South Carolina is the one state whose headline season is written into statute rather than announced, which means its opening day can be worked out years in advance — and this page does exactly that.
The dates
Open today by the rules below, worked out for 2026 rather than copied from a chart.
Shrimp baiting
The season “is set by law to last 60 days and opens at noon on the last Friday on or before September 15”. Because that is a formula and not a date, it moves by a day or two every year, and it is worth reading twice: the last Friday on or before the 15th, so a season can open as early as September 9. A shrimp baiting licence is required and it is separate from a saltwater licence.
Cast nets and seines, no bait
Different fishery, different rules. Brown shrimp show in the tidal creeks from early June and white shrimp from late July or early August, moving out to the ocean by late October. This is a biological window rather than a legal one — the baiting season is the one with dates attached.
Read on 2026-09-14 from South Carolina Department of Natural Resources. Legal dates were read on the agency’s own page on the date shown beside each entry. Seasons change: the agency link is always the last word.
Why South Carolina is different
The shrimp baiting season "is set by law to last 60 days and opens at noon on the last Friday on or before September 15". Read that twice, because the wording is the whole thing: the last Friday on or *before* the 15th, so a season can open as early as September 9 and never later than September 15. In 2026 that is Friday September 11; in 2025 it was September 12; in 2027 it will be September 10.
What to actually do
Shrimp baiting needs its own licence, separate from a saltwater fishing licence, and it is the fishery the statute governs. Casting and seining without bait is a different activity with different rules: brown shrimp show in the tidal creeks from early June and white shrimp from late July or early August, moving out to the ocean by late October. That is a biological window rather than a legal one.
Where to fish it
We publish a daily report for 13 South Carolina waters, each with live flow or tide.
- Lake Murray — Lexington County
- Myrtle Beach — Horry County
- Lake Marion — Clarendon County
- Lake Moultrie — Berkeley County
- Lake Keowee — Oconee County
- Lake Greenwood — Laurens County
- Charleston — Charleston County
- Lake Wateree — Kershaw County
All 13 South Carolina waters →
An open season is not permission to fish: South Carolina requires a licence from age 16, from $10.00 for residents. What it costs and where to buy it →
Questions
When does shrimp baiting season open in South Carolina?
At noon on the last Friday on or before September 15, for 60 days. That put the 2026 opening on Friday, September 11, and the 2025 opening on September 12.
Do I need a special licence for shrimp baiting?
Yes, a shrimp baiting licence, which is separate from a recreational saltwater fishing licence.
Checked by Pablo Ruiz Quintero. Dates move: tell us if this one has and the correction goes in the verification log with the date.