Lake Wateree Depth Map & Fishing Spots (SC)

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Lake depth chart

Lake Wateree, SC

Max 90 ft

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Where to start

Fall shad migration window is on — see the hatch outlook

Hatch outlook

Fall shad migrationActive window

Typical here: Sep 1 – Dec 15 · upper ends and stained creeks turn on first, the main lake follows; Deep-South creeks hold bait into December

adultall day, best mid-afternoon as the sun warms the bait — the rare pattern where you can sleep in — follow the bait, not the structure: gulls, herons and egrets diving or stacked in a creek mean the shad (and the bass) are there — run and gun until you find flickering bait or surface activity

Concentrates hard but unevenly — whole stretches go empty while one creek loads up. The birds are the map.

Creek-arm run-and-gun: lipless crankbait and squarebill through the flats and ditches, walking topwater over surface schools, a 3/8 oz spinnerbait around isolated cover along the creek channel. Downsize to match the young-of-year shad; jerkbaits are the sleeper.

The event happens over backs of creek arms, pockets and ditches, secondary points on the way in, and main-lake flats where the bait balls roam

Willow fly (summer mayfly)Active window

Typical here: Apr 1 – Oct 31 · recurring broods all summer — the heart of it is June–July, famously around July 4th on the Tennessee River lakes; any one hatch lasts days to ~3 weeks

dunhatches at dusk — clouds of bugs just before dark, continuing into the night — after hatching they fly to shoreline foliage — trees near lighted docks get covered; the feeding zone is the water under bug-loaded overhanging bushes and willows
spinnerthe following days: mating, egg drop and spent flies falling from the overhangs — the bream bite under the bushes runs as long as the bugs do

A two-level event: bream stack under the bug trees, and the big bass stack under the bream. Fish the same bushes twice — small for bream, big for the bass just outside them.

Crickets or small poppers under a float tight to the bug-covered bushes for bream; beetle spins and hair jigs just under the surface; for the bass, run a bluegill-pattern topwater or squarebill down the outside edge of the overhangs.

The event happens over under and just outside overhanging willows and bushes on steep banks; trees near lighted docks after dark

Next on this water

Spring crawfish emergence · forageFeb 15 – May 15 · in ~5 months

Shad spawn · baitfishMar 15 – Jun 15 · in ~6 months

Recommendations come from depth structure and seasonal species behavior. Treat them as a starting point, not a guarantee. Contours on this water are approximations. Never use for navigation. Always check local regulations.

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Recent catches at Lake Wateree

1 angler watching on this water. Exact spots stay private, always.

No shared catches here yet — be the first.Log a catch from the map above and share it to put Lake Wateree on the board.

Fishing Lake Wateree: what the data says

13,700-acre lake near Camden. A stained Catawba/Wateree River lake with grass, docks and standing timber. Big largemouth and slab crappie. The lake tops out around 90 ft. This chart interpolates between a real shoreline and a known maximum depth. It will point you at likely water, but it is not a navigation product. The rest of this page walks each species through its year, using the map's own scoring.

The outline encloses 11,993 acres, worked by 161.7 miles of shoreline, with 12 islands in the mix. A development index of 10.5 means a maze of bays and points: far more casting targets than a round bowl of the same size. About 70% of the surface sits shallower than 15 ft on the modeled chart — that's the weed-and-bait zone. Call it 16.6 mi long by 8 mi wide at the broadest reach. Kershaw County claims this one. If the bite dies, Monticello Reservoir is 27 mi to the west.

Largemouth Bass fishing at Lake Wateree

When the water first warms, largemouth bass slide up into 2 to 10 ft. By summer they slide out to 8 to 20 ft, and by winter most fish are in 15 to 35 ft. If you only fish one area, make it Shallow bay flat: a weed flat around 6 ft that scores prime in spring. In summer the feeding windows fall in early morning and the evening. Keep a texas-rigged 10" worm or a deep-diving crankbait rigged through the warm months.

Season	Depth	Best window	Start at	Go-to baits
Spring	2 to 10 ft	dawn & dusk	Shallow bay flat (6 ft)	Spinnerbait, Chatterbait
Summer	8 to 20 ft	dawn & dusk	Sharp break (17 ft)	Texas-rigged 10" worm, Deep-diving crankbait
Fall	4 to 15 ft	midday & dawn	Shoreline point (5 ft)	Squarebill crankbait (shad), Spinnerbait
Winter	15 to 35 ft	midday	Sharp break (17 ft)	Blade bait, Jigging spoon

Crappie fishing at Lake Wateree

Come spring, look for crappie tight to the bank in 2 to 8 ft. Expect a summer slide to 10 to 25 ft, then a winter hold in 15 to 35 ft. Start at Shallow bay flat. It's a weed flat holding about 6 ft of water and rates prime come spring. Prime time lands in early morning and the evening. A jig trolled/spider-rigged or a small crankbait (trolled) is the honest summer answer here.

Season	Depth	Best window	Start at	Go-to baits
Spring	2 to 8 ft	midday & dawn	Shallow bay flat (6 ft)	1/16 oz jig + tube, Curly-tail grub
Summer	10 to 25 ft	dawn & dusk	Offshore hump (12 ft)	Jig trolled/spider-rigged, Small crankbait (trolled)
Fall	8 to 20 ft	dawn	Sharp break (17 ft)	Jig + minnow combo, Small swimbait (1.5-2")
Winter	15 to 35 ft	midday	Sharp break (17 ft)	Tungsten jig + soft plastic, Tiny jigging spoon

White Perch fishing at Lake Wateree

Spring white perch on Lake Wateree hold shallow, usually 4 to 15 ft. They move out to 15 to 40 ft in summer and finish the year down in 20 to 50 ft. Put Little Wateree Creek inflow first on the milk run — an inflow / creek mouth near 8 ft that grades prime for spring. The feeding windows run early morning. The summer box starts with a small spinner rig drifted or a 1/8 oz jigging spoon.

Season	Depth	Best window	Start at	Go-to baits
Spring	4 to 15 ft	dusk	Little Wateree Creek inflow (8 ft)	Small jig + curly tail, Inline spinner (silver)
Summer	15 to 40 ft	dawn	Sharp break (17 ft)	Small spinner rig drifted, 1/8 oz jigging spoon
Fall	15 to 45 ft	midday	Break off the point (41 ft)	Jigging spoon (small), Blade bait
Winter	20 to 50 ft	dusk	Break off the point (41 ft)	Small rattle spoon, Tungsten + spikes

Channel Catfish fishing at Lake Wateree

When the water first warms, channel catfish slide up into 3 to 12 ft. By summer they slide out to 8 to 25 ft, and by winter most fish are in 20 to 40 ft. If you only fish one area, make it Little Wateree Creek inflow: an inflow / creek mouth around 8 ft that scores prime in spring. In summer the feeding windows fall in after dark and the evening.

Season	Depth	Best window	Start at
Spring	3 to 12 ft	dusk	Little Wateree Creek inflow (8 ft)
Summer	8 to 25 ft	night & dusk	Little Wateree Creek inflow (8 ft)
Fall	10 to 30 ft	dusk	Feeding flat (12 ft)
Winter	20 to 40 ft	midday	Old creek channel (45 ft)

Blue Catfish fishing at Lake Wateree

Spring puts blue catfish in skinny water — 5 to 25 ft is the zone. Warm water sends them out to 10 to 40 ft; cold water stacks them in 20 to 50 ft. Old creek channel is the standout, a creek channel at roughly 45 ft, rated prime for fall blue catfish. Plan around early morning and the evening in the warm months.

Season	Depth	Best window	Start at
Spring	5 to 25 ft	dusk	Little Wateree Creek inflow (8 ft)
Summer	10 to 40 ft	dawn & dusk	Feeding flat (12 ft)
Fall	15 to 45 ft	dusk	Old creek channel (45 ft)
Winter	20 to 50 ft	midday	Old creek channel (45 ft)

Striped Bass fishing at Lake Wateree

Start shallow in spring: striped bass sit in 5 to 20 ft that time of year. Summer pushes them deeper, 25 to 60 ft, and winter fish settle into 20 to 50 ft. The spot to know is Little Wateree Creek inflow, an inflow / creek mouth in about 8 ft of water that rates prime for striped bass in spring. Warm-month bites cluster around early morning and the evening. Throw a topwater walker at low light or a paddletail on a light jig until the fish tell you otherwise.

Season	Depth	Best window	Start at	Go-to baits
Spring	5 to 20 ft	dawn & dusk	Little Wateree Creek inflow (8 ft)	3-5 inch baitfish swimbait, Suspending minnow plug
Summer	25 to 60 ft	dawn & dusk	Break off the point (41 ft)	Topwater walker at low light, Paddletail on a light jig
Fall	10 to 35 ft	dawn & dusk	Main-lake point (23 ft)	Baitfish swimbait, Metal jig
Winter	20 to 50 ft	midday	Old creek channel (45 ft)	Slow paddletail, Bucktail near bottom

Notable structure

Lake Wateree carries 23 mapped structure features, topping out (or rather bottoming out) at Deep basin, about 77 ft down.

Deep basin: deep basin, around 77 ft
Old creek channel: creek channel, around 45 ft
Sharp break: drop-off, around 43 ft
Break off the point: drop-off, around 41 ft
Main-lake point: point, around 23 ft
Secondary point: point, around 23 ft
Sharp break: drop-off, around 17 ft
Offshore hump: offshore hump, around 12 ft
Sharp break: drop-off, around 12 ft
Feeding flat: feeding flat, around 12 ft
Shoreline point: point, around 10 ft
Shoreline point: point, around 8 ft
Little Wateree Creek inflow: inflow / creek mouth, around 8 ft
Sharp break: drop-off, around 7 ft

Lake Wateree fishing regulations

Season dates, license requirements, and size and bag limits for South Carolina waters are set by the South Carolina DNR — and special regulations can apply to Lake Wateree specifically, so confirm the current rules before you fish.

Check the official South Carolina fishing regulations →

Common questions

How deep is Lake Wateree?

Lake Wateree is about 90 ft (27 m) deep at its deepest point. The contours here are modeled from the water's real shape and maximum depth, so treat them as a rough guide.

What fish are in Lake Wateree?

Anglers target largemouth bass, crappie, white perch, channel catfish, blue catfish, striped bass on Lake Wateree.

Where is the best fishing spot on Lake Wateree?

Shallow bay flat is the top-rated area: a weed flat in about 6 ft of water that rates prime for largemouth bass in spring. Scroll up to the map for the complete spot list by species and season.

When is the best time to fish Lake Wateree?

For largemouth bass, the summer bite is best in early morning and the evening. Each species page section below lists the seasonal windows, and the map shows a live NOW badge when you're inside one.

What are the fishing regulations for Lake Wateree?

Fishing on Lake Wateree is regulated by the South Carolina DNR. Check the official South Carolina regulations for current license requirements, season dates, and size and bag limits — special regulations can apply to this specific water.

Nearby waters

Monticello Reservoir 27 mi · Saluda River (Lower) 33 mi · Congaree River 39 mi · Neal Shoals Reservoir 40 mi · Lake Robinson 40 mi · Lake Murray 42 mi · Lake Wylie 49 mi, NC/SC · Mountain Island Lake 64 mi, NC · Lake Greenwood 68 mi · Lake Marion 69 mi · Lake Tillery 74 mi, NC · Lake Norman 80 mi, NC

See how Lake Wateree stacks up: best largemouth bass lakes in South Carolina · best crappie lakes in South Carolina · best channel catfish lakes in South Carolina · best striped bass lakes in South Carolina

Browse all South Carolina fishing maps or see every water on DepthScout. How we build these maps. Fish here with a sonar unit that logs? Send us your depth data and we'll improve this chart, credited to you. For fishing guidance only, never navigation.