Fishing

State parks provide access to some of the best fishing lakes in South Carolina. 

From fishing piers and jetties to lakeshores and riverbanks, state parks have settings for memorable fishing trips.

Need to know more about fishing at state parks?  Check in with Ranger Richburg below.

Fishing with Ranger Richburg

April - June

It’s bedding season again!

During the months of April through May, crappie can be caught fishing around submerged structures. Try fishing with minnows, jigs, beetle spins, or freshwater grass shrimp.  Fish just over the top of submerged trees or around standing structures.

Figuring out what depth to fish is usually the hardest part. If you are drift fishing with many poles at once, set them at various depths until you start catching fish. For fishing over submerged structures, if you are getting snagged on the structure, you are probably at the correct depth. Last April, I caught my limit fishing 8 inches deep with a blue and white jig under a cork, only 2 feet from the bank!

This is a great time to fish for bass. Bass usually bed in late March through April, so look for them to be fanning beds in the shallows. If you do find some fanning, try slow fishing rubber worms or bass jigs right in the bed. If you do catch a big female before she spawns, you may want to take a few pictures and release her so the she can do her part to restock the waters. During the last of March through the first of April, you can have a lot of fun catching the smaller male bass as they are very aggressive. Although these bass don’t tend to be very large they are a lot of fun to catch.

Bream can be found in the shallows also, much of the time around overhanging limbs or bushes, or on the edges of grass beds. This is a great time to fish with grass shrimp if you can find a place to catch them. The bream will be feeding on the new insect hatchlings that may fall out of bushes or happen to venture out of the grass beds.

In May and June, bream will be bedding around the full moon. Once you smell them you are getting close. Once you find them, use small floats, weight, and hooks to keep from spooking them too much. Once you catch a couple, the biggest bream tend to move away, so you may want to catch a few and back off for a while.

For the past couple of weeks, shellcracker have been biting near the lake dams at Barnwell State Park. Fishing with worms, just off of the bottom, seems to be the method of choice.

Give it a try a state park near you!

Good luck and keep on reelin’
Ranger Richburg

Got a tip for Ranger Richburg or a subject you'd like him to touch on?  Send an email with your ideas and they will be featured here!

Here are some questions our readers have asked Ranger Richburg:

Ranger Richburg,

If I bring my jon boat does it have to be registered?

As long as your jon boat is propelled only by human power, it does not have to be registered. If it propelled by any device such as a motor or sails, it must be registered.
For any other questions regarding registration, check out SCDNR's specific regulations regarding boats.

Ranger Richburg,

Do you have to have a fishing license if fishing on the Myrtle Beach pier?

Thanks for choosing to visit a South Carolina State Park.

You will not need a fishing license to fish from the pier at Myrtle Beach State Park. The fee to fish from the pier is nominal $4.50 per person, age 11 and over. You can bring your own fishing equipment or use theirs. They do sell bait at the pier along with snacks, drinks, and other items. According to Cheryl, fishermen have been catching whiting, mackerel, pompano, and snapper from the pier, so it sounds like you stand a good chance of catching supper!

Good luck and let me know how you do!

Dear Ranger Richburg,

A friend of mine told me that a fishing license is not needed in SC State Parks. Is this true? Are there places in SC that you can fish without a license?

The South Carolina Department of Natural Resource regulations state that if you are fishing in a private pond you do not have to have a license, unless it is a commercial pay pond that is not permitted by DNR.

Although many of our parks have ponds or lakes that lie totally within the boundaries of the park, they are still considered public fishing lakes and do require a license. You can find license at many retail outlets or you can go to SCDNR's website and purchase a license online.

Dear Ranger Richburg,
We're new to the state and my husband's a flyfisherman. Where are the best state parks to pursue that hobby? 

Welcome to the best state in the U.S. (although I may be a little partial!).

Fly fishing can be enjoyed in any of our parks containing creeks, rivers, ponds, or lakes. With the variety of fish species that we have throughout South Carolina, he should be able to catch fish about anywhere. A few examples are Caesars Head or Devils Fork for trout, Dreher Island or Santee for stripers when they are chasing shad in the spring and fall, and Lake Warren or N.R. Goodale for bluegill bream.

Another fun thing he may want to try is flyfishing on the larger lakes day or night when the mayflies are hatching. I've caught them around the old 301 bridge on Santee (Lake Marion) during the mayfly hatch until I was tired of catching them. I've also caught catfish on topwater around the rocks under the bridge. Also try around lighted piers. The bream are feeding all night on the hatchlings. Try not only floating flies but sinking as well. White flies or black flies will work.

Let me know how he does and good luck!!

What is the peak time for bream and bass at Santee Cooper?

Thanks for sending in a great question.

My favorite time to fish Santee for bream is during May and June while the bream and shell cracker are bedding. Late June and July (once they come off the bed) can also be great for shell cracker in the diversion canal fishing on the bottom. Bass can also be good during these same times. Once they come off the bed, they are aggresively looking for food. One of my favorite spots is in the upper lake in the flats across from Stump Hole and Low Falls Landings.

If you should have any other questions, please feel free to let me know.

Good luck!