Z-Man and Smallies

I’ve been wanting to catch a Smallmouth bass for decades. Had I know there was good smallie fishing in South Carolina, an easy day’s drive from my central Florida home, I would’ve scratched that species off the bucket list long ago. When Glenn Young texted me the river levels were right for a hot smallmouth bite, I loaded up my truck and drove up to meet him.

First stop was a detour in Ladson, South Carolina, home of Z-Man headquarters and the factory where all Z-Man’s ElaZtech baits are made. Young gave me a behind the scenes tour of the factory floor. I got the see the whole process, from the slabs of raw ElaZtech, the mixing room where colors and glitter are added, to the molding floor where big, thermoplastic injecting machines produce those soft, stretchy, durable lures that so many of us love. This solar powered factory cranks out hundreds of thousands of ElaZtech baits every week, providing jobs for about 100 people, including vocational rehab opportunities they provide in partnership with local charities like Goodwill. Rest assured, if you see Z-Man ElaZtech lures in any tackle shop anywhere in the world, they came from this South Carolina factory.

The next morning, Young and I drove up to one of the handful of rivers that crisscross central South Carolina. I won’t disclose which one because I don’t want to reveal Young’s smallie hot spot. We dragged Young’s Native kayaks down a steep embankment that suggested this stretch of river doesn’t get a lot of fishing pressure. We only saw two other anglers that day, a couple of young guys in kayaks who passed us. Based on the heavy tackle they were carrying and the direction they traveled, it was obvious they were heading to the dam to try for the giant blue catfish that inhabit the river. I made a mental note to bring heavy gear next time I visit and take a break from those bass to try for a monster cat.

Our plan was simple, slowly work our way upstream, paddling where we could and wading through the shallow stretches that were too skinny to float a kayak. We fished every deep pool we came across, and deep is relative here as three feet could be deep. Being overcast, we figured a topwater bite was in order. I tossed a HellraiZer and Young threw a Pop ShadZ. The fish didn’t get the memo and despite hitting a few good holes hard, a halfhearted swipe on the HellraiZer was all we could manage.

Switching to subsurface baits did the trick. My first cast with a ChatterBait WillowVibe was nailed twice and got me my first hookup. It was a dink, maybe eight inches, but it was a smallmouth. Not even a half hour into the trip and my mission was accomplished, scratch another species off the bucket list.

We worked upstream from hole to hole. Some produced half a dozen bass while others were only good for a fish or two. Most were smallmouth with a few largemouth mixed in. I caught an interesting 17 inch fish with red eyes that we couldn’t identify. We sent pictures to a biologist for the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources who said it was likely a hybrid cross between a smallmouth and an Alabama bass.

We made it to a pool that was about 75 yards from the dam. Our plan was to work that pool, then hit a series of deep pockets along the base of the dam, working our way east to another branch of the river that we would float back towards the launch. That was our plan at least, until an eerie siren started wailing in the distance. It was a sign they would soon be opening the dam flood gates.

The trip had a storybook ending. With minutes left before we had to pack up and leave, I had a solid thump on the WillowVibe. The fish pulled drag, cartwheeled, and used almost every inch of that pool. High Fives ensued when Young grabbed the lower jaw of a 20 inch smallmouth, our best fish of the trip.

By the time we finished up a quick photo session, water was already pouring over one section of the dam, and new sirens indicated more flood gates would open soon. All that new water dirtied up the river and raised the water level a foot in no time. That killed off the bass bite, but it did allow us to paddle through mini sections of rapids that were spots we had to drag kayaks across on the way up.

Despite the trip getting cut short, it was still an awesome adventure that was well worth the long drive from Florida. I’ll be going up there again, next time staying a little longer, with smallmouth bass, blue catfish and fossil hunting on the agenda.