Lake Murray water level today 356.02 ft, falling

Questions people ask about Lake Murray

Answered from the same readings as the rest of this page. Where we have no basis for an answer, there is no entry — spot-by-spot local knowledge is not something we can claim for Lake Murray.

Is it worth fishing Lake Murray today?

5 out of 10 — picky. Work for it. The strongest stretch is 3:25 AM–5:25 AM. That number is worked out fresh each morning from the solunar windows, the pressure trend, the water level.

What time should you fish Lake Murray?

Today's major windows run 3:25 AM–5:25 AM and 3:49 PM–5:49 PM, with minor windows at 11:12 AM–12:12 PM and 9:20 PM–10:20 PM. Sunrise is 7:08 AM and sunset 7:31 PM. A major landing on first or last light is the stretch worth setting an alarm for.

What is the water temperature at Lake Murray?

No gauge on Lake Murray measures it, so this is an estimate: roughly 81.4°F, worked out from the 7-day mean of air temperature at NOAA weather station KCAE (Columbia, Columbia Metropolitan Airport). Checked against the lakes that do have a thermometer, that method lands within about 4.5°F of the real reading and was off by 8.3°F at worst. Treat it as a ballpark, not a measurement — and note the bite index above ignores it entirely, because an error that size would move the verdict as often as it would fix it.

What is the water level at Lake Murray right now?

356.02 ft, read at 8:45 AM from USGS station 02168500. Over 24 hours it is down 0.07 ft.

Are water levels rising or falling at Lake Murray?

Falling. The lake is down 0.07 ft in 24 hours and down 0.21 ft over the week. Over the last 8 days it has held between 356.01 and 356.28 ft. Every figure here is a difference between two gauge readings, not a forecast — what the level does next depends on rain and on what the dam releases.

Can you eat the fish you catch in Lake Murray?

That is a health question, and it is answered officially rather than by us. South Carolina Department of Environmental Services publishes the fish consumption advisory covering these waters, where this moved from DHEC to SCDES when the agency split in 2024, so older links point to the wrong place. Read it before you keep a meal — we give no eating advice.

SCDES fish consumption advisory

Do you need a licence to fish Lake Murray?

Yes. A South Carolina fishing license covers this water, required from age 16. SCDNR sets the rules and is the one that counts.

What a South Carolina license costs, and who is exempt

What size fish can you keep in South Carolina?

It depends on the species, and several have slot limits rather than a simple minimum. Open to harvest today: red drum (spottail bass), spotted seatrout, black drum, flounder. Seasons here change mid-year by agency order, so the status is re-checked every morning.

Red drum (spottail bass) limits · Spotted seatrout limits · Black drum limits · Flounder limits · Check a length against the rules