Learn more about Lake Monticello below
February 19
Morning surface water temperatures are about 52-53 on the 99 end, while they are as warm as 64 close to the power plant. The upper end of the lake is slightly stained while the lower end is heavily stained. Water levels typically fluctuate frequently.
February 20
Lake Murray water levels are up to 357.90 (full pool is 360.00) and up the lake is muddy but just beginning to clear, with the mud-line around Buffalo Creek. Morning surface water temperatures are around 50 degrees.
February 12
Morning surface water temperatures are about 54 away from the power station, and water levels typically fluctuate frequently.
February 5
Morning surface water temperatures are about 52-54 over most of the lake , and water levels typically fluctuate frequently. The water color is about perfect for fishing with roughly three feet of visibility.
January 28
Morning surface water temperatures are about 48 on the Highway 99 end but warmer towards the power plant, and water levels typically fluctuate frequently. The water has cleaned up some but is still not clear.
January 15
Morning surface water temperatures range from 57-58 near the power plant to 51-52 on the 99 end, and water levels typically fluctuate frequently. Visibility ranges from about 2 ½ feet on the upper end to a foot on the lower end.
Read more fishing reports from Lake Monticello and other popular places at the AHQ Report!
Located in Fairfield County, South Carolina near the town of Winnsboro, Lake Monticello was created in 1979 to cool the South Carolina Electric and Gas (now Dominion Energy South Carolina) nuclear reactor which is beside the lake. The lake is approximately 6 miles long and encompasses 6800 acres of water. There are a few minor creeks that feed it, and there was a small creek that ran through the middle of the valley which is now the lake, but a river that runs parallel to the lake is the main water source. Water is pumped from the Broad River into Lake Monticello and then back out frequently if not regularly, and the lake levels can fluctuate by several feet in only an hour or two. The deepest areas in the lake are around 160 feet.
With no stocked striped bass other species have filled the void, and stocked blue catfish have out-competed most native catfish species and are prolific in the lake. In the summer they are caught at all depths, and in addition to a tremendous number of blue catfish they are also reach 100-plus pound sizes. While the lake once had an abundant crappie fishery those numbers appear to have dwindled, but the lake is still home to a population of trophy black bass including both largemouth and smallmouth bass. There are also abundant bream and white perch in the lake, and the main forage species are threadfin shad and gizzard shad.
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