Story by Ken Duke | Photos by Tanner & Travis Lyons
The NPFL word of the day is “staging,” and it has three definitions.
First, “staging” defines the attitude of the bass here at the Santee Cooper lakes (Marion and Moultrie) in South Carolina. With water temperatures in the mid to high 50s—maybe even 60—few fish are spawning yet, but most are close. Instead of being up on the shallow flats, looking for water protected from inclement winds and waves, they’re a little deeper—maybe five or eight feet—in ditches and creeks leading up to the spawning flats.
In the ditches and drops, the bass are vulnerable to a variety of baits, including shallow crankbaits, lipless crankbaits, bladed jigs, Texas rigged worms and lizards, and almost anything else an angler might want to throw … if they can find the fish. After all, they’re not in every creek or ditch.
Once located, an angler could hit the Mother Lode, maybe even break the NPFL single day catch record of 30 pounds, which was set right here two years ago. It could happen, and many anglers believe it will.
Second, “staging” describes the behind-the-scenes work of FullCom Media, the production company that the NPFL has formed to bring you bigger and better coverage of the tournament season.
Mike Auten—a former bass pro and three-time Bassmaster Classic qualifier—heads up the production efforts for FullCom, which will be bigger, better, and more accessible than previous NPFL content. You can watch on the NPFL site or YouTube. Auten is uniquely talented and qualified since he grasps both the technical side of the job and the demands of the sport. Since retiring from competition nearly 20 years ago, he’s produced and direct dozens of top-notch bass fishing video efforts, including the popular “Classic Patterns” series.
Finally, “staging” is what the weather is doing here in the Pee Dee region of the Palmetto State. Mornings have been cold and bright, but rougher weather is coming. Wednesday and Thursday will be almost 80 degrees, but winds will blow at about 20 mph with gusts approaching twice that.
Wednesday is scheduled as an “off-day.” The anglers will participate in community service events. But Thursday is scheduled as the first day of competition.
High winds could threaten a Thursday start. They’ll make the lakes too rough for safe boating. We’ll just have to wait and see how that shakes out. Hopefully, things will calm and everything will happen on schedule.
Live weigh-ins start at 3:00 p.m. ET on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Livestream tournament coverage runs from 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. ET on Friday and Saturday.
Stay tuned for the latest updates.
