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Learn more about Lake Keowee below
September 5
Lake Keowee is back up to 97.7% of full pool and clarity is normal. Water temperatures in the mid- to upper 80s can still be found but they are finally beginning to drop.
August 29
Lake Keowee is at 96.7% of full pool, running lower than normal the past week, and clarity also continues to be very high with the lack of rainfall. With the recent hot weather water temperatures have remained steady this past week with low to mid 80s throughout the lake.
August 22
Lake Keowee is at 96.6% of full pool and with little to no rain, water clarity remains very high on the lake. In the last week a very slow, gradual drop in water temperature has been seen with most of the lake now in the mid 80s.
August 14
Lake Keowee is at 96.5% of full pool and water clarity water clarity remains high to very high – the Upstate received less rain in the recent storm than the rest of the state. Summertime water temperatures have now peaked on the lake, with low 80s to upper 80s throughout. The coolest water is north of the Highway 11 bridge.
August 1
Lake Keowee is at 97.4% of full pool and water clarity is high on the main lake, with some stain in the backs of creeks. Water temperatures are in the mid- to upper 80s everywhere south of the Highway 11 bridge, while lower 80s can be found north of the bridge.
July 26
Lake Keowee is at 98.3% of full pool and water clarity is high on the main lake but there is some stain in the backs of creeks. Water temperatures basically remain in the high 80s over most of the lake, while the coolest water in the low 80s is north of the Highway 11 bridge.
Read more fishing reports from Lake Keowee and other popular places at the AHQ Report!
Nestled in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains near Clemson, South Carolina, construction of Lake Keowee was completed in 1973. The lake was created to serve the needs of Duke Energy, and lake water cools three nuclear reactors at the Oconee Nuclear Generating Station. The northern end of the lake backs up to Lake Jocassee, the power plant is in the mid-lake section, and at the lower end outflows from the two dams (Keowee Dam and Little River Dam) combine to form the Seneca River and feed one of the major arms of Lake Hartwell. A beautiful, generally clear lake, it is about 25 miles long and oriented north/ south, covers approximately 18,500 acres, and has around 300 acres of shoreline. At the widest it is about 3 miles wide, and the lake averages 50 feet deep.
Unlike many South Carolina lakes, Lake Keowee does not have striped bass stocked by the Department of Natural Resources – nor significant numbers of blueback herring – nor does it have stocked trout. It does have largemouth bass, with some large fish caught each year, but the numbers are dwindling and DNR has launched a habitat restoration project aiming to re-grow native vegetation. The lake still has some big white crappie as well as a very few black crappie, but this population has also dwindled. There are bream and giant catfish in Lake Keowee, with an 89-pound blue catfish caught in the spring of 2020 – and there is little doubt that there are still larger fish swimming. But Lake Keowee is best known for its massive population of non-native spotted bass that feast on the main forage base of threadfin shad.
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