---
title: "Lower Saluda Trout Stocking Still Weeks Away Near Irmo"
url: https://www.hereirmo.com/2026/10/30/lower-saluda-trout-stocking-weeks-away-irmo/
date: 2026-10-30T06:11:30-04:00
modified: 2026-10-30T06:11:30-04:00
author: "Cedric Keller"
categories: ["Fishing"]
site: "HERE Irmo"
attribution: "HERE Irmo"
---

# Lower Saluda Trout Stocking Still Weeks Away Near Irmo

> IRMO, S.C. — Irmo SC fishing for trout on the Lower Saluda River will have to wait a while longer, as the state put its latest truckloads of fish into mountain streams this week and the tailwater below Lake Murray Dam is still several weeks from its first stocking of the season. The state Department

*Source: [HERE Irmo](https://www.hereirmo.com/2026/10/30/lower-saluda-trout-stocking-weeks-away-irmo/) — October 30, 2026 by Cedric Keller*

IRMO, S.C. — Irmo SC fishing for trout on the Lower Saluda River will have to wait a while longer, as the state put its latest truckloads of fish into mountain streams this week and the tailwater below Lake Murray Dam is still several weeks from its first stocking of the season.

The state Department of Natural Resources said its crews released 4,749 trout during the week of Oct. 23 through Oct. 29. Every one of those runs went to upstate water, including the Chauga River, Brasstown Creek, the North and Middle Saluda rivers and the East Fork of the Chattooga River. A week earlier the agency had reported 4,759 trout stocked, also in the upstate.

The Lower Saluda runs on a separate schedule. According to the agency, the river’s first load of the season typically lands during the second or third week of December, with stocking wrapping up by March. The department does not announce dates ahead of time. Instead, its weekly summary will show whether the river below the dam was stocked the week before, so Irmo anglers can watch that list as December approaches.

The river earns its trout because of where its water comes from. The agency describes the 10-mile stretch from the dam to the Broad River as a cold-water fishery fed from deep in Lake Murray, with water that stays near 60 degrees year-round. It was named a State Scenic River in 1991 and also draws anglers chasing striped bass.

State fishing rules allow five trout a day on the Lower Saluda from the confluence with the Broad River upstream to Lake Murray Dam, and only one of those may be longer than 16 inches. The stretch from the eastbound I-20 bridge down to Stacey’s Ledge is catch and release only.

For boaters on the Irmo side, Saluda Shoals Park has two ramps for trailered boats, with entrances off St. Andrews Road and Bush River Road, and the park charges admission. Hope Ferry landing, reached from Corley Mill Road, is the only other public ramp for trailers on the river. Flows can rise fast when the hydroelectric plant at the dam releases water, so the agency urges anyone boating or wading to wear a life jacket.

For more lake and river updates, see the latest [Irmo SC fishing report](https://www.hereirmo.com/fishing-irmo-sc/).