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Lake Wateree Fishing Report

Updated Fri, Oct 23, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

Lake Wateree: a 13,025-acre Duke Energy reservoir on the Catawba-Wateree chain northeast of Columbia, managed by SCDNR for crappie, striped bass, largemouth and catfish.

3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Water temp
~74 F est.
Air / High
72 / 72 F
Wind
NE 8 mph

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

Satellite view
Friday
23
October 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.

3/5Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Lake Wateree offers the kind of conditions this water was made for. Today brings clear skies, wind NE around 8 mph, steady pressure near 1023 hPa and a high of 72. Water sits around 74 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 9:58 AM-11:58 AM and 10:26 PM-12:26 AM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

Striped bassExcellent

Use electronics to find shad schools in open water, and watch for birds working over bait.

Largemouth bassGood

The main feeding season after the spawn: work moving baits along weed edges, points and wood, and follow up with a soft plastic where a fish swirls.

Catfish (blue, channel)Good

Spawning season from late May into summer: Iowa DNR suggests drifting bait under a float along riprap and snags where males guard nests in cavities.

CrappieFair

Early in this band crappie are spawning in protected coves; afterward they move to docks, brush piles and standing timber near deeper water.

Tomorrow: Similar at 71 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Oct 24, 6:30 AMHow this report is made β†’

Before you go

South Carolina requires a fishing licence from age 16, from $10.00 for residents. What a South Carolina licence costs and where to buy it β†’

Chasing largemouth bass here? Check the size and bag limits with SCDNR before you keep anything. The season dates for South Carolina, read off the agency, are on the South Carolina seasons page.

Water and weather

Live readings.

No live gauge on this water

Conditions here are modeled from weather, season and the nearest stations. Water readings appear when a USGS gauge is available.

5060708090JanMarMayJulSepNovOct, ~74 F now

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp72 F
High / Low72 / 43 F
WindNE 8-12 mph
Pressure1022.5 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain0% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset07:35 / 18:38
MoonWaxing Gibbous, 91%
Water temp (seasonal)~74 F est.

Bite planner

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

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunsetPRIMEPRIME

Which day to fish Lake Wateree this week

The best day on Lake Wateree this week looks like Saturday Oct 24, at 4 out of 5, against 3 today.

Best day this week: Saturday, Oct 24 β€” good at 4/5, falling pressure, usually the best window of a week.

Today, Oct 23 β€” Fair

A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Solunar majors
9:58 AM-11:58 AM and 10:26 PM-12:26 AM
Minor period
4:19 AM-5:19 AM
Sun
07:35 to 18:38
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Clear, 9 mph
Rain chance
0%

Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out: how the score is built.

Species guide

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

Largemouth bass illustration

Largemouth bass

Best: the spring pre-spawn and the fall feed

A warm-water sunfish of lakes, reservoirs, ponds and slow river backwaters that holds tight to cover: weeds, logs, rock ledges and docks. In Texas, TPWD surveys rank it "by far" the freshwater fish anglers most want to catch. The main feeding season after the spawn: work moving baits along weed edges, points and wood, and follow up with a soft plastic where a fish swirls.

Crappie illustration

Crappie

Best: the spring spawn; summer around docks, brush and the thermocline

Two slab-sided panfish, the white crappie and the black crappie, that gather around submerged timber, brush piles, docks and bridge pilings in lakes, reservoirs and slow river backwaters. Texas Parks and Wildlife counts crappie as the state's most popular panfish. Early in this band crappie are spawning in protected coves; afterward they move to docks, brush piles and standing timber near deeper water.

Catfish (blue, channel) illustration

Catfish (blue, channel)

Year-round, best at dusk and after dark

Three big catfish share most of the country's rivers and reservoirs: the channel catfish, the most widespread; the blue catfish, the largest; and the flathead, which hunts live fish. All feed mostly on or near the bottom. Spawning season from late May into summer: Iowa DNR suggests drifting bait under a float along riprap and snags where males guard nests in cavities.

Striped bass illustration

Striped bass

Best: spring and fall inland; on the coast, during the seasonal migrations

The largest of the temperate basses, a sea-run fish of the Atlantic and Gulf coasts that now also lives in reservoirs across much of the country after hatchery stocking. Inland, it follows schools of shad and herring through open water. Use electronics to find shad schools in open water, and watch for birds working over bait.

When to come: the Lake Wateree 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
Crappie
Catfish (blue, channel)
Striped bass
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 74 F (estimated, not a reading).

5060708090JanMarMayJulSepNovOct, ~74 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 Wateree today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Oct 22

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Striped bass led the card at excellent. High of 75 F, wind to 5 mph.

Wed, Oct 21

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Largemouth bass led the card at excellent. High of 75 F, wind to 6 mph.

Tue, Oct 20

2/5 Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing. Striped bass led the card at excellent. High of 78 F, wind to 7 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
Only used if we need to ask you about your report. No mailing list, no spam.

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

South Carolina fishing license. SCDNR limits (eRegulations, updated Aug. 5, 2026): largemouth bass 14-inch minimum on Lake Wateree, with no more than 5 black bass a day in total; crappie 8-inch minimum and 20 a day statewide. Read SCDNR's striped, white and hybrid bass table before keeping stripers.

Access

Eight public boat access areas maintained by Duke Energy and SCDNR, plus Lake Wateree State Park (two-lane ramp, tackle shop, fuel dock).

About this water

13,025 acres (SCDNR) on the Catawba-Wateree system in Fairfield, Kershaw and Lancaster counties, SC; created in 1920 and owned by Duke Energy.

Fishing Lake Wateree: the full guide

Lake facts

SCDNR describes Lake Wateree as the largest of the Catawba-Wateree lakes in South Carolina, at 13,025 acres, about 30 miles northeast of Columbia. It formed in 1920 when the Wateree Hydroelectric Station began operating, Duke Energy owns and manages it, and full pond elevation is 225.5 feet. The lake lies in Fairfield, Kershaw and Lancaster counties and supplies water to Lugoff and Camden.

What SCDNR manages for

The popular sport fish SCDNR names for Lake Wateree are black crappie, striped bass, largemouth bass and catfish. The agency monitors them on a regular basis, stocks striped bass regularly to keep the population healthy and maintains 17 fish attractors on the lake.

Getting on the water

SCDNR counts 14 access points: Duke Energy and SCDNR maintain eight public boat access areas on the lake and one below the dam, and five are privately run. Lake Wateree State Park has a two-lane ramp with in-water refueling, a tackle shop and 100 campsites, 23 of them on the waterfront, and hosts fishing tournaments every year.

Common questions

How big is Lake Wateree?

SCDNR lists 13,025 surface acres. The South Carolina State Parks page gives 13,800 acres of the lake accessible through Lake Wateree State Park.

What is the bass size limit on Lake Wateree?

Largemouth bass must be at least 14 inches: Lake Wateree is one of the lakes SCDNR lists as an exception to the statewide rule. No more than 5 black bass may be kept a day.

Does SCDNR stock Lake Wateree?

Yes. SCDNR says it stocks striped bass regularly to maintain a healthy population.

Is fishing good at Lake Wateree right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Nearby waters

Saluda River33 miBroad River42 miLake Murray43 miLake Wylie53 miLake Marion66 miLake Greenwood74 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 34.3790, -80.7330 in this water's own timezone. A model, not an observation.
Moon and solunar windows
Calculated on this site
Astronomical calculation from these coordinates and the date, not a third-party feed. How much weight it deserves.
Pages checked
The facts in the written guide were checked against these pages, from the agencies and operators that manage the water, on October 8, 2026. Anything we could not verify was taken out.
The written guide on this page
Pablo Ruiz Quintero
How this page was made. The daily report is computed by our scoring engine from live readings; nobody types it. The written text was drafted with AI assistance from the official pages listed above, and its facts were checked against those pages by automated verification on October 8, 2026; anything that could not be verified was taken out. Pablo Ruiz Quintero sets every guideline, the data-verification system and the minimum standards a page must meet to be published, reviews page structure and approves what goes live; the responsibility is his, and the AI carries out the work. We work this way because it is how one person can keep every page current with named sources. Errors are published in the verification log; the full policy is in the editorial policy.

Readings refresh on a 30-minute window. The full method, with every figure and its source, is on how our reports are made. Something wrong here? Tell us and it goes in the log with the date.