Ship's Guide Service 
Pig's are my  Business &   Business is Good 

We specialize in 15 pounders & over! Ambush "Pig" Blue Cats and "Monster" Flatheads! Contact Captain Steve Shipley Email: RecordCats@aol.com or Call Us at the telephone numbers shown here. Ships Guide Service PO Box 1153 Santee, SC  29142 *  Ph. #803 897 2317 Cell # 803 854 4727 * Home About Capt. Shipley   Guide Rates Summer Night Fishing Fall/Winter Fishing Where to Stay Ships Guide Service PO Box 1153 Santee, SC  29142 *  Ph. #803 897 2317  Cell # 803 854 4727 Email: RecordCats@aol.com

Captain Shipley has been been fishing the Santee Cooper Lakes for years. Here is a preview of past Santee Cooper Spring Fishing Charters................... Captain Shipley previous moved to the Santee Cooper area from George in 1993, Shipley had fished these waters ever since.  A lifetime fisherman and a love for wildlife, Capt. Shipley loves to fish the waters of the lakes east of the Mississippi River..  Join him on any given day for a GREAT TIME FISHING FOR CATS and a variety of other fish on the Santee Cooper Lakes.... A person who knows how to catch fish, but not necessarily a "know-it-all".  Shipley sees himself as a teacher, who wants to turn others onto catfishing. He is a serious catfisherman. As a client put it, "He knows catfish".  Shipley states, "It is all about having a good time.  It is about seeing the different parts of the waters of the Santee Cooper Lakes and about catching the big ones".  Taking a guided trip with Captain Shipley is about seeing whatever appears; few things equal the beauty of bald eagles in the wild on the "Santee Cooper Lakes", to taking home "the catch of the day", and great memories as well.  Shipley fishes year round on the "Santee Cooper Lakes". He uses a 30-foot tri-toon boat that will accommodate up to six clients per charter.  The tri-toon boat comes complete with a livewell made from a galvanized steel stock tank as well as a bait well. Also available is a 20 foot Grady White that is used for our charters.  It is also stocked with a livewell and a bait well. A veteran guide since 1994, (a full-time year-round catfish guide), he has experimented enough to know what works.  Shipley's knowledge of catfishing makes any fishing charter on the "Santee Cooper Lakes" a memorable one (do not forget to bring the camera). Ships Guide Service provides the gear and the bait.  Captain Steve Shipley welcomes you to join him.   "Santee Cooper Lakes" Fishing Charters available year round. Featured in "In-Fisherman Catfish In-Sider Magazine"  Check out some of the Big Ones........... Click Here

Ship's Guide Service 
Pig's are my  Business ? Business is Good 
2005 -Cabela's King Kat Tournament Results For Marion/Moultrie - The Santee Cooper Lakes Shipley - Hampton take 2nd Place

"Don't be scared to go shallow," said Capt. Steve Shipley of Ships Guide Service, who turns to night-fishing during the summer on Santee-Cooper. "I'm talking only inches deep. Big blues will grab baits in less than a foot of water on summer nights."

Shipley said that nighttime trips commonly yield 300 to 400 pounds of catfish total. "That's when we catch our biggest catfish," he said, noting that last summer's night trips yielded two 70-pound-plus flatheads.

Shipley begins summer trips late in the afternoon and targets blues in the shallow water until about 10 p.m. At that point he moves a little deeper, usually to a channel edge in about 15 feet of water, to target flatheads for the rest of the trip, which winds up at about 2 a.m. The blues generally serve up the fastest action, but some monster flatheads show up on summer nights.

For blues, Shipley concentrates on shallow waters over and around mussel beds, especially beds that are exposed on the tops. Lower lake levels, which are common in the summer, expose the tops of some beds, causing mussels to die and to break off from wave action. Shipley has found that the blues congregate around those areas at night.

"We'll often catch eight or 10 catfish that average 30 pounds from those spots," Shipley said.

He will anchor about a cast's length from the exposed top of the mussel bed, always double anchoring to get the best positioning, and spread 10 lines all the way around the boat. Those baits that he casts toward the bed often will land in just a few inches of water.

Shipley's favorite bait for summer-night blues on Santee-Cooper is a piece of cut white perch. He strings big chunks of bait on 7/O Kahle hooks attached to 3 feet of leader and rigged with 2 ounces of weight. He also ties a tiny balloon, blown up to the size of a quarter, to the line about 6 inches from the bait. That suspends the bait off the bottom, Shipley explained.

When Shipley switches to flathead fishing, he makes two major adjustments. The first change is to move out of the really shallow water. The second is a switch to live perch, instead of cut perch. For flatheads or blues, Shipley fishes with 50-pound-test line, medium-heavy rods and heavy-duty baitcasting reels with excellent drag systems.

Shipley strongly encourages the release of all catfish over 30 pounds, and he requires it for all fish over 50 pounds. "We're mostly catch-and-release. We have to conserve this resource if we want to keep catching these fish," he said.

To book a trip with Capt. Steve Shipley, give him a call at (803) 854-4727.

Return to Home Page