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Me and a buddy went out to do some wading Friday morning. We went to the river walk by the Gervais street bridge in downtown Columbia. That's right where the Saluda and the Broad rivers flow together to form the Congaree river. We crossed over to the Broad river side, (the Columbia side) and went looking for some bronze backs.

I took my buddy in there last year and put him on his first smallie. Needless to say he's addicted to those little brown fish.

We loaded up the ultralite gear, some roostertails, small Rapala's, some small Terminator spinnerbaits, and of course some small topwater baits. I was actually throwing a slightly larger topwater bait in an attempt to catch a larger fish, but was mainly playing the role of guide for my buddy. He was wearing me out in the numbers department beings he was throwing the small stuff. His largest of the day was 1lb 10oz. He caught several (10 or so) in the 1lb to 1 1/2lb range. But me being the Jedi Master that I am ( ), I had to step up and show him how to catch the biggens.

The big girl weighed 4lbs 12oz. She is the largest SC smallie I've ever caught and it's only 1lb 5oz from my best ever, which i caught in MD. My previous best from SC came from nearly the same spot of the rive and it weighed just a hair over 3lbs. I caught it last year.

Anyway, I snapped a few pictures for your viewing enjoyment.

[img][img]http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f272/archer8030/Fishing%20pics/IMG_0483_1.jpg[/img]



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(no fish were harmed during the making of these memories...and all were released)

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If the boat's rockin'...GET THE NET!!!

Nice going, Archer! We were just talking about hitting the river near Columbia. Looks like we will have to give it a shot soon. Keep those reports comin!

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Super nice smalljaws. Like Drew said, now I know I'm going to try it out. Cola is a lot closer to Ache'n then Gaffme is, LOL ! ! ! !

Give me a heads up when you go. I'd be glad to steer you in the right direction.

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If the boat's rockin'...GET THE NET!!!

Nice job....

Its remarkable that the smallies are doing as well as they are. Does anybody know if they have stock them any where other than Cherokee County? I haven't found anything saying where they have but since they are being found in Lake Monticello and all the way down to Columbia somethings working for them.

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Thomas Constant, Jr.
Loyalty before all else exept Honor.
Its all fun and games until they open the trunk.

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Joey

Keep It Wet! Take One Make One! Hooked On Fishing Not On Drugs! In God We Trust! Happy Trails To You Until we Meet Again!

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Thomas Constant, Jr.
Loyalty before all else exept Honor.
Its all fun and games until they open the trunk.

That does it I've been driving over the bridge frequently wondering if it was worth a shot. I grew up wading the tributaries of lake erie fishing for the bronze back. Maybe I can renew some good old memories. Which Rapala works best?

great pics,
Doc

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I fish, therfore I am

Guess this gives me yet another reason to want to get back to school. How deep was the section of the river that the fish were comin out of?

Black and gold or black and silver Rapala's work well, as well as top water and small spinnerbaits.

There are some deep holes, but for the most part, the water I wade is now more than belly-button deep, and I'm six feet tall.

You have to keep an eye on the level though. Like this morning, SCE&G were pulling water overnight and the river was still a little too high this morning, but it was on it's way down. If it's high, it can be a bit dangerous.

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If the boat's rockin'...GET THE NET!!!

Gave the river a try this past weekend and had a blast. Started around 10 or so in the morning and fished until 3, caught 12-15 smallmouth and a couple of lm. All fish were small, largest fish was only 13 inches but they made up for lack of size in their fight. Caugt all of them on a variety of topwaters (small popper was the best). Had one real nice lm (3-4lbs) on but lost it as I was working it in, got to enjoy a couple of jumps out of it first though.

Hey Archer, I live in Gilbert and have never seen or caught a smallie. Been thinking about taking a trip upstate for them, didn't know they were down this far. Can you catch them often or is it just certain times. I am very intrested and would appreciate any info or advice you could give me. Thanks

Joe

I went for the first time last Sunday and me and a friend of mine caught 19 smallies and 2 largemouth. I caught a smallie about 3lbs. It was very fun. If you go, please release these fish. This is a very good thing that they have there and if everyone starts keeping the fish, it will not be able to take that kind of abuse. Have fun and catch a bunch.