I'm curious about all those lakes, but I found this:

https://www.805webcams.com/lopez-lake-webcam/

Looks like there's enough to launch.

I also use a 3 # grappling anchor (12' tandem kayak) that works fine in most situations.
I have a fluke anchor on my powerboat that didn't work at all until I added 4' of chain. Now it grabs instantly.
The grappler folds down, and is a smooth casting, but the fluke pokes and scratches everything in the boat.
Thanks guys for the parts dip suggestion. Or maybe some of that bedlner stuff....

I would head west and try Diamond Valley Lake or Lake Skinner. I haven't fished Diamond, but the one time I went to Skinner I had a half anchovy soaking in 3 feet of muddy water and caught a inch 20 trout!
I was trying for catfish or stripers, btw.

Oh, so THAT'S where my minnow bucket went!

Thanks Robert (and others) for all the adventure stories. They remind me of the Outdoor Life "This Happened to Me" stories I dug as a teenager.

I don't see that it's been stocked lately, (maybe due to the fish hatchery issues), but this is from Western Outdoor News January 12, 2021: "Cachuma Lake
...receiving no fewer than 12,000 pounds of quality rainbows over the last two-plus months. Solid limits have been the norm here ever since the season’s first plant, and there has been no shortage of larger model trout running 5 to 12 pounds caught."

So hopefully there's big fish some left for you. Hang on to your rods!

If you click on the 3 lines at the top of this page a menu will pop up and Search will be right under your finger, (well it is on my phone). Click on it then type "South Carolina" and then Search. A bunch of discussions on this forum will appear including some location reports. Hope there's something you can use there.

I tie a loop on the end of my line and put it around the reel handle.

They even make a "catfish special" baitcaster:

From some TV show I learned to cut the anchovy heads off at an angle to expose more of the body's flesh to give off more scent.
One day I fished for a few hours, rebaiting every so often, tossing the heads into the lake as I always do, then finally caught a striper.
When I cleaned him I noticed a full stomach so I cut that open to see what he was eating...
It was full of angle-cut anchovy heads!

Another consider for some will be that certain Humminirds can be networked only to certain Minn Kota trolling motors, and certain Lowrances only connect to Motorguide motors.
(For plotting courses on your fishfinder's map, and then the trolling motor will follow it using its built-in GPS, btw)
So in my case, I'm saving up for a Minn Kota motor, so I may stick with 'Bird if I find interconnectivity really useful.
Garmin also sells trolling motors that connect with only their fishfinders, but they're way out of my price range. They start about a thousand dollars more than the other two brands.

Messing with the demos in the store I found the Garmin to be more intuitive to use than the Humminbird.
When I went back to buy it they had a Helix 7 SI gps 2gn on sale so I bought it instead. It's a great unit, and does everything I need, and more, but I spend too much time looking things up, scrolling thru the wrong menus, and forgetting how to do stuff with it. I'll get a Garmin next time.

Thanks as always, Bapa and Jarhead for the great fishing and boating info.

Thanks for info on the anadromous fish, TXF. I gotta plan a fishing vacation to Texas some day.
Hope you get that motor fixed soon.

Nice catch! I thought those were saltwater only? Or is it like a striper that can live in either?

Not trying to answer for Dozer, but some Kokanee hunters don't want planted rainbows at all. I'm a newbie and when I asked some guys who just caught a double limit of kokes by 7am if they go for rainbows now, they said "No, we go home. We consider rainbows trash fish". I thought he was joking, as I'm grateful for any fish action, but alot of them do go home.