Lake Marion

Overview

The biggest lake in South Carolina, Lake Marion is the upper of the two Santee Cooper lakes, with Calhoun, Clarendon, Orangeburg, Sumter and Berkeley counties along its shores in the coastal plain. Its headwaters reach nearly to where the Wateree and Congaree rivers join, in the flooded forest of Sparkleberry Swamp. The dam was closed in November 1941 before clearing was finished, so the lake is full of stumps, dead trees and live cypress that hold crappie, bream and catfish, while vegetation along the shallow shorelines and sloughs holds largemouth bass and pickerel. Navigation aids help, but boaters still need to go carefully. Striped bass trapped by the dam became the first population shown to complete its whole life cycle in freshwater. Blue and flathead catfish were introduced in the mid 1960s and now give anglers a shot at the biggest freshwater fish they may ever hook. Largemouth bass and shellcracker draw crowds in spring. The 6.5 mile Diversion Canal links the lower lake to Lake Moultrie and offers sheltered water. SCDNR lists 16 boat ramps, and Santee State Park, known for big catfish, has two ramps.

Regulations

Cantey Bay, Black Bottom and Savannah Branch are closed to all boats and fishing from November 1 through February 28. Lakes Marion and Moultrie have a trophy rule on large blue catfish, limits on where trotlines, traps and eel pots may be set, a hook size limit, and a largemouth bass minimum length limit. See the South Carolina rules for Lake Marion: https://www.dnr.sc.gov/lakes/marion/regs.html

Nearby waters

• Lake Moultrie · 35 km (SC)