The Ole Warhorse made it back to the swamp.

Late , but here it is.

I had my left knee replaced on 10-21 and I was itching to get back on the water. So my son drove me and my boat to hit Broadwater on 11-21 to see if we could get a few crappie before all the duck hunters came in. With all the water that they were turning out of Lake Murray, the water up in the swamp was as pretty as I have seen it in many a year. Clear as a bells ring that you could see your jig down 3 feet and there wasn't any film on the water at all. No bath tub ring on the boat when we got back to the landing. The first time I didn't have to wash the boat after a trip to the swamp..

I told my son that if we caught any fish that they would be some of the prettiest that he'd ever see. Well it didn't take long before the first crappie was in the boat. Then it was two and then three so I asked my son was he going to help out on this trip.. It didn't take long and he was in gear. It was one of those days that I was a REAL line watcher. It would go limp, or a little dippy do, or it would start to move to the right or left and you knew it was time to set that hook and you hadn't felt a thing... The son had on some dark green line that you couldn't see and he had to fish by feel. I tried to get him to put some of my bright yellow line on so that he could see the thumps before he felt them.. All were caught casting, they wouldn't touch a minnow or a jig under a cork... We ended up with 38 keepers in the 12 to 14 inch range, 4 nice shellcrackers and a jack that was about 32". One of the nicest jacks I've seen in a long time.










It really was one of the best days on the water and the nicest fish for this ole timer. Most all fish were in water about 5 feet of water and in three areas. Working back and forth between the three areas. We threw back a lot of 10 and 11 inch fish, but a couple got in the mess some how. My son went back the next day, Friday and they caught 29 and they turned off about 10:00 and they left at 11:30 coming back home. Now they've turned off the water from Murray and with all the water coming down the Broad River, the swamp is now flooded again. maybe next week I'll be able to try it again if the water goes back down...