Thread: Saluda River Fishing

So do you still live in Little River and what part of the river do you plan to fish. The Saluda hold all of the species mentioned but all sections of the river fish a little different and all have running water most of the time. I enjoy fishing the river and like lake fishing some days are better than the others.

Yes, still live in Little River. There is so much tract house building around here that is slowly closing in around us. We are glad we live in the country with no property management.
We have never fished the Saluda River but wanted to try it. We rented a VRBO house on the River for 5 days the first week of June. We'll give it a shot. Thanks for your reply...

No idea where you lived until I mapquested it. I thought you lived on the Little River near McCormick, SC. LOL

Originally Posted by JUS1MO

Can anyone tell me about the fishing on the Saluda River. I don't bass fish much but I do enjoy Crappie, Bream, and Catfish Fishing. Thanks in advance <{{{><

Which section of the Saluda River are you asking about? There is the section above lake Greenwood, there is a section between Lake Greenwood and Lake Murray, and there is a section below lake Murray before it hits the Broad River and forms the Congaree. Those are the sections I'm most familiar with. There are also big stretches I'm not familiar with above Ware Shoals all the way to the mountains.

The section above Greenwood should have a good white bass and perch run over the next few weeks. I have a jet boat and have run up there checking to see if the run has started several times the last few weeks. So far it's been spotty at best. Caught lots of perch but just a few whites. I'm sure it has good crappie fishing but I've never tried. Navigating it isn't too bad if you are comfortable reading rivers. It gets very rocky just at and above the old burned out bridge. Don't go above there in a prop boat. The entrance from lake Greenwood is also a little tricky. I always take the far right arm as you are coming in from the lake but it shoals up pretty bad on the right side just before you get to the entrance. Stay left coming up the lake then cut right just as you get to the mouth. There are some underwater snags there that I don't have to worry about in the jet boat.

The section between Greenwood and Murray is tricky to navigate. I have zero issues in my jet but I would never do it above the S Curves (above the 121 Bridge) in a prop boat. Above there, depending on river level there are multiple series of rapids to navigate that will eat a prop boat. In the S curves there is a ton of downed timber to watch out for. Bass, bream and crappie fishing can be very good in this section. It all depends on water level and clarity. It can get tough on a high muddy river.

Below Murray's dam is cold water all the way to the intersection with the Broad. Usually in the high 50's all summer long. Good striper fishing and some trout fishing. This section is extremely tough to navigate even in my jet boat. There is one rapid that I couldn't consider in my jet unless the river was stupid high. Water levels can drastically change quickly so you have to be really careful in this section.

If you are fishing one of those three sections I will be glad to offer more details if you are interested.

We are renting a VRBO at the Saluda River near Big Mans Marina. Never there before, just trying to get any information possible. 91tiger, Thanks for your response but I don't think we will be anywhere close.

Originally Posted by JUS1MO

We are renting a VRBO at the Saluda River near Big Mans Marina. Never there before, just trying to get any information possible. 91tiger, Thanks for your response but I don't think we will be anywhere close.

Ok, so you are in the far upper end of Lake Murray if you are near Big Man's. It's more lake than river there. If you look on a map, Riverwinds Resort is on the Saluda River Arm and Big Man's is on the Little Saluda River Arm. Above Riverwinds about 3/4 of a mile, the Saluda starts getting real stumpy where it's transitioning from lake to a true river. I would imagine those stumps in deeper water hold crappie but I've never fished them. Both the bridges in the Saluda and Little Saluda hold crappie. In the Little Saluda around Big Man's and above, I know there is good fishing for Shell Crackers. Anchor on points pretty shallow and fan cast worms on the bottom until you find one that's holding them. You should pick up catfish and perch too. There are loads of nice white perch in Murray. That time of year in the upper lake they will be off points and cove mouths in 14 to 20 feet of water usually. They eat worms, small spoons well. But we catch the biggest ones on little pieces of belly meat off the white perch, they are little cannibals. If you get the perch all fired up a lot of times that will draw in big flathead catfish and channel cats. I have caught so many flat heads while jigging for perch.

There is a guy that does a bunch of You Tube Videos on that end of the lake called "Turner Fishing". Probably worth looking through some of his content. There is also a forum member on here that lives on that end of the lake and is way way more knowledgeable than me that goes by "sinkermaker" who is very helpful. You may reach out to him for advice as well.