Lake Moultrie Fishing Guides and Conditions, South Carolina

About the Lake Moultrie

Moultrie is the lower half of the Santee Cooper system, a rounder and more open lake than Marion, connected to it by the Diversion Canal and drained through the hydroelectric plant at Pinopolis. Where Marion is swamp and timber, Moultrie is big open water with a defined old river channel, humps and drops, and far less standing cover.

That difference shapes the fishing. Moultrie is where the drift fishermen work, covering the open flats and channel edges for blue and channel catfish, and it is where the striped bass fishery is at its most conventional: open-water fish following bait, caught on live bait and on artificials when they school. The tailrace below the Pinopolis lock and powerhouse concentrates fish whenever water is moving and is one of the better-known spots in the state.

Largemouth fishing is good along the shoreline grass and around the canal, and crappie fishing over brush in the cold months is dependable. Because Moultrie has less timber than Marion, it is the easier of the two lakes to fish for anyone new to the system, and the safer one to run at speed.

The reading below gives pool elevation. The two lakes are operated together, so Moultrie tends to follow Marion, but the generation schedule at Pinopolis creates current in the canal and the tailrace that matters far more to the fishing on a given morning than a few inches of level. Moving water there is the single best predictor of a good day.

One practical note for visitors: the lock at Pinopolis will pass small boats between the two lakes, which means a trip can legitimately start on one lake and finish on the other. Most people fish one or the other, but the option is there, and it is the reason local anglers talk about Santee Cooper as a single fishery rather than as two lakes.

Access

Pinopolis and the tailrace: bank and boat access below the powerhouse and lock.
Bonneau Beach and Black Bottom: public ramps on the north shore.
Hatchery and Spillway landings: access on the western side toward the Diversion Canal.
Diversion Canal landings: the connection to Lake Marion, fishable in its own right.
Moncks Corner area ramps: southern access with services nearby.
Open-water humps and the old river channel: the drift-fishing water.
Note: the lake is large and round, with little shelter. Watch the wind forecast.

Seasons

Winter: big blue catfish on the deep flats, and stripers concentrated near moving water.
Spring: stripers in the canal and tailrace, bass on the shoreline grass.
Summer: drift fishing for catfish over open water, and early-morning schooling stripers.
Fall: bait moves and the striper schooling improves through the autumn.