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Saluda River Fishing Report

Updated Fri, Oct 23, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

A cold tailwater in the capital: the Saluda runs trout below Lake Murray through Columbia.

3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Flow
1,950 cfs
Air / High
72 / 72 F
Wind
NE 9 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 02169000, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.

Satellite view
Friday
23
October 2026

Today's Fishing Report

Generated this morning from live readings: gauge, weather model, sun and moon. A fresh report is published here every morning.

3/5Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Saluda River fishes cold and honest: earn your bites in the deep stuff. The river is running 1,950 cfs, steady over the week. Today brings clear skies, wind NE around 9 mph, steady pressure near 1022 hPa and a high of 72. Water sits around 47 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 9:59 AM-11:59 AM and 10:27 PM-12:27 AM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

Rainbow troutExcellent

In cold water rainbows use the deepest pools in rivers (Vermont), so slow, deep drifts there are the usual approach; Michigan DNR notes lake rainbows are also taken with bait or by jigging through the ice.

Brown troutExcellent

Below 50Β°F, fish slowly through the deeper pools; in early spring on the Great Lakes, Michigan DNR notes browns are often caught inshore before other species start biting.

Tomorrow: Similar at 71 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Oct 24, 6:30 AMHow this report is made β†’

Before you go

South Carolina requires a fishing licence from age 16, from $10.00 for residents. What a South Carolina licence costs and where to buy it β†’

Chasing rainbow trout here? Check the size and bag limits with SCDNR before you keep anything. The season dates for South Carolina, read off the agency, are on the South Carolina seasons page.

Water and weather

Live readings from Saluda River near Columbia.

Flow, last 30 days

USGS gauge 02169000.

1,0081,3911,7741,950 cfs09/2310/0310/1310/23

Today’s flow against 101 years of October 23

At 1,950 cfs, the flow at USGS gauge 02169000 (Saluda River near Columbia) is at the 56th percentile for the date: normal. In half of the 101 years of approved record the daily mean on October 23 was below 1,550 cfs; the highest was 12,200 cfs and the lowest 42 cfs.

p10 455median 1,550p90 5,158

Percentiles of the daily mean flow for this date, from the USGS Water Data Statistics API for gauge 02169000; today’s reading is the latest instantaneous value. Classes follow the ones the USGS used on its WaterWatch maps (retired at the end of 2025): below 10th, much below normal; 10th–24th, below; 25th–75th, normal; 76th–90th, above; over 90th, much above.

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp72 F
High / Low72 / 43 F
WindNE 9-13 mph
Pressure1022.4 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain0% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset07:36 / 18:40
MoonWaxing Gibbous, 91%
Water temp (gauge)62 F USGS
Water temp (seasonal)~47 F est.

Bite planner

Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today. Tap a bar to see why.

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunsetPRIMEPRIME

Which day to fish Saluda River this week

The best day on Saluda River this week looks like Saturday Oct 24, at 4 out of 5, against 3 today.

Best day this week: Saturday, Oct 24 β€” good at 4/5, falling pressure, usually the best window of a week.

Today, Oct 23 β€” Fair

A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Solunar majors
9:59 AM-11:59 AM and 10:27 PM-12:27 AM
Minor period
4:21 AM-5:21 AM
Sun
07:36 to 18:40
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Clear, 10 mph
Rain chance
0%

Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out: how the score is built.

Species guide

The species that matter on Saluda River: seasons, structure and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.

Rainbow trout illustration

Rainbow trout

Spring and fall in most lakes; rivers fish year-round while the water stays cool

A cold-water trout native to Pacific drainages from Alaska to Baja California, now stocked in most states and fished in rivers, tailwaters and lakes. In cold water rainbows use the deepest pools in rivers (Vermont), so slow, deep drifts there are the usual approach; Michigan DNR notes lake rainbows are also taken with bait or by jigging through the ice.

Brown trout illustration

Brown trout

Spring along Great Lakes shorelines; low light and overcast days in rivers; fall spawning runs

A European trout first stocked in the US in 1883 and now fished in rivers and lakes nationwide; it tolerates warmer water than other trout, and mature stream fish feed mostly at night. Below 50Β°F, fish slowly through the deeper pools; in early spring on the Great Lakes, Michigan DNR notes browns are often caught inshore before other species start biting.

When to come: the Saluda River calendar

Activity by species and month, and how the water warms through the year. Tap any cell.

Species activity by month

1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted.

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Rainbow trout
Brown trout
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 47 F (estimated, not a reading).

30405060JanMarMayJulSepNovOct, ~47 F now

Angler reports

Real reports from real anglers, reviewed before publishing. The water log below tracks each day automatically.

No angler reports yet this weekBe the first: your report helps every angler who checks Saluda River today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Oct 22

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Rainbow trout led the card at excellent. High of 75 F, wind to 5 mph.

Wed, Oct 21

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Rainbow trout led the card at excellent. High of 75 F, wind to 8 mph.

Tue, Oct 20

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Rainbow trout led the card at excellent. High of 77 F, wind to 9 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
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Before you go

License

South Carolina requires a valid fishing license for adults. Buy online from the state agency; one-day options exist for visitors.

Regulations

South Carolina license. Trout regulations apply on the lower Saluda tailwater: check current SCDNR rules and Lake Murray generation schedules.

Access

Saluda Shoals Park, Gardendale and I-20 access, and the Columbia Riverwalk; public landings above the lake.

About this water

A 200-mile river to the Broad at Columbia, with a cold tailwater below Lake Murray, South Carolina.

Fishing Saluda River: the full guide

Trout in South Carolina

The Saluda River flows about 200 miles across South Carolina to join the Broad at Columbia, and the reach below the Lake Murray dam is one of the southernmost trout fisheries in the eastern United States. Cold water drawn from deep in the reservoir keeps the lower Saluda in the fifties year-round, supporting stocked and holdover brown and rainbow trout inside a metropolitan area.

The lower Saluda tailwater

The tailwater runs about ten miles from the dam to the confluence, with shoals, ledges and deep runs. Trout are taken on nymphs, streamers and small dries, with striped bass also holding the cold water in summer when they are pushed out of warmer river reaches. Generation raises the river fast: know the schedule and the horns.

Above the lake

Upstream of Lake Murray the Saluda runs a warm Piedmont river holding largemouth, redeye and smallmouth bass, catfish and bream, floated by kayak from public landings. It is an entirely different fishery from the tailwater, and worth knowing as an alternative when generation shuts the lower river down.

Columbia logistics

Access to the tailwater is via Saluda Shoals Park, the Gardendale and I-20 access points, and the Riverwalk at the confluence, with kayak floats common. Columbia surrounds it with every service. Whitewater paddlers use the shoals on generation: coordinate rather than compete, and check flows before wading.

Common questions

Trout in South Carolina?

Yes: deep cold releases from Lake Murray keep the lower Saluda in the fifties year-round, supporting trout.

How do I check generation?

The dam operator publishes schedules: check before every trip, since the river rises quickly.

Are there stripers?

Yes: striped bass hold the cold tailwater in summer when warmer river reaches push them out.

Is fishing good at Saluda River right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Nearby waters

Lake Murray18 miLake Wateree33 miBroad River45 miLake Marion55 miLake Greenwood56 miThurmond Lake68 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

River and reservoir readings
USGS 02169000 β€” Saluda River near Columbia
Read from the USGS Water Data API (api.waterdata.usgs.gov). Latest value timestamped 2026-10-23 at 19:00 UTC.
Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 34.0000, -81.0800 in this water's own timezone. A model, not an observation.
Moon and solunar windows
Calculated on this site
Astronomical calculation from these coordinates and the date, not a third-party feed. How much weight it deserves.
The written guide on this page
Pablo Ruiz Quintero
How this page was made. The daily report is computed by our scoring engine from live readings; nobody types it. The written guide was drafted with AI assistance. Unlike our newer pages, it does not yet list the official pages its facts were checked against: that audit is under way, and anything it cannot verify will be taken out. Pablo Ruiz Quintero sets every guideline, the data-verification system and the minimum standards a page must meet to be published, reviews page structure and approves what goes live; the responsibility is his, and the AI carries out the work. We work this way because it is how one person can keep every page current with named sources. Errors are published in the verification log; the full policy is in the editorial policy.

Readings refresh on a 30-minute window. The full method, with every figure and its source, is on how our reports are made. Something wrong here? Tell us and it goes in the log with the date.