Palmetto Guide and the Crew headed down to Lake Moultrie on the Santee Water System on 5/2-5/5, and the only word that keeps coming to my mind in EPIC. E- Exceptional, P- Pure, I- Incredible, and C- Calm & Colorful. From the time we arrived at Black Camp in Cross, SC the amazing time started, and did not end until a few days after we arrived back home. If you ever get a chance to paddle on the Santee Water System, take it from me....go you will not be disappointed.
The first day we were there it was slightly cool, and cloudy but that did not stop us at all. In fact we could not get our yaks unloaded quick enough. By 8:00am we were out on the water starting our journey for the weekend. Little did we know that this trip will stay with us for a lifetime. The incredible amounts of wildlife, and scenery was endless. Without a doubt we saw 100 different bird species, and the Ospreys were everywhere. At time we were able to get right up to the nest and look up right into the eye's of many different Ospreys.
We continued to explore the lake by making our way into the backwaters of the lake. At times it was surreal, almost like stepping back into time. The water was warm, and dark, but the fishing was good. Through out the weekend we spent 80% of our time in the backwater areas of the Lake Moultrie, in between Blacks Camp, the Diversion Channel, and the many Cypress Groves. The water was dark, but surprisingly very clear, after talking w/ a few local this is common, and surprises most people. The first day we put down around 8.5 miles paddling and fishing.
Jon, Kris, and myself then decided we wanted to go float down the Diversion Channel that separates Lake Marion for Lake Moultrie. This was a nice change, once we got positioned in the current we were off to a nice float. The current was a nice pace ,and we took this time to relax, goof off, and enjoy the diverse scenery. Once we arrived at the end of Channel our plan was to paddle up to the Angels Cove area but eh wind was getting up pretty bad. After getting our heads together we decided to make a hard push across a portion of the "big" water. After digging deep, fighting 10-15mph winds, and 2 foot waves we made it back to the protection of the flats.
After a short rest and lunch we headed back out to try our luck at some Bream and Shell Cracker fishing. The fishing instantly heated up for the Crew, while I was still trying to catch that "monster" bass. I was able to get a huge bass to hit the Live Target Frog but after a short battle the bass spit my lure/ pulled the hooks. Never the less we kept after the fish for a few more hours before we decide to go exploring. As we rounded a corner into to a beautiful backwater pond area we finally saw our first Alligators. We were able to paddle around 15 miles on the 2nd day, and made some lifetime memories!
As you can see Lake Moultrie has huge amounts of diversity and the wildlife is simply incredible. Since we arrived back in the Upstate, there as no been a day go by where I have not reflected on our trip. Palmetto Guide will definitely be going back, and doing even more exploring and fishing. This trip will not be forgotten and we look forward to sharing more of our adventures with you in the near future. Please let us know if you are interested in a Recreational Guided Kayaking or Hiking Trip, we look forward to hearing from you, and thank you all for you unending support, Palmetto Guide.
