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Where to fish

  • Forecast
  • Catches

Mine

  • Favorites
ForecastCatchesFavorites
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© 2026·AI-powered bite forecast
0.1.0+2163 · 92c14a40

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United States / Ohio / Scioto River

Bite forecast: Scioto River

  • length 236 mi
Loading map…

Best fishing days for the next week

  1. TuesdaySeptember 8weather-based forecast
    61/100high activity

    Cloudy: 61–82 °F

  2. WednesdaySeptember 9weather-based forecast
    61/100high activity

    Partly cloudy: 66–91 °F

  3. ThursdaySeptember 3weather-based forecast
    54/100medium activity

    Clear: 73–93 °F

Scioto River (Ohio) — a spot well known among anglers. About 379 km long. Nearby towns: Columbus and Chillicothe. This page shows an hourly bite forecast for today and the week ahead; the algorithm factors in the weather, atmospheric pressure, and the moon phase.

Nearby towns

  • Columbus0.2 mi
  • Chillicothe0.6 mi

Catches

Recorded 5 catches here. Most commonly caught: Flathead catfish, Channel catfish, Sauger. Peak season: year-round.

  • Sauger
    Scioto River
    Oct 06, 2018
  • Channel catfish
    Scioto River
    Oct 06, 2018
  • Black crappie
    Scioto River
    66 °F9 mph
    Jun 05, 2018
  • Flathead catfish
    Scioto River
    37 °F9 mph
    Mar 24, 2018
  • Flathead catfish
    Scioto River
    32 °F7 mph
    Jan 24, 2018

Nearby water bodies

  • ReservoirGreenlawn Avenue Low Head Reservoir4 mi
  • LakeHeron Pond5 mi
  • LakeSpring Lakes5 mi
  • PondTurtle Pond6 mi
  • LakeClearwater Lake6 mi
  • LakeBroadcast Lake6 mi
  • LakeHidden Lake7 mi
  • LakeTimber Lake9 mi
Loading map…

Bite calendar

Aug 31 – Sep 6
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
Sun
Bite activity:highmediumlowslow
Based on:weatherseasonal
What is a bite calendar?
Coho salmonPikeSmallmouth bassWalleyeWhite bassYellow perchBlack crappieMuskellungeSteelheadWhite crappieChinook salmonLargemouth bassRainbow troutBlue catfishBluegillCarpChannel catfishFlathead catfish

Black crappie

6/10 · Fair

Hourly activity

0:006:0012:0018:0023:00
Bite activity:highmediumlow

The bite is strong — fish are active. Pressure is dropping — this usually boosts the bite.

Peak bite hours

Best time — 06:00–08:00 (dawn bite) and 19:00–21:00 (dusk bite).

Tactics

Work the cover — snags, weed edges, hole entrances; retrieve the lure with pauses.

Lures

In clear water, natural colors work best: small jig or minnow bait.

Gear

It's a hot day — a hat, sunglasses, and plenty of water are a must.

Summary

Worth going — it's a productive day.

How this forecast is calculated

Why this forecast

The computed water temperature is around 76 °F — warmer than the 57–75 °F comfort range for Black crappie: in the heat it drops deeper and feeds less often.

Computed water temperature by month; the green band is the 57–75 °F comfort rangecomfort 57–75 °F76 °F
JFMAMJJASOND

Black crappie works the twilight: the peaks are pinned to sunrise and sunset — their times are in the sun-and-moon card above.

The day: daylight hours and when Black crappie feeds0:0012:0024:00

Pressure is dropping 0.03 inHg over the day — fish are usually more active ahead of a weather change.

Pressure through the day, 0.03 inHg change
00:00 · 29.9823:00 · 29.94 inHg

One more input — the moon's feeding windows: within their hours the score sits higher than across the rest of the day. The window times are in the “Solunar feeding periods” card below.

Feeding windows on the day scale0:0012:0024:00

September is an active season for Black crappie here.

JFMAMJJASOND

These are the same values the bite curve above was computed from. How the forecast works

3 SepThursday, September 3
+91°

Clear · feels like +98°

Low / high
+74°…+94°
Precipitation
0.00 in
Wind
7 mph WSW
Cloud cover
0%
Humidity
48%
Pressure
30.00 inHg
00:00+78°—3 mphsouth wind, 3 mph73%0%
01:00+77°—2 mphsouthwest wind, 2 mph73%0%
02:00+76°—2 mphsouth wind, 2 mph72%0%
03:00+76°—3 mphsouth wind, 3 mph73%0%
04:00+75°—2 mphsoutheast wind, 2 mph74%1%
05:00+75°—1 mpheast wind, 1 mph72%19%
06:00+75°—3 mphnorth wind, 3 mph73%44%
07:00+74°—3 mphsouth wind, 3 mph74%0%
08:00+75°—3 mpheast wind, 3 mph77%0%
09:00+80°—2 mphsouthwest wind, 2 mph70%0%
10:00+85°—3 mphwest wind, 3 mph63%0%
11:00+89°—4 mphsouthwest wind, 4 mph56%0%
12:00+91°—7 mphwest wind, 7 mph48%0%
13:00+92°—8 mphwest wind, 8 mph46%1%
14:00+93°—9 mphwest wind, 9 mph46%0%
15:00+94°—8 mphwest wind, 8 mph44%0%
16:00+94°—8 mphwest wind, 8 mph43%0%
17:00+94°—7 mphwest wind, 7 mph43%0%
18:00+92°—6 mphwest wind, 6 mph45%0%
19:00+90°—4 mphnorthwest wind, 4 mph53%0%
20:00+85°—4 mphnorthwest wind, 4 mph56%0%
21:00+83°—1 mphsouthwest wind, 1 mph59%0%
22:00+82°—3 mphsouthwest wind, 3 mph65%66%
23:00+80°—3 mphsouthwest wind, 3 mph66%0%
+94°+84°+74°
Weather throughout the day
0:006:0012:0018:0023:00

Sun and moon

Thursday, September 3
The day: daylight and the hours the moon is above the horizon. Local time0:0012:0024:00
DaylightMoon above the horizon
Sunrise
06:59
Sunset
19:56
Day length
12 h 57 min
Sunshine hours
11 h 56 min
UV index
6
high
Moon
Last quarter
Moonrise
23:25
Moonset
14:19

The day is 3 min shorter than yesterday.

Sunshine hours count direct sun only — cloud cover cuts it, so it is shorter than daylight.

Solunar feeding periods

+14% in the windowThursday, September 3
Feeding windows on the day scale, local time0:0012:0024:00
Major periodsMinor periods
  • Major05:24–07:24Moon overhead
  • Minor13:49–14:49Moonset
  • Major17:54–19:54Moon underfoot
  • Minor22:55–23:55Moonrise

The windows are set by the moon's transit and rise, and the forecast above already accounts for them: within these hours the bite score sits higher than across the rest of the day, while the day's overall level still comes from the catch-calibrated model.

What are solunar periods?

BiteGuide·From anglers’ reports

What actually worked on this water

Based on 5 verified catchesPeriod: 2018

This is a summary of anglers' reports, not a proven cause of the bite: conditions lining up does not mean they drove it.

By fish species

vertical axis — number of catches

012
2111
Flathead catfishBlack crappieChannel catfishSauger
By fish species
ValueCatchesShare
Flathead catfish240%
Black crappie120%
Channel catfish120%
Sauger120%

By month

vertical axis — number of catches

012
1112
JanMarJunOct
By month
ValueCatchesShare
Jan120%
Mar120%
Jun120%
Oct240%

Measured river conditions are available for Scioto River: current gauge height, streamflow, and water temperature when reported by the source.

Water

Gauge height
5.67 ft
Streamflow
312 ft³/s

USGS gauge Scioto River at Columbus OH, 1 mi away · measured 2026-09-02 23:45 · data source · provisional data, subject to revision