None of us has a lease. None of us belongs to a club. We hunt public water in South Carolina, and every year somebody asks how that actually works. This is the plain version: what the state runs, how the draw works, what it costs, and the dates for this season. Everything here comes from SCDNR and the state regulations; we've linked the sources so you can check them yourself, and you should, because rules change.
The 2026–27 season at a glance
- Early teal: September 19–27, 2026
- Ducks, mergansers, coots: November 21–28, 2026, then December 12, 2026 through January 31, 2027
- State youth day: November 14, 2026
- Federal youth and veterans/active-duty days: February 6 and 13, 2027
- Daily bag: six ducks, with species limits (check the current sub-limits before you go)
- Shooting hours: half an hour before sunrise to sunset statewide; most WMA hunts are morning-only
Source: South Carolina migratory bird regulations.
What you need in your wallet
If you're 16 or older: a South Carolina hunting license, a WMA permit (required on any wildlife management area), the state Migratory Waterfowl Permit, the free HIP permit, and a Federal Duck Stamp. The electronic federal stamp is good all season now; keep it in the Go Outdoors SC app or on paper. Non-toxic shot is federal law everywhere for waterfowl and has been since 1991. On state and federal Category I and II areas you're limited to 25 shells per hunter per hunt. Buy everything at gooutdoorssouthcarolina.com.
Category I: the lottery hunts
The best managed impoundments in the state are lottery-only. For 2026–27 that list is Bear Island, Beaverdam, Bonneau Ferry, Broad River, Clemson Waterfowl Area, Coosawhatchie, Donnelley, Samworth, Sandy Beach, Santee Coastal Reserve (Murphy Island and The Cape; Cedar Island is closed this year for dike work), Santee Delta East and West, and Wateree River Heritage Preserve. Most hunts are Saturdays from December 12 through January 30. Bear Island adds November 21 and 28, and Donnelley runs Tuesdays and Thursdays.
How the draw works: you apply online through Go Outdoors SC between September 1 and October 15. The adult application is a flat non-refundable fee that covers multiple sites; youth applications are cheaper. You earn a preference point every year you apply and don't draw, and in our experience a Lowcountry site like Bear Island or Donnelley usually takes two or three points. Results come by email, there's an optional second-chance drawing, and if you're picked you buy a short-term WMA permit if you don't already hold one. Full rules on the SCDNR waterfowl lottery page.
If you missed the October 15 deadline this year, apply next September. Points stack, so the sooner you start, the sooner you draw.
Youth hunts
Several Category I sites run youth-only lottery hunts for hunters 17 and under with a non-hunting adult 21 or older: Bear Island, Beaverdam, Bonneau Ferry, Broad River, Clemson, Donnelley, Sandy Beach, Santee Coastal, and Wateree. Youth draws usually take fewer points. If you've got a kid who wants to see a managed rice field full of birds at sunrise, this is the cheapest ticket in the state. Details on the SCDNR youth waterfowl page.
Category II: walk in with a WMA permit
No draw, just show up on the scheduled days with your permit. The schedule is by site. Wednesday and Saturday mornings: Carr Creek at Samworth, Coosawhatchie, Donnelley's walk-in unit, Dungannon, Fant's Grove, Russell Creek, Sampson Island, and the Sumter National Forest. Friday and Saturday mornings: the Little Pee Dee complex, Marsh WMA, Potato Creek Hatchery, Turtle Island on the Savannah, Waccamaw River Heritage Preserve, Wee Tee, and Woodbury. Monday through Saturday: Moultrie WMA, Parr Reservoir, and Santee Island. Hickory Top greentree reservoir on Lake Marion is electric-motor only and closes at 11.
Read the site-specific rules. Donnelley, for example, requires sign-in and sign-out, no entry before 5 a.m., no trailered boats or motors, and no hunting from the dikes. Only portable blinds or blinds built from native vegetation are allowed on management areas. The full list is in the WMA waterfowl regulations.
Freelancing the rivers
The tidal rivers are public water. The Ashepoo, Combahee, and Edisto in the ACE Basin, the Santee Delta, the Cooper, and the Waccamaw all get hunted by people who never drew a thing. Public landings for the ACE Basin include Bennett's Point (Mosquito Creek), Fields Point on the Combahee, Wimbee Creek and Steel Bridge in Beaufort County, and a string of Edisto landings on the Colleton County side. Respect the tides. They move six feet here and a boat left on the bank at high water is a boat you're walking to at low water. Know the property lines, stay off the dikes, and don't shoot toward anyone's impoundment.
Closest to Charleston
From downtown: the ACE Basin refuge's Edisto unit is about 20 miles southwest, Donnelley is about 40, Bear Island about 50, and Santee Coastal and the Santee Delta are 50 to 60 miles northeast. Dungannon in Charleston County and Bonneau Ferry in Berkeley County are Category II walk-ins within an hour. There's more public duck water within a tank of gas of Charleston than most people realize.
Two organizations worth your money
Ducks Unlimited's South Carolina program has conserved more than 200,000 acres in the state and its Lowcountry easement work is a big part of why the ACE Basin still exists. The South Carolina Waterfowl Association is the in-state group; their chapter banquets (Walterboro in October, Georgetown in November, the Low Country and Berkeley chapters in January) are where the people who actually hunt this water show up. Go to one.
We'll put the truck-and-breakfast stuff at the bottom because that's where it belongs: if you're heading to a landing this winter and want a clean cap or beanie that isn't covered in someone else's logo, that's what we make. But go apply for the draw first.