Santee Cooper bass are the fastest growing of populations in all the state's major reservoirs, and they tend to reach old ages. Sampling efforts reveal that more than 25 percent of the bass in the lake are more than 5 years old. Based on aging work done in 2004 and 2005, a 5-year-old Santee Cooper bass averages 3.7 pounds.

Lake Marion still lays claim to the largest bass ever caught from a major reservoir in South Carolina, with a fish caught more than half a century ago while the Santee Cooper system was still young. The 16-pound, 2-ounce giant, which was caught in 1949 by Paul Flanagan, shares the state record with a fish caught from an Aiken County pond in 1993.

While the Santee Cooper lakes attract an enormous amount of fishing pressure, many anglers travel to these lakes with species other than bass in mind. Other popularly targeted fish include catfish, crappie, striped bass and bream. Bass fishermen make up less than a quarter of the total crowd, and acre per acre, the fabled waters of Santee Cooper are among the least pressured reservoir waters in South Carolina for largemouths.

COASTAL RIVERS
The blackwater rivers that drain the swamps of South Carolina's Coastal Plain don't vary much from year to year -- except that high river levels sometimes make them difficult to fish effectively.

Assuming modest water levels, rivers like the Little Pee Dee, Black, Edisto and Combahee offer consistently good but rarely spectacular fishing. The bass are generally healthy but not huge, and anglers who learn to read the water and play the current generally enjoy good success. River fishermen also enjoy relative solitude, especially in the upper portions of these rivers, which are best suited for drifting in johnboats or even canoes.

Early in the season, when the rivers are cool and tend to run a bit high, most fish will be in backwaters -- away from the current. As the season progresses, more will move to the main river, but they still will relate mostly to the banks, holding in eddies formed by root wads, flooded trees and cypress knees and tight to various forms of vegetation. They feed heavily on sunfish and crawfish.

The lower reaches of the same river systems turn tidal, with marshy edges and channels that split into many shallow fingers. The fisheries are similar to those found upstream, but patterns differ because the forage base becomes more diverse, the water tends to become murkier, the shoreline structure changes and the currents push in both directions.

The Cooper River is the exception among coastal flows. This broad river, which flows from Lake Moultrie and feeds Charleston Harbor, is highly fertile through its short run and its fresh and brackish waters produce jumbo-sized bass.

MIX AND MATCH
That's a taste of South Carolina's bass fishing -- but just a taste. From blackwater rivers to clear mountain lakes, bass anglers here have many choices. This year, hit your old favorites, but also consider trying something new. You won't have to travel far to get there.