A Match Made in Water: A Haven for Fish and Anglers

We’ve partnered with Santee Cooper Country and the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources ( SCDNR ) to improve fishing in both lakes Marion and Moultrie. Since 2010, Santee Cooper has assisted in installing a total of 23 fish attractors on the lakebeds.

Fish attractors are basically pieces of reinforced concrete pipe arranged in the shape of a triangle around an SCDNR buoy. Santee Cooper’s Group Supervisor of Construction Services John Steed explained how this helps on the fishing front. “Fish need a place to hide, and these attractors give them that,” he said. “Over time, these pipes will collect algae and other vegetation, giving the fish a habitat, which also gives the fisherman a better opportunity to catch the fish.”

Each site has about 110 pieces of pipe that are about 2 feet to 3 feet in diameter. They’re placed in three individual piles with about 36 to 37 pieces per pile. While installing, folks from Santee Cooper Country use a side-scan sonar to direct the placement to achieve the proper shape SCDNR wants.

The concrete pipes were donated by local suppliers and were stockpiled along the Diversion Canal bank until the work could be performed. Steed and his marine crew at Santee Cooper loaded the material onto our barges, pushed the pipes to the locations, and then offloaded them with a crane to assemble the attractors.

Prior to this year, the lakes housed 18 attractors, and an additional five were added over the past few weeks. Three were placed along the Clarendon County side and two along the Orangeburg County side of Lake Marion.

The Santee Cooper Lakes are renowned for their fishing, and we take great pride in this resource. The next time you’re looking to cast your line, be sure to follow these fishing safety tips . And if you’re planning on using a boat, visit our Lakes page for information on how to be safe on the water.