help about monty please?

[Nevets]

i have never fished monty before but im thinking about goin there in the morning? can anyone tell me anything about it? where can i catch bait that is the thing im most worried about. also where is the best place to put in(and how the get there) and what do i need to look out for? ill be anchoring and drifting to see what i can pick up. any help would be great though. like i say bait is my number one worry so is there anywhere you can buy any close if it might be hard to catch some?

[Nevets]

can you throw a cast net on monty? thats my only problem now if i cant im gonna go to wateree. but i cant find any were that says i cant

[catfishrus]

At one time Chris Simpson said you couldnt but I really dont know myself...I do know Chris is the monty man you need to talk to. He brought bait with him the day I fished with him. Thats about all I know about that place...maybe Chris will be on here tonight and help you.

[Bream baiter]

Yes you can throw a cast net there. I asked a game warden in Sept. He wasn't sure if you could so he took my name and phone number. Called me the next day saying he checked into it and yes, it's legal. The reason I asked him is because somebody else told me it's legal to use a net at Monty. He had asked a game warden during a fishing license check. Just wanted to verify. So that's 2 different game warden's saying it's OK. I think the big issue was that you weren't supposed to have a cast net in your possession in a certain part of the state.

[Nevets]

are there any biat there that are easy to catch/find?
also what about perch are they easy to catch there and how do ya catch em good there? im kinda worried that i wont get bait even with a cast net is there any place that yall know that would def have bait for sale frozen or live?

[timmyjane]

It is kinda tough to catch bait on monticello. did you go today? Chris does have a website, http://www.lakemonticellofishing.com/ It has some pretty good info on it. Check it out if you have time

[Nevets]

yeah i went today and didnt do any good. the wind was just to much today. it kept breakin my anchor loose it was hard to stay in one place long enough to get a fish. and i had to drift socks out when driftin and i was still goin over a mile an hour. way to much wind.

[RiverRatSC]

If you have a slight breeze at home don't go to Monty. The wind can be rough and the waves can upset you. SCDNR had control of the lake years ago and two thing were illegal then. Cast nets and jet skis but now you can do both. Cast nets I can understand letting that one go with as much shad as the lake has but jet skis/skiing should still be illegal. The water flux and shallow bars make it very dangerous for skiing to start with.

[Nevets]

there were still signs about no jet skiing or skiing so i assumed that was still a law and good law if you ask me

[chrisblue]

The power plant gaurds have told me that the no jet ski rule is theirs. They claim the jet ski can provide quick access if some idiot was to try and blow the place up. Theres no way enough explosives could be put on a jetski to even put a dent in it but if thats their reason to keep them out then so be it. The other reason for the no jetski and water skiing rule is........ It would open up alot more traffic on the lake in the summer time and the gaurds would have to keep up with 2 to 3 times more boats and jetskis. Right now, all they have to keep up with is us fisherman.

Now having said that. I have seen a jetski or two over the years and an occasional waterskier. I've never seen anything done about it though. The gaurds say one thing, the wardens say another, who the hell really knows. I have had a gaurd tell me that they are calling the game warden to have a boat removed from the restricted area because they couldnt communicate with the boat, it was to far from the rip rap that they patrol. The boat sit in the restricted zone for 6 hours, nothing was ever done and the game warden never showed up. Notice I said to far from the rip rap, thats right, they dont even have a boat to run people out with. Obviously the game wardens dont get in much of a hurry to help them either.

I could go on and on about this and all the crap that dont make since about the lake but I'll shut up. One more thing, I have been finding lots of trotlines in Monticello. I guess since Monticello is not even mentioned in the rules and regs book, it just leaves the door open for stuff like that to happen.