Share your catch

Lake Moultrie Fishing Report

Updated Fri, Sep 4, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

The lower Santee lake: open water, big blues and the canal that started it all.

2/5
Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
Lake level
73.66 ft -1.94 vs pool
Air / High
90 / 90 F
Wind
SSW 4 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 02172000, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.

Satellite view
Friday
4
September 2026

Today's Fishing Report

Generated this morning from live readings: gauge, weather model, sun and moon. A fresh report is published here every morning.

2/5Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.

Lake Moultrie locks in another hot, bright day: the fish know the drill and so should you. The gauge reads 73.66 ft, 1.94 ft below pool, easing 0.22 over the week. Today brings clear skies, wind SSW around 4 mph, rising pressure near 1014 hPa and a high of 90. Water sits around 84 F for the season (estimated). With the last quarter, the solunar majors run 5:39 AM-7:39 AM and 5:39 PM-7:39 PM: plan around them and beat the heat.

The plan, species by species

Striped bassGood

Deep and early: live bait on downlines over the river channel at first light, or downriggers along thermocline depth.

Catfish (blue, channel)Good

Anchor on 20-30 ft baited holes with punch bait or cut shad. They keep biting through the heat when everything else quits.

Largemouth bassFair

Topwater at first light on points and seawalls, then slide out to 12-25 ft brush and points with a Carolina rig, deep crank or drop shot. The bite is dawn, dusk or deep.

CrappieSlow

Straight down on bridge pilings and deep brush at 15-25 ft. Minnows outfish jigs in hot water; move until the graph shows them stacked.

Tomorrow: Warmer at 95 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Sep 5, 6:30 AMHow this report is made →

Water and weather

Live readings from LAKE MOULTRIE NEAR PINOPOLIS, SC.

Water level, last 30 days

USGS gauge 02172000. Conservation pool is 75.6 ft.

73.9474.5975.25pool 75.673.66 ft08/0508/1508/2509/04

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp90 F
High / Low90 / 74 F
WindSSW 4-5 mph
Pressure1014.4 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain24% cloud, 8%
Sunrise / Sunset06:56 / 19:41
MoonLast Quarter, 50%
Water temp (seasonal)~84 F est.

Bite planner

Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today. Tap a bar to see why.

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunset

Next 7 days

Tap a day for the detailed outlook.

Fri Sep 4 · Overcast, 90/74 F, wind 12 mph, rain 8%

Fair or better. A 12 mph breeze puts a working chop on the banks it hits: fish the wind-blown side.

Species guide

The species that matter on Lake Moultrie: seasons, structure and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.

Largemouth bass illustration

Largemouth bass

Best: spring and fall

The headline act on most American reservoirs. Relates to cover: docks, brush, grass edges and points. Topwater at first light on points and seawalls, then slide out to 12-25 ft brush and points with a Carolina rig, deep crank or drop shot. The bite is dawn, dusk or deep.

Striped bass illustration

Striped bass

Best: spring and fall

The reservoir heavyweight. Follows shad and herring schools in open water year-round. Deep and early: live bait on downlines over the river channel at first light, or downriggers along thermocline depth.

Catfish (blue, channel) illustration

Catfish (blue, channel)

Good year-round

The most reliable bite on most southern waters. Blues run big; channels fill the cooler. Anchor on 20-30 ft baited holes with punch bait or cut shad. They keep biting through the heat when everything else quits.

Crappie illustration

Crappie

Best: Nov-Mar

Brush piles, bridge pilings and standing timber. The fish fry favorite. Straight down on bridge pilings and deep brush at 15-25 ft. Minnows outfish jigs in hot water; move until the graph shows them stacked.

When to come: the Lake Moultrie calendar

Activity by species and month, and how the water warms through the year. Tap any cell.

Species activity by month

1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted.

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Largemouth bass
Striped bass
Catfish (blue, channel)
Crappie
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 84 F (estimated, not a reading).

5060708090JanMarMayJulSepNovSep, ~84 F now

Angler reports

Real reports from real anglers, reviewed before publishing. The water log below tracks each day automatically.

No angler reports yet this weekBe the first: your report helps every angler who checks Lake Moultrie today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Sep 3

3/5 Fair. Fish early or late. Heat pins the bite to the dawn and dusk windows. Striped bass led the card at good. High of 92 F, wind to 8 mph.

Wed, Sep 2

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Striped bass led the card at excellent. High of 91 F, wind to 7 mph.

Tue, Sep 1

3/5 Fair. Fish early or late. Heat pins the bite to the dawn and dusk windows. Striped bass led the card at good. High of 90 F, wind to 6 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
Only used to send you this water's report each week. No spam, ever.

Before you go

License

South Carolina requires a valid fishing license for adults. Buy online from the state agency; one-day options exist for visitors.

Regulations

Same Santee rules: blue cat 1 over 36. Panfish 30/day. Confirm with SCDNR.

Access

Canal ramps, Bonneau Beach, Sandy Beach; the Diversion Canal connects to Marion.

About this water

60,000 acres, Berkeley County, SC. The lower Santee-Cooper lake, ringed by its rim canal.

Fishing Lake Moultrie: the full guide

The open bowl

Moultrie is Marion's round, open sibling: 60,000 acres where the Santee-Cooper system's catfish legend concentrates (world-line-class blues drifting the flats), stripers school in the Diversion Canal current, and shellcracker beds in spring draw anglers from three states. Wind is the tactician here: plan around it.

The open-bowl drift

Moultrie's flats fish like an inland sound: controlled drifts with cut bait across 15-30 ft, covering water until the rod buckles. Winter concentrates giants near the Pinopolis intake and the deep holes: anchor and soak when the graph stacks bait.

Shellcracker Aprils

Each spring Moultrie's shellcracker (redear) beds draw anglers from three states: crickets and red worms over pea gravel in 4-8 ft, fish pushing a pound-plus. The rim canal and hatchery areas hold the tradition: arrive on the full moon of April and follow the anchored fleet.

Common questions

When is the shellcracker run?

April's full moon, water near 70F: the beds fill for two-three weeks. It is South Carolina's quietest famous fishery.

Catfish tonnage

Moultrie's blue catfish fishery plays in the national conversation: drifting cut shad across the 20-30-ft flats produces 30-fish days, and anchored rods on the humps near the Diversion Canal connect with 50-plus-pound trophies every month of the year. Winter concentrates giants where the canal dumps bait: the January-February anchor bite is South Carolina's best big-fish odds.

How do I drift fish Moultrie for cats?

Santee rigs (pencil weight, peg float lifting the hook) dragged at 0.4-0.8 mph across the open flats: cover water until the rod boxes load. Wind is your trolling motor: locals drift socks and let the chop work.

Is fishing good at Lake Moultrie right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.

Nearby waters

Santee River12 miLake Marion22 miCharleston37 miMurrells Inlet61 miMyrtle Beach72 miSaluda River76 mi
Share your catch