Imagine a lake. A massive lake filled with stumps and trees. Imagine a lake surrounded by forests and swamps. Imagine a trip to Santee Cooper. Santee Cooper Lake offers over 450-miles of shoreline. Damming the Santee and Cooper Rivers created the two lakes known as Moultrie and Marion. Together, the lakes known as “Santee” or “Santee Cooper” provide a huge biomass. Over 12,000 workers cleared over 170,000 acres. (That is a LOT of stumps!)
The vast swamp around the lake provides the “nursery” to Santee’s fishing success. The millions of bluegill fry provide food to bass and crappie. Larger bluegills are the mainstay of the catfish population. The shad population provides even more protein for the larger predators. Both nesting and migratory birds enjoy the food base. Read the rest from TJ Stallings – Very nice story!