CD
Captain Darryl's Guide Service
Rock Hill, SC
Reservoir · Santee Cooper · South Carolina
Lake Marion Fishing Guides and Conditions, South Carolina
The upper and larger of the two Santee Cooper lakes: flooded cypress swamp, standing dead timber, and the trophy blue catfish water that made this system famous.
Gauge location. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Guides on the Lake Marion
Claimed profiles take booking requests. Unclaimed profiles are built from public records so the river is never empty; the guide can claim or remove one any time.
About the Lake Marion
Lake Marion is the upper and larger of the two Santee Cooper lakes, impounded on the Santee River in the 1940s. What separates it from almost every other big southern reservoir is that large parts of it were never cleared. The upper end is flooded cypress and tupelo swamp, thousands of acres of standing dead timber and stumps, and it looks more like Louisiana than like a Corps flood-control lake.
The system is best known for catfish. Blue catfish were introduced here and grew to sizes that put Santee Cooper on the map, and the guided fishery on Marion is substantially a catfish fishery, drifting and anchoring over flats, humps and the old river channel. Flatheads and channel catfish are both present in numbers, and the flathead fishing around the timber is underrated.
Largemouth fishing in the flooded timber is as good as it looks, and it is genuinely difficult fishing: heavy cover, a lot of water that all looks the same, and fish that use the stumps rather than the shoreline. Crappie fishing is excellent, and the striped bass population that was the original landlocked stock in this country is still here.
The gauge below reports the pool elevation. Marion is shallow across huge areas, so a foot of level change floods or drains an enormous amount of stump flat and swamp edge. That is the number that decides whether you can get into the timber at all, and combined with recent rain on the Santee and Congaree it will tell you whether the upper end is clear or the colour of coffee.
Pool right now
73.72ft
- 24 hours-0.07 ft → steady
- For the dateA little below normal for the date
Reading taken 1h ago at USGS 02169921, LAKE MARION NEAR ELLOREE, SC. Elevation is the surface of the lake above the survey datum, not depth. Source.
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Access
Santee State Park: ramps, cabins and camping on the south shore.
Elloree and Rocks Pond: public ramps near the gauge and the mid-lake.
Low Falls Landing and Randolph Landing: access to the flooded timber on the upper end.
Santee Cooper Country landings: numerous small public ramps around the lake.
Interstate 95 causeway: bridge structure and quick access to open water.
Diversion Canal: the connection to Lake Moultrie and a fishery of its own.
Note: standing timber and stumps are everywhere. Run marked channels and go slowly.
Seasons
Winter: the best trophy blue catfish months, and crappie tight on brush.
Spring: bass in the flooded timber, catfish moving shallow, and the stripers active.
Summer: catfish on the deeper flats and humps, bass in the shade of the cypress.
Fall: cooling water spreads fish out and the crappie fishing improves week by week.
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Questions
What species can you catch on the Lake Marion?
Anglers target Black Crappie, Blue Catfish, Bluegill, Channel Catfish, Flathead Catfish, Largemouth Bass, Striped Bass on the Lake Marion in South Carolina.
Are there fishing guides on the Lake Marion?
GuidedFloats lists 2 guides and outfitters on the Lake Marion. Claimed profiles accept booking requests; unclaimed profiles are built from public records and link to the business.
Where can you access the Lake Marion?
Santee State Park: ramps, cabins and camping on the south shore. Elloree and Rocks Pond: public ramps near the gauge and the mid-lake. Low Falls Landing and Randolph Landing: access to the flooded timber on the upper end. Santee Cooper Country landings: numerous small public ramps around the lake. Interstate 95 causeway: bridge structure and quick access to open water. Diversion Canal: the connection to Lake Moultrie and a fishery of its own. Note: standing timber and stumps are everywhere. Run marked channels and go slowly.
When is the best time to fish the Lake Marion?
Winter: the best trophy blue catfish months, and crappie tight on brush. Spring: bass in the flooded timber, catfish moving shallow, and the stripers active. Summer: catfish on the deeper flats and humps, bass in the shade of the cypress. Fall: cooling water spreads fish out and the crappie fishing improves week by week.
Where are the fishing regulations for the Lake Marion?
Regulations change by season and section. Read the current rules on the South Carolina agency site: https://www.dnr.sc.gov/regs/fishing.html