Covington uses small pieces of cut shad and herring during the summer, having found that the fish are far less likely to get just a tail and miss the hook.

"People think you need a huge chunk of bait to catch a big fish, but that's not the case. During the summer, these blue cats eat a lot of mussels, which are very small, so a small piece of cut bait works well, and when he takes the bait, you have him."

When he fishes under the stars, Covington leaves his reels open with clickers on. When a fish makes the clicker scream, all an angler needs to do is turn the reel handle. The reel engages, and the circle hook does its job perfectly, Covington explained. You'll want to have a firm grip on the rod before you turn the reel, though.

Just to keep things interesting until the cats get going full steam, Covington often will bring along a few crappie rigs on night trips. He mounts a Hydroglow light to the roof of his boat to illuminate the rod tips without attracting insects, and the same light draws minnows and, consequently, crappie to the area.

Kevin Davis, who runs Black's Fish Camp on Lake Moultrie and guides on both lakes, does most of his midsummer catfishing at night, usually in the Diversion Canal, which links the lakes. Davis mixes up his offerings, using cut bait and live bait, with hopes of catching both flatheads and blues. South Carolina's state-record flathead and the record flathead before that one both came from the Diversion Canal, and night-fishermen do well with both big-cat species during the summer.

While the Diversion Canal is relatively straight and has a generally even bottom, subtle bends create bottom breaks and, more importantly, current breaks, that the cats really orient to. Davis anchors right along current breaks and casts his lines downstream. He rigs them all with Carolina rigs, using an ounce or two of lead, and baits some with cut shad or herring and others with live bream or perch.

The Rockpile, a mid-canal spot that's recognizable by its name, also creates a significant current break and holds a lot of catfish because of the huge pile of rocks that lies beneath the surface. Along with the canal itself, Davis noted the mouth of the canal as a very good area to set up at night. Just beyond where the Diversion Canal begins opening into Lake Moultrie, current and channel edges still exist, and fish really relate to the edges. Davis will put some baits down in the channel and others up on the ledge.

Of course, night-fishing is not strictly a big-cat game reserved for anglers who are equipped with heavy-duty gear. One extremely popular and effective summer fishing strategy is to drift the Diversion Canal, with each angler in a boat holding a single rod in hand and bouncing a piece of bait straight beneath the boat with a three-way rig.

Most anglers who use this tight-lining strategy gear up with bass-sized tackle and 15- or 20-pound-test and bait up with dip bait, chicken livers, shrimp or small pieces of shad. They catch mostly channel catfish and blues of less than 10 pounds, although occasionally they hook up with giants (which get away more often than not). Summer nighttime drifting action can be fast and furious.

WANT TO GO?
To fish with Pete Pritchard, give him a call at (803) 478-7533 or go to www.santeefishingguides.com. To fish with Eddie Covington, call (803) 478-8826. Covington also can arrange lodging. To fish with Kevin Davis or other guides out of Black's Camp, call (843) 753-2231 or visit www.blackscamp.com.