Cooper River on Saturday

I don't know what to say. I suppose I was more than a little let down.

Maybe I amped myself up a bit too much before actually hitting the waters. I was out pretty early, even for myself. I decided on an iced coffee at WaWa because, even this early, it was still already getting pretty warm. I was nervous that it may have been a sign of weather rolling in. I set up as far out on the make-shift pier as I could without falling through. Two spinning set ups. One for soft plastics with a loose bullet weight, and one reserved for sitching out hard plastic cranks. I knew the water would be deep, and moving slighty with what little tide was there; however, I wasn't sure how dee (wink wink, more about that later).

Once out on the water, I decided to head up current a bit first, then let the water take me down the banks. After settling in for about 3 seconds and making my first cast, I was more than spooked by a fish breaching the water right next to my boat. I threw at him with both rods, but nothing. Then another fish on the other side, a bit further out, nothing again. It only took about 20 minutes of this game before I decided that reverse phsycology was the answer, and ignored the flopping jerks. I began to fish my intended destination, a large bridge with a funnel type wall structure on either side.

Nothing still, even in this seamingly prime location. I drifted around the bend and into a corner that appeared to be a pooling locatiojn for other drifting dead weight such as myself. Nothing even resembling a bite there either.

After another hour and a half of going with the flow, and passing fishlessly through my secondary objective, I fished aimlessly in a backwater tangent of the river. Another strike out. I was begining to become more than very frustrated. I had thrown out everything in my boat (after tying it to the line of course) and fished it all every way I know how; but nothing happend.

I cruised across to the other shore line and spotted what I can only describe as a "poo-pipe" (bonus points for whoever can tell where I got that phrase). One cast on the down current side of this bad boy got me the first of several smaller sized bass. I continued to fish this side by paddling past the structure, and then drifting back down through it while tossing out the black power worm and slowing hopping it back to the boat.

I only had enough time for a few of these short runs, and only caught about 4 more fish. Even though I wasnt impressed with any of them, it was enough to keep me from intentionaly heaving any of my gear in the water. On the down side, when I was pulling the kayak out of the water, I bent down and ooops...there go my pliers and snips....I tried to drag a lure across the bottom to find them, but it seems I only get snagged when I dont want to.

Thanks for the support everyone.

Coming up this week:
-How the accidental fisherman hooked his biggest fish ever and,
-Electronics, the ignorant do-it-yourselfers guide.