Angler's Headquarters
Learn more about Lake Wateree below
June 4
Lake Wateree is up to 98.7% of full pool and the upper end is muddy while the lower lake has some stain. Morning surface water temperatures are about 78 degrees.
May 26
Lake Wateree is at 98.5% of full pool, and the lower lake is clear, while the upper lake has some color (but could change quickly from all the recent rain). Morning surface water temperatures are about 76 degrees.
Striper action at Lake Wateree is very good, reports Capt. Justin Whitesides (803-417-0070), and he's catching them throughout the lake.
A recurring theme from almost all lake reports in the past two weeks is that bream fishing is excellent throughout South Carolina.
April 22
Lake Wateree is at 96.2% of full pool and the lake is still extremely clear. Morning surface water temperatures are about 70 degrees.
April 16
Lake Wateree is at 96.4% of full pool and the lake is overall extremely clear. Morning surface water temperatures are about 70 degrees.
April 3
Lake Wateree is at 97.0% of full pool, and the lower end of the lake is clear, but from Beaver Creek and up the lake, the water is dingy. Morning surface water temperature is 65 degrees.
Read more fishing reports from Lake Wateree and other popular places at the AHQ Report!
Located downriver from Lake Wylie, and just below the less well-known reservoir Stumpy Pond, Lake Wateree is the southernmost lake on the Catawba River chain. Below Lake Wateree the river is known as the Wateree River and joins with the Congaree to form the Santee Cooper lakes. Lake Wateree was created in 1920 with the construction of a 3,380-foot dam and the Wateree Hydroelectric Station, and it is still managed by Duke Energy for hydroelectric power generation. Slightly larger than Lake Wylie, the lake’s surface area is just less than 14,000 acres and it has around 242 miles of shoreline. At full pool the lake’s elevation is approximately 225.5 feet, and its deepest point is around 90 feet.
A very fertile lake with a healthy baitfish population and a relative lack of development compared to other, more urban lakes, Lake Wateree is known to anglers as one of the premiere all-around fisheries in South Carolina. The popular species targeted by fishermen on the lake include largemouth bass, striped bass, crappie, bluegill, white perch, and catfish. Despite the presence of striper fishermen there is not a dominant population of blueback herring in Lake Wateree, and the main forage base is threadfin and gizzard shad.
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