Cordova, SC Fishing: Fishing in an SC County Full of Rivers

Cordova is a small township in Orangeburg County located in central South Carolina. As of the 2020 census, its population is only around 130 residents. It can be found to the southwest of Edisto’s unincorporated community and Orangeburg’s principal city and county seat. For thousands of years, the district was occupied by succeeding cultures of Indigenous peoples. When the Europeans arrived, Siouan-speaking tribes inhabited the Piedmont area above the fall line. In 1769, European Americans chartered the Orangeburg Judicial District from a mostly unorganized upland area between the Congaree and Savannah rivers. In the 19th century, districts and counties around Cordova were developed primarily as cotton plantations. In 1868 during the Reconstruction Era, communities in South Carolina were organized as counties. A small western portion of Berkeley County, around Holly Hill and Eutawville, was extended to Orangeburg County in 1910, bringing Cordova’s county to its present size. 

Cordova may be a scant little community, but it has the advantage of being adjacent to Orangeburg, aka ‘The Garden City.’ Visitors can access many of the region’s natural, historical, and cultural attractions just a few miles away from Cordova. People can also explore the small area in a day and appreciate it for what it is. Like the principal city, Cordova is an attractive destination for many, especially outdoors lovers, because of its fertile soil and abundance of wildlife. Visitors also have the privilege of traveling to nearby districts with unique atmospheres. Calhoun County offers people a charming rural vibe, while Colleton County to the south showcases South Carolina’s Lowcountry region. Anglers interested in going to Cordova for their fishing tours will find that it provides access to notable lakes and rivers filled with a variety of game fish.

Cordova Fishing

Cordova may not possess its fishing spots, but it can provide anglers easy access to some of the best destinations for freshwater fishing trips in that region of South Carolina. Lakes and rivers surrounding the community are filled with a variety of game that can excite any new and avid angler.

The North Fork Edisto River is just a few minutes away from Cordova. Anglers can find it to the east of the community. The stream is mostly narrow and winding, with trees across its water channel. Its water is always fantastic, and its current is strong, so anglers, swimmers, and boaters are urged to wear life jackets. Anglers who like paddling from backyard fishing docks to primeval surroundings will enjoy this section of the Edisto River. Those on crappie fishing trips will be glad to know this waterway is home to a good population of black crappie. One can also find largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, redbreast sunfish, bluegill, pumpkinseed sunfish, warmouth, bowfin, and chain pickerel. Local anglers will say that the North Fork Edisto River showcases an excellent bream fish fishery, especially for redbreast sunfish. This is because those fish prefer the moving water most often associated with rivers and streams. They also reproduce more rapidly in that kind of environment. Their spawn also survives more in a habitat with a mix of moving water, submerged structure, and a constant influx of food like insects, small crustaceans, and small fish. And the North Fork Edisto River checks all those boxes. 

Anglers can fish from the river’s banks or use one of its numerous boat landings. Most boat ramps are only suitable for canoes and small Jon boats. It may also be challenging to navigate the river system due to fallen trees that change the river's accessibility weekly. Bank anglers can catch fish all day long if they settle among cypress and will trees that line most of the banks, as they provide shade where sunfish species love to hide under. Plenty of fish can be specifically spotted in darker water under cypress trees and in the sharp bends where the water is generally deeper. Seawalls are also excellent spots to target. A bow-mounter, a foot-controlled trolling motor is the best way to chase bream in the river. A small, ultralight spinning setup tipped with small spinners effectively catches bream and sunfish. Beetle Spins are the lure of choice for bream species. Anglers can use different colors as bream will bite differently all day. Add a live cricket to the Beetle Spin’s hook if bites get tough. Those who like using live bait will catch plenty of fish in the middle of the day. The best bait by far is blue bait, a local worm that lives along Edisto’s banks and is not usually found in stores. Bottom fishing with nightcrawlers, red wigglers, and crickets will also produce bream.

Anglers willing to travel through a couple of nearby eastern communities can have the opportunity to fish in South Carolina’s largest lake, Lake Marion. The lake presents a wide array of freshwater fishing opportunities, making it popular for freshwater charters. A myriad of species thrives in its waters that contain abundant cover, aquatic vegetation, submerged stumps, and looming cypress trees. Some parts are made up of swamps and forested wetlands. Species one can find in its vast waters include striped bass, white bass, channel catfish, flathead catfish, blue catfish, white crappie, redear sunfish, white perch, yellow perch, chain pickerel, largemouth bass, black crappie, bluegill, redbreast sunfish, pumpkinseed sunfish, and warmouth. With around 300 miles of shoreline, onshore fishing access is fulfilled by fishing piers, docks, man-made structures, and designated areas. There are 16 boat launches available for boat anglers. The nearest boat ramp from Cordova is located at Santee State Park. The most sought-after targets from the lake are big bass, monster catfish, and plenty of shellcrackers. Bream, crappie, and catfish can be caught around large woody debris such as stumps, dead tree trunks, and live cypress trees. Bass, pickerel, and bream gather in gently sloping shorelines and backwater sloughs with aquatic vegetation.

Top 10 Fish Species in Cordova, SC

The top 10 fish species found in Cordova, SC, are largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, redbreast sunfish, bluegill, pumpkinseed sunfish, redear sunfish, black crappie, white crappie, warmouth, and chain pickerel.

Seasonal Fishing

Each spring, largemouth bass and redear sunfish grow in large sizes drawing in many anglers to the local waters. Between April and June is when bass species are most bountiful because it’s when they spawn. Sunfish and bream species can be caught in any season because they’re very tolerant of many water temperatures. However, spring and summer are the most ideal, especially when they spawn from May to August. Crappie and chain pickerel can be targeted all year, but the peak months are March and April. Catfish are most active from mid-May to mid-July. 

Attractions Around Cordova

Cordova is an excellent starting point for visitors to explore some of the best sites in Orangeburg County.

1. Book a Fishing Charter

Book a fishing charter in and around Cordova to level up one’s fishing skills and experience. There are plenty of guide services available in South Carolina, such as Fishin' Adventures, Catfishing With Capt. Mark Lawson, Captain Leroy's Striper Charters, and Eye Deal Fishing Charters. Boat rentals, bait and tackle shops, and marinas are available around Lake Marion. 

2. Visit a Riverside Garden

The Edisto Memorial Gardens combine nature and man-made beauty through its award-winning roses and cypress trees that stand along the Edisto River. Its Rose Garden contains 79 beds of roses representing a variety of rose classes. The site also features an azalea garden, a butterfly garden, a boardwalk taking visitors into a Tupelo-Cypress wetland, a serenity garden, a sensory garden, and more — the peak season when everything in the garden bloom is from March to April.

3. Visit a Local Museum

The I.P. Stanback Museum and Planetarium can be found on South Carolina State University campus in Orangeburg. It is a unique integration of arts and sciences that plays an important cultural role in black education. The museum contains a collection of sculptures, prints, paintings, and photographs. It also has rotating exhibits. The museum is open on weekdays during regular business hours.