Santee
RECEIVE FISHING REPORT UPDATES!
Rating - Very_Good
Wednesday, Jul 08 2026
Black bass: Captain David Murdaugh jSr. (843-452-9566) reports that early there can be a topwater bite around lily pads and shallow vegetation, but during the day the best action will often be around eel grass and hydrilla beds or offshore brush and ledges. Big worms, jerkbaits and crankbaits can all work.Crappie: Captain Steve English (843-729-4044) reports that this month fish should continue to be caught on mid-depth brush with minnows, but as it gets very hot they could move a little deeper. Its been a fair year for crappie and they hope to be able to continue to catch a decent number of fish in July.Bream: Captain Steve English (843-729-4044) reports that around the new and full moons waves of bluegill and some shellcracker should come shallow to spawn where they can be caught on crickets and worms. In between the fish are supposed to hold around the first break, but this year they have often been hard to locate. Smaller bream are easy to find on brush piles.Catfish: Captain Stevie English (843-709-8138) and Captain Bobby Winters (843-751-3080) report that to start July the best fishing is usually drifting or anchoring in relatively shallow water in less than 20 feet, but at some point the bigger fish may go deeper although at night they can come shallow again. White perch and bream are usually good summer baits.Upper Lake Marion: : (note: recognizing the uniqueness of this section of the lake, we will try to offer a report from the top of the upper lake whenever possible going forward): Relaxed Retreat (803-478-2800), located in Jacks Creek and the I-95 Bridge area, reports that the ecosystem at the top of the upper lake supports some very good fishing throughout July. One of their black bass guides Captain Rodney Reed (also available at 803-825-9144) reports that largemouth bass in upper Lake Marion will be holding in 5-8 feet of water during the day around the plentiful woody and weedy cover in this section of the lake, while the shallow-water topwater bite will be good early and late in the day throughout July. Crappie will be on deeper brush but biting well, while bream will be in 3-7 feet of water around weed edges and cypress tree clusters. Sporadic bedding will occur all month in shallow water. The July catfish patterns at the top of Santee typically involve fishing shallow flats less than 6 feet deep early and late, then drift-fishing deeper water along the channels mid-day. Note that nocturnal catfishing the shallow flats from an anchored setup is very productive on calm nights.
Wednesday, Jul 08 2026
Access Info
Striped Bass: Fair. Although still not frequent, reports of striper being caught are picking up.Catfish: Good. Catfish are deep but feeding extremely well in the lower lake; gizzard shad drifted or anchored are very effective.
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Santee
RECEIVE FISHING REPORT UPDATES!
Rating - Very_Good
Black bass: Captain David Murdaugh jSr. (843-452-9566) reports that early there can be a topwater bite around lily pads and shallow vegetation, but during the day the best action will often be around eel grass and hydrilla beds or offshore brush and ledges. Big worms, jerkbaits and crankbaits can all work.Crappie: Captain Steve English (843-729-4044) reports that this month fish should continue to be caught on mid-depth brush with minnows, but as it gets very hot they could move a little deeper. Its been a fair year for crappie and they hope to be able to continue to catch a decent number of fish in July.Bream: Captain Steve English (843-729-4044) reports that around the new and full moons waves of bluegill and some shellcracker should come shallow to spawn where they can be caught on crickets and worms. In between the fish are supposed to hold around the first break, but this year they have often been hard to locate. Smaller bream are easy to find on brush piles.Catfish: Captain Stevie English (843-709-8138) and Captain Bobby Winters (843-751-3080) report that to start July the best fishing is usually drifting or anchoring in relatively shallow water in less than 20 feet, but at some point the bigger fish may go deeper although at night they can come shallow again. White perch and bream are usually good summer baits.Upper Lake Marion: : (note: recognizing the uniqueness of this section of the lake, we will try to offer a report from the top of the upper lake whenever possible going forward): Relaxed Retreat (803-478-2800), located in Jacks Creek and the I-95 Bridge area, reports that the ecosystem at the top of the upper lake supports some very good fishing throughout July. One of their black bass guides Captain Rodney Reed (also available at 803-825-9144) reports that largemouth bass in upper Lake Marion will be holding in 5-8 feet of water during the day around the plentiful woody and weedy cover in this section of the lake, while the shallow-water topwater bite will be good early and late in the day throughout July. Crappie will be on deeper brush but biting well, while bream will be in 3-7 feet of water around weed edges and cypress tree clusters. Sporadic bedding will occur all month in shallow water. The July catfish patterns at the top of Santee typically involve fishing shallow flats less than 6 feet deep early and late, then drift-fishing deeper water along the channels mid-day. Note that nocturnal catfishing the shallow flats from an anchored setup is very productive on calm nights.
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