy Meal cry.

I had about 90 minutes of free time to fish today and got blanked at one of my favorite lagoons so I headed to one that I've fished maybe a handful of times before. This one has about a 5 foot shallow shelf ringing most of the basin and lots of aquatic vegetation that extends just beyond the shelf. The HOA cut the vegetation in the fall so it was all sub surface now. There's a corner on the bank I like to fish because it allows me to easily cast parallel to the shoreline. I tossed a Teckel Sprinker frog along the edge of the weedline and got my only bite of the day but it was a good one. Big blow up and an easy hook set. There happened to be 3 or 4 golf carts passing by at that moment and they all stopped when they heard me say, "Whoa!" I said that because as I was fighting it I could see it was a big largemouth. I'm thinking I'm about to land my personal best. But as luck would have it pre-spawn activity has just started here and she was skinny and not carrying eggs yet. I didn't get the length, but it was l-o-n-g (I'm actually short arming it in the photo below) but it did weigh in at 5.8 pounds so I'll take that. In three weeks I bet she's a tank. I'll definitely hit that lagoon again.