Lake Murray and the Congaree
Richland and Lexington out to Newberry, Saluda, Edgefield and Aiken: Lake Murray and the Congaree and Wateree bottoms around Columbia. Wood ducks in the river swamps.
Stable / Staging
Off-Season for This Species
4.1
Conditions
0.0
Birds here
Conditions here are scoring 4.1 this morning, and that number is the same for every duck on this water. The pintails score is held at 2.0 because the pintails numbers in this region read 0.0 out of 10 for the date. A good morning on birds that have not arrived is still a quiet morning.
Pintails score, conditions as of Thu, Oct 8, 7:00 PM
Today's Hunt · Thursday, Oct 8
Lake Murray and the Congaree
Steady temps
Legal light 5:56 AMSunrise 6:26 AMSunset 6:02 PM🌘 Waning crescent · 9%
Best window: Legal light (5:56 AM) to 10:00 AM
No push wind forecast; first light is the best bet
Held to the season curve: conditions are better than the pintail numbers here this time of year
- Drier than normal: water is patchy
Season dates · November 21-28, 2026 and December 12, 2026 to January 31, 2027.
Times shown for the region center. Season dates and limits change yearly and by zone: verify with SCDNR.
Water Status
Water on the landscape: Drier than normal: water is patchy (57% of South Carolina in drought, US Drought Monitor).
Why this score is moving
- Held to the season curve: conditions are better than the pintail numbers here this time of year
- Corn harvest roughly 96% complete, heavy field feed available
- Off-season: the main migration window has not opened yet
48-Hour Outlook
Poor
Held to the season curve: conditions are better than the pintail numbers here this time of year. Corn harvest roughly 96% complete, heavy field feed available. Strongest window: Thu into Fri.
14-Day Score Outlook
PintailsDays 8 through 14 sit beyond the reliable forecast window and lean on season history. Read them as a trend, not a promise.
Inside the model
The score is a weighted blend of the drivers below, each rated 0 to 10 from current conditions. No black box: this is the whole model.
Flat temperature trend
Light or variable winds
0% of upstream hours below 28°F
Little to no snow upstream
57% of the state in drought: water is patchier than normal
Outside the main migration window
Corn ~96%, beans ~6% (typical-progress estimate)
No reports in the last 72h, so this factor is not counted
North of you
ProThe freeze line across the stations upstream of this region, station by station, so you see shallow water locking up before the birds arrive on it.
Radar check
ProLast night's NEXRAD read on whether birds actually moved: how much lifted off after sunset, which way it tracked, and how fast it flew under its own power once the wind at that altitude is subtracted out.
Local conditions
| Day | Hi / Lo | Wind | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| ThuOct 8 | 80° / 55° | WNW 5 mph | |
| FriOct 9 | 84° / 61° | NE 15 mph | |
| SatOct 10 | 72° / 64° | ENE 17 mph | |
| SunOct 11 | 82° / 66° | SW 15 mph | |
| MonOct 12 | 82° / 61° | NW 14 mph | |
| TueOct 13 | 84° / 61° | NNE 6 mph | |
| WedOct 14 | 88° / 63° | SW 5 mph |
Hunter intel
ProWhat other hunters reported in this region over the last 72 hours: species, how hard they were feeding, and whether the birds looked like new arrivals. Filing your own report is free and counts toward this region's score either way.