Fishing Report For Lake Murray, SC

By Rick Seaman

January 27, 2025

Popular Fish Species Reports
Lake Murray Fishing Video
Available Fish Species
Today's Weather & Forecast
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Marinas
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Fishing Report Lake Murray, SC

Fishing Reports

Popular Fish Species Lake Murray, SC

Largemouth Bass

Current Report: Good
Outlook: Very Good To Excellent

Reported by many to be one of the best lakes in the state, Lake Murray continues to deliver both quality and quantity. The lake has abundant, shallow cover which keeps bass shallow for much of the year. In open water around rip rap, shallow- and medium-depth crankbaits are catching lots of bass. Vibrating are jigs working well, drawing bass out of cover, where they are looking to ambush prey.

Striped Bass

Current Report: Fair To Good
Outlook: Good To Very Good

Local guides report good fishing for stripers again this year on Lake Murray. The lake has a large population of stripers, and some are trophy-class fish. A significant number of stripers remain in the main body of the lake, pretty much year round. Others migrate in and out of major creeks like the Big Saluda River, the Little Saluda River, and behind Misty Island. Being successful at fishing for stripers is a matter of locating schools of bait, and wolf packs of stripers are likely to be nearby. Fish finders are a big help in locating these roaming schools. Swimbaits, jerkbaits, crankbaits, spoons, live bait and cut bait are all effective here.

Black Crappie - White Crappie

Uncle Buck's Panfish Creatures Curly Tail Minnow Rigged

Current Report: Fair To Good
Outlook: Good To Very Good

While you can catch crappie all around the lake, the Big Saluda River bays and the Little Saluda River bays tend to hold big concentrations, due to excellent cover and fertile water. Locals report that Spring is the premiere time to be on the water as crappie move into shallow coves to spawn. Early and late in the day can be the best time to catch some bigger slabs. Docks, brush, wood and deep vegetation are a good place to cast small crappie jigs or live minnows. Light tackle with 4 lb to 8 lb line is ideal. Locals report good success using fish finders to locate schools of crappie, which tend to stack vertically around cover.

Fish species to fish for...

Guide to fishing for largemouth bass, channel catfish, flathead catfish, black crappie, white crappie, bluegill, pumpkinseed sunfish, redbreast sunfish, redear sunfish, warmouth, white perch, yellow perch, striped bass and chain pickerel at Lake Murray in South Carolina.

Lake Murray is a 50,000-reservoir with 620 miles of shoreline, which is home to multiple fish species. This fertile fishery is conveniently located on the outskirts of Columbia, South Carolina. Fish species include bass, crappie, stripers, catfish, perch, sunfish and chain pickerel.

Primary fish species to catch

Click images for fishing tips and details about each species.

Today's Weather & Forecast

Fishing Boat Rentals

Click here for fishing boat rentals available at this lake.

Public Boat Launch Ramps & Landings

Click here for boat ramps available at this lake.

Marinas

Click here for marinas available at this lake.

Fishing License

Click here for a South Carolina Fishing License.

Map - Fishing & Access

Rick Seaman is a fishing enthusiast with over five decades of fishing experience, a retired tournament fisherman, author of numerous published articles on fishing, and co-author of the book "Bass Fishing - It's not WHAT you throw, It's WHERE you throw it".