When it comes to fishing the catfish is one of the most popular species found anywhere. Catfish come in all sizes ranging from the baby fish to the giant trophy fish.

The chance to reel in a giant size catfish is one thing that makes fishing for them so popular. Large catfish are a real challenge to reel in making catching them fun and exciting. Many people enjoy fishing for catfish simply because they love the taste when this species is cooked correctly.

There are many lakes and rivers all over the nation that is the home to the catfish and the Santee Cooper Lake system is no exception. Here you will find the flathead, channel and blue catfish in large numbers throughout both lakes. They are also found in many different depths of the lake making it easy for anyone to have the opportunity to reel in the catfish whether they are in a boat or bank fishing.

One of the great things about catfish fishing is the fact that it really doesn't matter how you fish or what bait you use, catching catfish is simple and fishing out of these lakes make it even easier. This is what has earned the Santee Cooper Lakes the title of catfish fishing heaven. You never go home empty handed! Just make sure you are prepared and have the right equipment for handling the catfish once you have reeled them in.

There are two lakes that make up this system called the Moultrie and the Marion. They are joined together by a diversion canal that stretches a little over six miles. To give you an idea of how great the catfish fishing is in these lakes are the world record for the channel catfish was caught here. It weighed an amazing fifty-eight pounds. The state record for the blue catfish is currently 109.4 pounds and the flathead is 77.3 pounds.

History of Santee Cooper

Understanding the history of an area will help you see what potential it has to offer. The two lakes that make up the Santee Cooper were created between the years of 1939 and 1942. The Moultrie Lake stretches across 60,400 acres and the Marion Lake is a huge 110,600 acres. It was actually created by the South Carolina PublicAuthority as a hydroelectric project. It was this project that connected these two rivers together at the diversion canal that is 6.5 miles long and what earned it the name Santee Cooper System.

You will find a variety of underwater structures such as stumps, live cypress trees and other structures under these waters. There are also many blackwater ponds, large open areas and shallow swamps. Moultrie Lake's widest point is fourteen miles wide and is more cleared out than Marion Lake. Fishing is allowed all year long provided the weather does not get too bad but normally these lakes never ice over. The average size catfish found in here at any given time weighs approximately 40 to 45 pounds so you can see why it is referred to as catfish fishing heaven.