Brushes With Fishes

Knowing that variety would serve my photo needs best, Kevin Davis of Blacks Camp decided to take us brush-hopping. He had some offshore brush that he thought would be holding fish, and as usual, his expectations were right on target. Fishing directly over brushpiles, which he had saved as waypoints in his GPS unit, we used minnows, jigs and crickets to wrangle in bluegills, crappie, largemouths and a shellcracker.

We used measured "pulls" of line off our reels to count our offerings down to the fish. Depth is important for fishing brush because you have to go deep enough for the fish to find your offerings, but if you let your baits fall too deep you end up catching the cover instead of the fish. And if you disturb the fish's home too many times, they'll often stop feeding.

Kevin places his brushpiles strategically, often on flats next to channel drops or on the tops of hills. The brush provides cover to concentrate the fish along natural travel routes. He catches crappie and bream year 'round from his brushpiles, and at times they also produce good fishing for Santee Cooper's famous catfish, 'crackers and stripers.