Waters · Lakes · SC · Mon, Sep 21

Santee Cooper water level today 73.15 ft, falling

Bite index 6/10 — Biting — fish it after dark.

Worth a cast.

6/10
Biting

Today's bite windows

12 AM6 AMNoon6 PM11 PM
Minor
1:27 AM–2:27 AM
Moonset
Major
8:21 AM–10:21 AM
Moon underfoot
Minor
4:09 PM–5:09 PM
Moonrise
Major
8:45 PM–10:45 PM
Moon overhead

Sunrise 7:08 AM · sunset 7:18 PM · tomorrow's first major 9:09 AM–11:09 AM · windows on every water

Solunar · computed updated 10:42 AM

Conditions right now

Water temp
82.8°F
USGS 02171000 updated 9:45 AM
Water level
73.15ft
-0.04 ft in 24h
USGS 02171000 updated 9:45 AM
Pressure
29.98inHg
steady · +0.6 hPa/12h
NOAA KMKS updated 10:15 AM
Wind
3mph ENE
NOAA KMKS updated 10:15 AM
Moon
76% waxing
Solunar · computed updated 10:42 AM

Nearby gauges

These sit on connected water, not on Santee Cooper itself.

  • Second stretch
    USGS 02172000 updated 9:45 AM
  • Release below the dam — 1310 cfs · 83.3°F
    USGS 02172002 updated 9:45 AM

What this means

Largemouth bass
83°F is above the comfortable band. Fish deep water and the first hour of light.
Work deep.
Crappie
83°F is above the comfortable band. Fish deep water and the first hour of light.
Work deep.
Catfish
83°F sits in the sweet spot. Work the first few feet early.
Work shallow to mid.

Santee Cooper level over the last 8 days

73.15 ft down 0.04 ft in 24 hours

That sits 5% of the way up the band it has held over the last 8 days, between 73.13 and 73.5 ft. Over the week it is down0.30ft.

09-13 73.13–73.50 ft 09-21
USGS 02171000 updated 9:45 AM

The week ahead

Tue 6 Biting
Wed 7 Biting
Thu 7 Biting
Fri 7 Biting
Sat 6 Biting
Sun 6 Biting
Mon 6 Biting

Forecast days carry solunar and the wind outlook. Pressure and gauge movement land the morning of.

Santee Cooper depth and lake size

SCDNR states this water's average and maximum depth directly; no contour map is published for Lake Marion. The system's second basin, Lake Moultrie, runs about 18.7 ft average and 75.46 ft maximum by the same source — not shown separately above because this page follows one primary gauge, on Lake Marion.

Deepest point
about 76.77 ft
Average depth
13.12 ft
Surface area
90,000 acres

Depth data from South Carolina Department of Natural Resources. Bathymetry changes slowly — treat it as structure, not as today's water.

South Carolina Department of Natural Resources · reported figures

Santee Cooper boat ramps and public fishing access

South Carolina Department of Natural Resources lists 40 public access points on Lake Marion and Lake Moultrie. These are the 8 closest to our gauge — the farthest one the agency lists sits 25 mi away.

Access data from South Carolina Department of Natural Resources. Distances are straight-line from our gauge, not driving distance.

South Carolina Department of Natural Resources · public access inventory

Before you go

A South Carolina fishing license covers this water — $10 a year for residents. SCDNR sets the rules and is the one that counts.

What it costs, and who is exempt →

Nearby waters today

Questions people ask about Santee Cooper

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 Santee Cooper.

Is it worth fishing Santee Cooper today?
6 out of 10 — biting. Worth a cast. The strongest stretch is 8:21 AM–10:21 AM. That number is worked out fresh each morning from the solunar windows, the pressure trend, the water level and the water temperature.
What time should you fish Santee Cooper?
Today's major windows run 8:21 AM–10:21 AM and 8:45 PM–10:45 PM, with minor windows at 1:27 AM–2:27 AM and 4:09 PM–5:09 PM. Sunrise is 7:08 AM and sunset 7:18 PM. A major landing on first or last light is the stretch worth setting an alarm for.
What is the water temperature at Santee Cooper?
82.8°F, read at 9:45 AM from USGS station 02171000. That is 0.1 degrees cooler than 24 hours ago.
What is the water level at Santee Cooper right now?
73.15 ft, read at 9:45 AM from USGS station 02171000. Over 24 hours it is down 0.04 ft.
Are water levels rising or falling at Santee Cooper?
Falling. The lake is down 0.04 ft in 24 hours and down 0.30 ft over the week. Over the last 8 days it has held between 73.13 and 73.5 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 Santee Cooper?
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 Santee Cooper?
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

Where these numbers come from

Santee Cooper is a system of two lakes. The main gauge sits in Lake Marion near Pineville and is the only one that also reports water temperature; Lake Moultrie and the Tailrace Canal release stand alongside as context.

No one types these in by hand. If a source goes quiet, the page says so instead of showing you yesterday.