Magnet Fishing in South Carolina

1 location in South Carolina checked against the rules of the agency that manages each one: 1 prohibited. Each page gives the permit requirements, limits, restrictions and penalties, with the primary sources it was checked against.

Rules last checked in August 2026

1 Prohibited

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Prohibited

Congaree River (Columbia)

South Carolina, Richland·Magnet Fishing

Magnet fishing is prohibited on the Congaree River in Columbia — South Carolina is the only state we've found with a statewide ban, and this exact stretch is why: Union troops dumped Confederate ordnance into the river here in 1865, and a recent sediment cleanup near the Gervais Street Bridge recovered live ammunition along with thousands of Civil War artifacts.

South Carolina is the only U.S. state we've found with a statewide ban on magnet fishing, and the Congaree in Columbia is exactly the kind of water the law targets
S.C. Code § 54-7-670's hobby-license framework limits recreational recovery of submerged archaeological material to hand collection only — magnets, tethered rakes, scoops, and screens fall outside what any license authorizes

Laws That Apply to These Sites

Is Magnet Fishing Legal? The Laws That Actually Apply, State by State

Magnet fishing is legal in most places by omission: few laws mention it. But South Carolina prohibits it in its waterways, Oklahoma bans it in every state park, Indiana requires a permit on DNR property, and national parks ban it under the same rule as metal detectors. Here are the layers of law that decide whether you can throw a magnet, and what you can keep.

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