South Carolina is becoming a more popular state for largemouth bass fishing for a lot of anglers due to some of the national bass tournaments in recent years. This state does not have tons of lakes to fish for largemouth bass, however, they have some very large lakes with lots of good water to fish for largemouth bass. You also have some very big largemouth bass caught in South Carolina as well.
Learn more about South Carolina’s featured largemouth bass fishing destinations.
| Lake Hartwell |
| Lake Murray |
| Santee Cooper Lakes |
Learn More About South Carolina’s Featured Fishing Destinations
| Beaufort, SC | Lake Hartwell |
| Charleston, SC | Lake Murray |
| Georgetown, SC | Myrtle Beach, SC |
| Hilton Head Island, SC | Santee Cooper Lakes |
Beaufort, SC
Beaufort, South Carolina is a small town with some awesome inshore fishing available. You won’t find the beaches here, but you can find them about 45 minutes to an hour away on nearby Hilton Head Island. You will find plenty of restaurants and lodging here to accommodate you. If you enjoy the outdoors, there is plenty of outdoor recreation to keep you busy as well.
This area is known for its inshore fishing. Redfish and sea trout get the most attention here and they should. There are so many shallow water spots to target these fish in the area. You may also catch a variety of other fish such as tarpon, ladyfish, flounder, jack crevalle and sheepshead.
Charleston, SC
Charleston is a historic city and the largest city of Charleston County. Situated on the Charleston Harbor fishermen and boaters have easy access to the harbor and offshore charters can head out to the Atlantic Ocean from here. For the freshwater anglers, you have the Santee Cooper Lakes a short drive down the road. This is a very unique fishing destination with great freshwater and saltwater fishing in one place.
The Santee Cooper Lakes anglers will target bass, catfish and panfish. For those of you looking to go saltwater fishing, there are so many species of fish to catch inshore or offshore. Fishing charters target redfish, sea trout, flounder, jack crevalle, spanish mackerel, spadefish, barracuda, ladyfish, cobia, tarpon, sharks, marlin, sailfish, dolphin, wahoo, tuna and others. The jetties are very popular here for a variety of fish.
Georgetown, SC
Georgetown is the 3rd oldest city in South Carolina and it is located on Winyah Bay at the confluence of the Great Pee Dee River, Waccamaw River, and Sampit River. This city is also the 2nd largest seaport in South Carolina.
The area provides some excellent fishing and you don’t have to battle the big waves of the ocean to catch fish around Georgetown, South Carolina. You can target fish in protected areas behind barrier islands, and in the many creeks, rivers and bays. The inshore waters provide some excellent fishing for redfish, flounder, black drum, sheepshead, speckled trout, Spanish mackerel, king mackerel, cobia, spadefish, jack crevalle, tarpon and more. Offshore fishing charters are also available if you would like to catch marlin, sailfish, dolphin, wahoo, tuna and others.
Hilton Head Island
Hilton Head Island is located in the southern part of South Carolina about 20 miles north of Savannah, Georgia. The island is a very popular vacation destination with 12 miles of beachfront and numerous golf courses. Hilton Head Island is known more as a golf destination than a fishing destination, but the fishing is excellent here as well.
There are numerous fishing charters that operate out of Hilton Head Island and you can catch many different types of fish inshore and offshore. Inshore, anglers target redfish, sea trout, flounder, sheepshead and a variety of other fish. Offshore, anglers target mahi mahi, wahoo, kingfish, sharks, cobia, grouper, sea bass, snapper and others.
Lake Hartwell
Lake Hartwell is a large lake that borders Georgia and South Carolina. The lake is created by Hartwell Dam. It covers nearly 56,000 surface acres with a shoreline of 962 miles. For anglers, the striped bass fishing gets most of the attention with huge fish being caught here every year. Largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, walleye, catfish, bluegill and other sunfish round out the fishery.
Lake Murray (South Carolina)
Lake Murray is a large reservoir in South Carolina. It covers around 49,000 surface acres and has around 620 miles of shoreline. This lake is very popular for outdoor recreation such as fishing, boating and swimming. Anglers have lots of options to fish for many different species of fish. The largemouth bass and striped bass fishing get most of the attention from anglers, but you may also catch crappie, catfish, bluegill and other sunfish.
Myrtle Beach, SC
Myrtle Beach is an extremely popular beach vacation destination on the coast of South Carolina. Millions of visitors head to Myrtle Beach every year. There are plenty of activities to keep the entire family busy here. You can find t-shirt and souvenir shops, go cart tracks, mini golf, boat rentals, fishing charters, golf courses, plenty of shops and restaurants to go along with the beautiful, warm beaches.
The beaches can get crowded here and you don’t have a bunch of inshore fishing options here like you would in many of the other featured saltwater destinations that you will find on our site. However, you can fish the Intracoastal Waterway (basically a river) for freshwater and saltwater fish. Murrells Inlet is a popular inshore spot to fish inshore as well. Other than that, it’s going to be the beaches, piers and from a boat nearshore or offshore. If you want to fish the beaches, you will most likely have to get up early in the morning or fish late evening and at night. Be smart about fishing around the crowds. This is a very popular beach vacation destination, so you will see plenty of people on the beaches here. You can fish inshore, but most anglers will choose to go offshore or run the beaches for a variety of different fish. There are numerous fishing charters throughout the area that can make help to make your trip a memorable one.
Sante Cooper Lakes
The Santee Cooper Lakes are two fairly large lakes located about 45 minutes to an hour and a half from Charleston, South Carolina. If you’re looking for a nice freshwater vacation destination that gives you the option of spending some time on the ocean beaches too, this is a great destination for you. Lake Marion and Lake Moultrie are both popular lakes for outdoor recreation such as fishing and boating. Anglers usually target largemouth bass, but these lakes have so many different fish species to target. These lakes are home to some of the best fishing for catfish in the country. Anglers catch good numbers of catfish and lots of big catfish too. Striped bass, crappie, white bass, bluegill and other sunfish round out the fishery.
