Unfortunately, my father was back in the hospital again and that necessitated a trip back to the Bluffton / Hilton Head SC area for the weekend. He's been in and out of the hospital for extended stays over the past 5 months, but he should be home on Thursday. I've got to say, it's tough to see my parents age and it's difficult being a 4 hour drive away. I'm thinking of quitting my job and moving back down that way again. But I digress...

 

I did manage to get some fishing in over the weekend. On Saturday morning it was cold (low 40's) and damp outside but with the poor fishing I experienced in the SC Upstate last year I knew winter fishing in my old stomping grounds would still be better than that. I hit my favorite lagoon and fished it for a few hours but had only one strike on my favorite blue and black Chatterbait Elite with a blue Zoom Ultra Vibe Speed Craw. I guess I was a bit rusty and missed the hookset.

 

I hit another lagoon on the way back to my dad's place and landed a couple of two pounders on that same Chatterbait setup. I got back to my dad's and still had 45 minutes before he finished his PT so I hit the tiny lagoon out back of his house. When I say tiny, I mean tiny. It's barely a third of an acre. But it does connect to two larger lagoons through the stormwater system. It's also near a boggy area in the woods where mama gators seem to lay eggs every year and invariably there is one juvenile gator that declares dad's lagoon as his own each year. And sure enough, another gator tyke was there but it was too cold for him to be too active.

 

But this lagoon also produces decent size bass catches every year. It's feast or famine. Some weeks I get skunked there and then another week I'll pull out 4, 5, and 6 pounders. Anyway, after half a dozen casts I landed a small crappie. At least something was in there. On the very next cast I had a nice reaction strike as the Chatterbait hit the water. It didn't fight much and as I was reeling it in I figured it was a three pounder. But I was surprised when I pulled it out and weighed it - a nice 5.7 pounder (picture below). I guess the cold water took some of the fight out of her.

 

I fished a little more over the weekend, and for cold, wet, winter fishing it was actually pretty decent. I caught a handful or so more, all in the 2 pound range. I fished one lagoon that is usually a decent producer despite sediment and algae problems. But the water isn't chocolate milk color - it's closer to a milky white with green tinge. The bass I caught there were pale as can be and I dubbed then Ghost Bass. They were also skinny, so the winter forage must be sparse. This lagoon is dying. It's a large lagoon and is supposed to connect to another large lagoon via conveyance pipes but those are blocked with sediment. I don't know why they have not fixed it since the community and the fishing club are very proactive in waterway maintenance.

 

Anyway, it was a decent start to the fishing season and I will be back there again in two weeks just as the pre-spawn feeding frenzy usually takes place. I can't wait!

 

 

Nice Bass ~

Hope your Dad's on the mend soon.

A-Jay

Glad you were able to get out, I can go years and years without getting one as big as 5.7. I hope your dad continues getting better

Best of wishes for your dad.

1 hour ago, TnRiver46 said:

Glad you were able to get out, I can go years and years without getting one as big as 5.7. I hope your dad continues getting better

Thanks. I must admit that I'm blessed to get to fish in an area where 4 and 5 pounders are actually fairly common. Well, at least where my dad lives (and where I used to live) it's fairly common. Where I live now the waters are so pressured I don't see many people catching anything.

Nice report and photo @Koz, I hope your dad is looking forward to out fishing you in two weeks. Good luck to you both!

Wishing your dad a speedy recovery.  Did you show him the photo of the bass?

2 minutes ago, BASS302 said:

Wishing your dad a speedy recovery.  Did you show him the photo of the bass?

My son showed him the picture. The funny thing is that he lived on that tiny lagoon for a decade before I though of trying to fish it.

 

We were taking down storm shutters for him and his neighbors after a hurricane warning and I saw something white and green jump in the water. When we finished the job, my son threw a line in there and he caught a 2 pound white crappie. He was happy as a lark and went inside so I decided to fish it. I caught a 4.5 and a 5.8 LMB that afternoon. Now I fish it for at least a few minutes every time I get to town.

9 hours ago, Koz said:

Thanks. I must admit that I'm blessed to get to fish in an area where 4 and 5 pounders are actually fairly common. Well, at least where my dad lives (and where I used to live) it's fairly common. Where I live now the waters are so pressured I don't see many people catching anything.

It definitely seems like a double edge sword. We love teaching all the kids to fish and expanding the sport of angling, but when it's on top of a limited natural resource, the pressure sure seems to affect it... Big dilemma for me, I'm just not sure how to feel....

 

21 hours ago, Koz said:

This lagoon is dying. It's a large lagoon and is supposed to connect to another large lagoon via conveyance pipes but those are blocked with sediment. I don't know why they have not fixed it since the community and the fishing club are very proactive in waterway maintenance.

Sounds like it would be really nice to get this fixed... perhaps you can contact some of the locals and find out whats going on and if you could be a part of the fix? Nothing like being sure your local fishery stays healthy!

 

Sorry to hear about your dad, definitely very tough, hope he gets better soon. 

2 hours ago, ryanerb said:

Sounds like it would be really nice to get this fixed... perhaps you can contact some of the locals and find out whats going on and if you could be a part of the fix? Nothing like being sure your local fishery stays healthy!

 

 

The conveyance pipes and the outlet are both blocked with sediment. Because of the blockage, the lagoon has grown in size and the outlet control structure is under water most of the time. At a minimum, the basin needs to be dredged and the dam needs to be built up again at the outlet control structure. Based upon my prior stormwater experience it's a $50k+ job. I don't think they undertake that until the county inspects their lagoons.

Hope your Dad is doing better.  That bass is a nice one to start the year with.