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Fishing in South Carolina: the Department of Natural Resources sets who needs a freshwater or saltwater license and what it costs. Fees and exemptions below are copied from its pages.
- AgencySCDNRsets licenses
- CheckedOct 262026
- Facts9each cited
- Types2fresh and salt water
Who Needs a License
- Saltwater: a license is required when harvesting marine resources, including finfish, oysters, clams, shrimp and crab. Exemptions: fishing on a licensed public fishing pier; on a licensed charter vessel while under hire; using 3 or fewer drop nets, fold-up traps, or handlines with no hooks and a single bait per line. Shrimp baiting needs a separate license. source
- Freshwater: a license is required unless fishing in a privately-owned pond. source
- Under 16: no license required unless taking game or fish for commercial purposes or possessing nongame fishing devices. source
- Residents 64 and older who have lived in SC 180 days or more may buy a Lifetime License for $9.00 covering freshwater and saltwater fishing, among other privileges. source
- Georgia and South Carolina freshwater licenses are accepted on specified sections of the Savannah River, the Chattooga River and listed impoundments; tributary streams excluded. source
- Licenses are bought online through Go Outdoors SC (confirm the URL license.gooutdoorssouthcarolina.com/Licensing/CustomerLookup.aspx). source
Resident Fees
- Freshwater: annual $10.00; 3-year $30.00; 14-day $5.00. Saltwater: annual $15.00; 3-year $45.00; 14-day $10.00. source
Nonresident Fees
- Freshwater: annual $35.00; 3-year $105.00; 14-day $11.00. Saltwater: annual $75.00; 7-day $35.00; 1-day $10.00. source
Also Good to Know
- SC residents receiving disability benefits may qualify for a free hunting and fishing license. source
Sea Turtle Nesting Season
- Sea turtles nest on South Carolina beaches from May through October; loggerhead females come ashore to lay eggs from May to August. source
- Lights out: 'Turn out all lights visible from the beach, dusk to dawn, from May through October.' Shut off outdoor and deck lights, close blinds and drapes on beach-facing windows, do not shine lights on a sea turtle or use flash photography. source
- All four South Carolina species are protected by state and federal law, mainly the U.S. Endangered Species Act of 1973. source
What We Could Not Confirm
Not confirmed: we looked for these on official pages and did not find them. Check with the town or operator before you rely on them.
- Falls Park on the Reedy (Greenville): hours, fees, parking and dog rules not found on any official page (greenvillesc.gov pages had no usable text; visitgreenvillesc.com listing gave only visitor-center hours). The 7 a.m.-9 p.m. figure and free 2-hour street parking appeared only in unofficial summary of third-party sites and were not used.
- Twin Falls (Pickens County / Eastatoe), Falls Creek Falls, Big Bradley Falls, Poinsett Bridge, Long Creek Falls, Wildcat Branch trail beyond Visit Greenville: no read official page; left out.
- Waterfall county names were included only where a page states them (Wildcat Wayside, Reedy River Falls, Issaqueena, Chau Ram); the rest are null.
- Coordinates: only Whitewater Falls (Forest Service page) prints coordinates; SC State Parks pages give street addresses only.
- Jones Gap Trail length not printed on the park page; Jones Gap trails sub-page did not load for us. Caesars Head trails page lists no per-trail lengths. Table Rock page lists trail lengths on /table-rock/trails only.
- Lake Keowee and Lake Murray paddling access: DNR Keowee regulations page covers fishing rules only; no official access list read.
- Hunting Island lagoon kayaking: page says only that paddling is available and fishing in the lagoon is allowed; no lagoon paddling rules.
- Spanish Moss Trail total length and dog rules: not on pages read (Beaufort County news release and spanishmosstrail.com). unofficial summary quoted about 10 built miles / 16 planned, from a county plan not read.
- Swamp Rabbit Trail: county page says 32 miles; City of Greenville page returned no length. Other sources quoted 25-28 miles; not used.
- Cowpens National Battlefield trails: NPS hiking URL did not load for us; left out.
- Free fishing days: no statement found on dnr.sc.gov licensing, general license or purchase pages.
- Hunting note: the WMA regulation page does not say whether it applies to hikers on all WMA lands, only to 'all users' during deer season on WMA land; check the specific WMA page.
- Sea turtle penalty amounts: the SCDNR page lists none; the May 1-Oct 31 exact dates and $25,000 penalty appeared only in an unofficial summary and were not used.
- Fall color: no official page states a peak window for the Upstate specifically; the only timing statements are statewide (mid-October to early November) and 'mountains in mid to late October'.
- Conflicts left visible: Edisto trail length (23 / 56 / 62 miles by source and portion), Raven Cliff Falls hike length (2 mi one way / 4 mi / 4.4 mi / 6.6 mi), Rainbow Falls (2.2 vs 2.3 miles one way vs 5 mi round trip), Whitewater Falls parking fee ($3 Forest Service vs $2 Foothills Trail Conference), Devils Fork boat ramps (three vs four).
- Palmetto Trail: number of passages not stated; home page says 416 miles completed while the about page gives no completed mileage; palmettotrail.org/trails list did not load.
Sources
- Caesars Head State Park
- Jones Gap State Park
- Table Rock State Park
- Table Rock State Park trails
- Oconee State Park
- Oconee State Park trails
- Oconee Station State Historic Site
- Devils Fork State Park
- Devils Fork things to do
- Musgrove Mill State Historic Site
- Colleton State Park
- Hunting Island State Park
- Hunting Island trails
- Hunting Island things to do
- SC State Parks FAQs
- SC State Parks paddling
- SC State Parks rivers
- SC State Parks mountains and waterfalls
- SC State Parks three canoe trails
- SC State Parks fall foliage reports
- SC State Parks Looking forward to fall
- Discover South Carolina: 10 waterfalls near Upcountry state parks
- Visit Greenville SC waterfalls
- Visit Oconee Stumphouse Park
- Visit Oconee Chau Ram County Park
- Visit Oconee Foothills Trail
- USFS Yellow Branch Falls
- USFS Station Cove Falls
- USFS Spoonauger Falls
- USFS King Creek Falls
- USFS Foothills National Recreation Trail
- USFS Camping and cabins
- USFS Whitewater Falls
- Foothills Trail Conference overview
- Foothills Trail Conference registration and parking
- Palmetto Trails about
- Palmetto Trails home
- Palmetto Trail Lake Marion Passage
- Palmetto Trail Swamp Fox Passage
- Palmetto Trail Peak to Prosperity Passage
- Palmetto Trail Blue Ridge Electric Co-Op Passage
- NPS Congaree boardwalk
- NPS Congaree canoeing and kayaking
- NPS Congaree canoe trail conditions
- NPS Congaree trip ideas
- NPS Congaree pets
- NPS Congaree fees
- NPS Kings Mountain trails
- Edisto River Canoe and Kayak Trail Commission
- Greenville County Swamp Rabbit Trail
- Beaufort County Spanish Moss Trail release
- Spanish Moss Trail
- SCDNR Lower Saluda Scenic River
- SCDNR Saltwater Paddling Trail section 6
- SCDNR Saltwater Paddling Trail section 2
- SCDNR license requirements
- SCDNR resident license pricing
- SCDNR nonresident license pricing
- SCDNR purchase licenses
- SCDNR WMA regulations
- SCDNR sea turtles
Read on October 26, 2026. How we check: editorial standards; spot a mistake? Tell us.
Cite this page: It's South Carolina, “Fishing in South Carolina”, itssouthcarolina.com/things-to-do/outdoors-and-hiking/fishing-in-south-carolina/ (updated ). By the It's South Carolina editorial team. Free to quote with attribution and a link to this page; data and tables are licensed CC BY 4.0.
