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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

  1. Caesars Head State Park
  2. Jones Gap State Park
  3. Table Rock State Park
  4. Table Rock State Park trails
  5. Oconee State Park
  6. Oconee State Park trails
  7. Oconee Station State Historic Site
  8. Devils Fork State Park
  9. Devils Fork things to do
  10. Musgrove Mill State Historic Site
  11. Colleton State Park
  12. Hunting Island State Park
  13. Hunting Island trails
  14. Hunting Island things to do
  15. SC State Parks FAQs
  16. SC State Parks paddling
  17. SC State Parks rivers
  18. SC State Parks mountains and waterfalls
  19. SC State Parks three canoe trails
  20. SC State Parks fall foliage reports
  21. SC State Parks Looking forward to fall
  22. Discover South Carolina: 10 waterfalls near Upcountry state parks
  23. Visit Greenville SC waterfalls
  24. Visit Oconee Stumphouse Park
  25. Visit Oconee Chau Ram County Park
  26. Visit Oconee Foothills Trail
  27. USFS Yellow Branch Falls
  28. USFS Station Cove Falls
  29. USFS Spoonauger Falls
  30. USFS King Creek Falls
  31. USFS Foothills National Recreation Trail
  32. USFS Camping and cabins
  33. USFS Whitewater Falls
  34. Foothills Trail Conference overview
  35. Foothills Trail Conference registration and parking
  36. Palmetto Trails about
  37. Palmetto Trails home
  38. Palmetto Trail Lake Marion Passage
  39. Palmetto Trail Swamp Fox Passage
  40. Palmetto Trail Peak to Prosperity Passage
  41. Palmetto Trail Blue Ridge Electric Co-Op Passage
  42. NPS Congaree boardwalk
  43. NPS Congaree canoeing and kayaking
  44. NPS Congaree canoe trail conditions
  45. NPS Congaree trip ideas
  46. NPS Congaree pets
  47. NPS Congaree fees
  48. NPS Kings Mountain trails
  49. Edisto River Canoe and Kayak Trail Commission
  50. Greenville County Swamp Rabbit Trail
  51. Beaufort County Spanish Moss Trail release
  52. Spanish Moss Trail
  53. SCDNR Lower Saluda Scenic River
  54. SCDNR Saltwater Paddling Trail section 6
  55. SCDNR Saltwater Paddling Trail section 2
  56. SCDNR license requirements
  57. SCDNR resident license pricing
  58. SCDNR nonresident license pricing
  59. SCDNR purchase licenses
  60. SCDNR WMA regulations
  61. 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.