Question: Whitey, it’s late winter and most lakes are either at their coldest temperatures of the year or sheeted in ice. Are you still going to fish in the Santee Swamp?

Outlaw:  Absolutely, I grew up fishing in the Swamp and it’s the one place that’s guaranteed to produce a limit of fish every time I fish there. Cold, ice, wind, nothing disturbs the crappie fishing because the fish are insulated under the mats of grass and heavy cover.

Question:  How do you catch crappie if they’re buried under mats of grass or dug down into heavy cover?

Outlaw: I run my flat bottom john boat up into the middle of a grass mat and leave the motor running, then I pull out a rake and rake a hole in the grass and fish in the hole--sort of a southern version of ice fishing.

If I’m fishing around clusters of cypress trees, I’ll stick my rod tip through the limbs of the trees and lower a crappie jig down into the hollows of cypress trunks and yank them buggers right out of their holes.

Question: Those are some pretty unorthodox tactics, how do you keep from spooking fish with the outboard running and raking the grass and probing the fish with your fishing rod?

Outlaw:  It’s not spooking fish, it’s getting their attention. Swamp crappie head for heavy cover when there’s a commotion. First priority for them is staying away from all the big catfish that live in the swamp, the second is feeding on baitfish and insects that are hidden in the grass. The commotion puts them on the defensive so that when that jig drops down there in his face, he’s going to eat it.

Question:  So that’s the kind of fishing environment that led you to develop the Santee Elite rod for B’n’M?

Outlaw: I needed a rod that wouldn’t snag on heavy cover or break when you put some abuse to it. The Santee Elite has no guides. The fishing line enters a port located approximately 3 feet above the reel seat and the line runs through the middle of the rod blank. The rod tip is a unidirectional grommet that lets the line flow smoothly in any direction. The rod is sold with a thin piece of wire to aid the angler in threading the line through the port and out the opening at the rod tip. Because there is nothing to hang up, the angler pulls the bait, typically a 1/16 - 1/8 oz crappie jig tight to the end of the rod and inserts the end of the rod into any sized opening. The line is then released to allow the jig to fall naturally into small pockets. Setting the hook on a bite is a matter of either jerking the rod back or pulling the line by hand. Crappie can then be threaded back through the hole because the rod was designed with enough backbone to let the angler bring a fish in hand-over-hand if needed.

Question: What kind of baits work best in the swamp?

Outlaw: I like a number 4 hook, which is a little bit smaller than normal, on a 1/16 oz jig head. Color is often a matter of personal preference but I like a white or chartreuse jig when I’m fishing around dark colored wood. On the other hand, I’ve seen crappie show a preference for black or dark colored jigs when fishing through the grass. Either way, I want a color that entices a solid hit. If they're just pecking at it, I'll change colors until I find one that they just slam it. Another important tip is to beef up your line a bit. I use 10 pound Vicious Fluorocarbon. That’s some good strong line and it takes a lot of abuse.

Question:  Are there any other swamp tactics you’d like to share with us?

Outlaw: Sometimes, I’ll piggyback a small, one-man, sneak boat on the front of the john boat and carry it back into the swamp. There are areas where the drainage creeks are so shallow you can’t get an outboard in there but the one man boat slides right through. Not only that but sometimes the bigger spawning fish will be on nests that are only a foot deep and I can ease up within a pole length using only the electric motor positioned on the back of the sneak boat and pick them off with the jig pole. There’s just no where they can hide from me then.

For more on the innovative Whitey Outlaw Signature Series Santee Elite rod, request a copy of the 2010 B’n’M Poles catalog or click on Buck’s Series Jig Poles on the left side of our webpage and go to page 2.