Guide
Fishing: what is open, and the limits
Checked October 9, 2026 against SCDNR’s saltwater size and catch limits, its 2026–2027 Hunting & Fishing Guide, its red snapper page, and NOAA Fisheries.
The Fishing tile says, for South Carolina’s sounds and the Atlantic out to 3 nautical miles, whether each fish people go out for is open today and what may be kept. When it cannot be sure, it says Check and links the rule.
What the tile covers
Red drum, spotted seatrout, flounder, black drum, sheepshead, cobia, king mackerel, tarpon and red snapper, with SCDNR’s daily limits, and red snapper in federal waters on the season NOAA Fisheries and the state set.
- Red drum is one a day and two a boat, 18 to 25 inches, in state waters only: none may be kept from federal waters. It may be taken only by rod and reel or gig, and not by gig December 1 through February 28.
- Spotted seatrout is ten a day, 14 inches, with the same gear rule.
- Cobia is 36 inches fork length. In state waters south of Jeremy Inlet on Edisto Island (32°31′ N) it is one a day and three a boat, and closed every May. North of the inlet, and in federal waters, it is one a day and six a boat with no closed season.
- Red snapper in state waters, out to 3 miles, is two a day, 20 inches, with no closed season.
- Red snapper in federal waters in 2026: October 9 to 22 under South Carolina’s experimental permit, one a day, 20 inches. The permit is free on GoOutdoorsSC; each trip is declared in the VESL app and reported within 24 hours. NOAA’s own federal season, for anglers outside the permit, is October 9 to 11. Nothing after October 22 is set.
- Fishing South Carolina’s saltwater needs a saltwater fishing license.
Which water your town reads
South Carolina’s limits are the same everywhere on its coast but for cobia, so the towns read one of two waters either side of Jeremy Inlet.
| Water | Runs | Towns |
|---|---|---|
| South of Jeremy Inlet | The Savannah River to Jeremy Inlet on Edisto Island, 32°31′ N, out to 3 nautical miles. Cobia closes here in May | Daufuskie Island, Hilton Head Island, Bluffton, Port Royal, Beaufort, Lady's Island, St. Helena Island, Fripp Island, Edisto Beach |
| North of Jeremy Inlet | Jeremy Inlet to the North Carolina line, out to 3 nautical miles | Seabrook Island, Kiawah Island, Folly Beach, James Island, Charleston, Mount Pleasant, Sullivan's Island, Isle of Palms, McClellanville, Georgetown, Pawleys Island, Murrells Inlet, Garden City Beach, Surfside Beach, Myrtle Beach, North Myrtle Beach, Little River, Conway |
How the words are earned
- Open, Closed or Check. Each fish’s word comes from the limits we read off SCDNR’s own pages, written down with the date we read them, and checked against its printed guide.
- A page that changes turns its fish to Check. SCDNR’s limits and its red snapper page are compared, word for word, every time the board refreshes. An edit we have not read yet is Check.
- A NOAA notice turns a fish to Check. When NOAA Fisheries posts a South Atlantic bulletin about one of these fish after we read the rules, that fish says Check, with a link to it, until someone has read it. A wrong “Open” is a ticket; Check is a minute reading the rule.
- The limits here are the state’s, for its own waters out to 3 nautical miles. Federal waters beyond have their own rules.
Who to call
- SCDNR Marine Resources Division, Charleston 843-953-9300.
Sources
- SCDNR, saltwater finfish size and catch limits — the limits the tile reads
- SCDNR, 2026–2027 Hunting & Fishing Guide — the same limits in print
- SCDNR, red snapper season
- NOAA Fisheries, the 2026 South Atlantic red snapper season
- NOAA Fisheries, South Atlantic bulletins