Magnet fishing in South Carolina

Congaree River (Columbia)

Magnet fishing is prohibited on the Congaree River in Columbia — South Carolina is the only state with an explicit 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 with an explicit 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