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Lake Murray Fishing Report

Learn more about Lake Murray below

November 30

Lake Murray water levels are at 353.85 (full pool is 360.00) and visibility is normal. Morning surface water temperatures at the dam are down to about 61 degrees but much cooler up the river and in the creeks.   

November 16

Lake Murray water levels are down to 353.82 (full pool is 360.00) and visibility is normal. Morning surface water temperatures are down to 63-64 degrees.   

November 9

Lake Murray water levels are down to 353.96 (full pool is 360.00) and visibility is normal. Morning surface water temperatures range from the mid to upper 60s.

November 2

Lake Murray water levels are down to 354.11 (full pool is 360.00) and the lake is still turning over. Morning surface water temperatures have dropped into the lower 60s up the lake and back in the creeks and they are down to about 67 at the dam.

October 26

Lake Murray water levels are down to 354.29 (full pool is 360.00) and the lake is turning over. Morning surface water temperatures are around 69-70 degrees. 

October 19

Lake Murray water levels are at 354.44 (full pool is 360.00) and clarity is normal although the lake is starting to turn over. Morning surface water temperatures are around 70 degrees. 

Looking for More?

Read more fishing reports from Lake Murray and other popular places at the AHQ Report!

About Lake Murray

Now owned and operated by Dominion Energy South Carolina, Lake Murray was built in the 1920s and 30s to provide hydroelectric power for Midlands residents.  The approximately 48,000-acre lake with roughly 650 miles of shoreline lies just to the northwest of South Carolina’s capital city of Columbia in the four counties of Richland, Lexington, Saluda and Newberry.  Today it is difficult to imagine the area without this important source of recreation for a region known as “Lake Murray Country.” The lake is oriented in an east-west direction, with the town of Lexington on the southern side of the lake and the town of Chapin on the northern side.  To the west the lake is fed by the Big and Little Saluda Rivers, and on the east side of the lake is the Lake Murray Dam.  Below the dam the Lower Saluda River is formed from the depths of Lake Murray and flows into the city of Columbia.  The full-pool elevation of Lake Murray is 360 feet above sea level, and at the deepest points near the iconic intake towers the lake is approximately 190 feet deep at full pool.

Fishermen target Lake Murray’s populations of striped bass, largemouth bass, crappie, bream, catfish, and more.  Unlike the other species, striped bass cannot reproduce naturally in Lake Murray and so they are entirely stocked (at fingerling size) by the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources.  In terms of its forage base, Lake Murray has both gizzard and threadfin shad, but the baitfish that may have the most effect on large predator species are non-native blueback herring.  Lake Murray is a popular fishing destination 365 days per year.

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