Some folks go out and spend MegaBux on big bass boats. Then they get out there and find out it ain't so easy to catch Largemouth Bass. Of course, there's the one-zee two-zee pounders that won't leave you alone sometime. You get lucky and catch a 4 lb'er if you go enough... maybe a big 6 lb'er if you're really lucky! I hear ya! Go for it! YEAH! Cast your arm off! Hooowee! Lake Murray (<-- click here) and the other lakes I visit have LOTS of Largemouth Bass. Lake Murray has a bass secret... ALL the bass are "Black Bass" (aka Black Bass or Micropterus Salmoides) - there are no Spotted Bass or Red Eye Bass in Lake Murray according to a DNR Biologist I've met that studies this region. In October 2022 Capt Garry (me) participated in an international Black Bass Championship Tournament (as a Captain / escort) and most of the Black Bass caught were 2 lb'ers. One of the American team caught a 7.5 lb'er during the 3 day competition. So it goes for Largemouth Bass fishing... you get a nice fish once in awhile! Here's a pic of a Black Bass aka LM Bass... (then on to Stripers)
STRIPED BASS (Stripers! Rockfish!)
Lake Murray... 48,000+ Acres HUGE, is home to one of South Carolina's BEST Striper / Striped Bass / Rockfish fisheries in the South! These fish are stocked by our own Department of Natural Resources, the SC State Agency that manages our wildlife resources. Over 100,000 Stripers are stocked in Lake Murray by SC DNR each year. Hybrids that are a Striper / White Bass mix are released in other state waters but not Lake Murray. Lake Hartwell is the where the big fish live... lots of oxygen, lots of cool water, they thrive there and get really big! But Lake Murray has plenty and some get up in the 30 lb range. Capt Garry prefers to fish for Stripers because they are easy to find, easy to catch, they are upwards of 3 lbs... and they cook up AWESOME! Generally you can keep 5 Stripers (per person) out of Lake Murray during the year. Limits on size and release rules vary by time of year. But you can ALWAYS go out and catch a few! Harvesting Stripers for the dinner table is encouraged unlike Black Bass fisherpeople that do more catch-and-release. Don't get me wrong now, I'll eat a Largemouth Bass but I do throw back the big girls because 5 to 6 lb'ers are prime breeding stock... and I prefer Striper for the fryer. Now... let's see some of the results my clients achieved...
