See every public fishing venue in South Carolina on the map, with boat ramps, camping, parking and full rules for each one.
Savannah River is a public river in Aiken County, McCormick County, Allendale County, Jasper County, Hampton County and Anderson County, South Carolina, managed by State of South Carolina (public / navigable water). You can fish it on an South Carolina licence, but bank access is only at road crossings, parks, SCDNR access sites and other public land; riparian owners control the bank on non-navigable reaches. Public access confirmed via marquee water.
The Savannah — the Georgia–South Carolina border river below Thurmond Dam. Trophy blue and flathead catfish, striped bass (a restoration fishery), largemouth, a strong spring American- and hickory-shad run, redbreast and crappie in the sloughs. A Georgia OR South Carolina licence fishes the whole river.
It runs roughly 274 miles through the Midlands region. Anglers here mostly fish for blue catfish, flathead catfish, channel catfish, largemouth bass; striped bass, american shad, white perch, redbreast sunfish are also on record. Live flow and gauge height come from the Middle River At Fish Hole At Port Wentworth, Ga USGS station shown below. The nearest other mapped waters on PiscaMaps are Fourmile Branch and Newberry Creek.
Species from SCDNR public-access and species data.
Night fishing: No statewide night-fishing closure in South Carolina. Trotlines, jugs and set hooks are legal on most fresh water with a licence and gear tags. A few state lakes and reservoirs have posted hours; the Lower Saluda trout water and some WMA lakes close at night.
Boats: The big reservoirs (Marion, Moultrie, Murray, Hartwell, Wateree, Wylie) have no horsepower limit; idle-speed / no-wake zones are marked near ramps, marinas, bridges and dams. SCDNR State Lakes and Upstate water-supply reservoirs are often electric-motor-only or small-outboard only. A South Carolina boater-education card is required for operators under 16 running 15 hp or more.
Bank & bivvy camping: Camp at South Carolina state parks (SouthCarolinaParks.com), Santee Cooper's campgrounds, and Corps of Engineers lakeside sites on the Savannah lakes. The blackwater canoe trails (Edisto, Little Pee Dee, Lynches, Black) have a strong sandbar-camping tradition on the exposed bars. WMA camping is limited to designated areas.
Tackle: Statewide largemouth-bass daily limit is 5 (many lakes have a 14-inch minimum; some have a slot); black crappie 20 on most reservoirs; blue and flathead catfish have trophy-protection limits on Santee Cooper and the Savannah lakes (only 1 over 36 inches). Striped/hybrid bass limits vary by lake and season. Check the current SCDNR regulations for this water.
Boat ramps: 20 mapped — Boat ramp, Baurle Boat Ramp at Lock and Dam Park, Boat ramp, Boat ramp, Cohen's Bluff Landing, Lynn R. Sullivan Jackson Boat Landing and Recreation Area and others nearby.
Camping: 7 sites mapped nearby — Hawe Creek, Below Dam South Carolina, Campsite, Hester's Bottoms Family Campground, Campsite, Modoc and others.
Source: OpenStreetMap contributors.
Loading live flow & gauge height…
Live from USGS gauge 02198955 — Middle River At Fish Hole At Port Wentworth, Ga. Full gauge data →
Anyone 16+ needs a South Carolina fishing licence — resident annual is about $10, non-resident annual about $35, and non-resident 1-day (~$11) and 7-day (~$16) licences are sold. The freshwater licence covers trout — there is no separate trout stamp — but a Wildlife Management Area permit is needed on WMA trout waters and other WMA lakes and streams. South Carolina residents 64+ can get a free Gratis licence. Buy from SCDNR. A South Carolina fishing licence covers navigable rivers and the whole SC side of the Savannah, Catawba and Chattooga. WMA river reaches also need a WMA permit.
Every water carries species, bank & boat access, current regulations and live water conditions — and members get Swim Mapper, Catch Logger and Trip Planner. It's the only US map with a dedicated carp-water layer.
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