I got to Fish on Lake Keowee

[Pat Dilling]

I recently visited my brother in Seneca, SC to celebrate his 90th birthday.  He hooked me up with his friend Gary Kuba who is an avid bass fisherman.  Gary picked me up at 5 AM and we headed for the lake. We were on the water by about 5:15.  It was quite dark as there was cloud cover and sunrise was not until 6:20 or so.  Gary offered me a head lamp and I was a little surprised when he said we should start with a lipless crankbait.  He handed me a rod with a SPRO One Knocker tied on and we did a fast idle to a nearby point.  It did not take long until I hooked up with a feisty 16 inch spotted bass, and I was a believer!  In the next hour we caught another half dozen spots on the One Knockers.  Once it was full light that bite quit and we transitioned to a drop shot for me and a free-rig for Gary.  Water is very clear, and warm.
We saw 86.5 to 90 degree water depending on location.  Both of us had Morning Dawn Robo worms.  I had 4" and he had 6".  We found a couple in about 20 feet, then bounced around different points moving steadily deeper out to about 60 feet.  I switched over to the Free-Rig after Gary caught several with it.  We caught a few little guys, but the majority were 15 to 17 inches.  Real nice quality fish and they pull so hard!  We ended up with at least 18 fish and quit about 1 pm.  The boat traffic, heat and humidity were making things less fun.  Gary was a great host and I learned more about fishing a free-rig.  Will definitely be an option back home in California.

[Mike Cork]

Long way from the left coast... Thanks for the report, sounds like a great time.