West Virginia is vertical water: the New River's world-class smallmouth cutting through a national park, wild rainbows in plunge-pool creeks, and tailwaters cold enough for trophy trout. We start in the gorge that became a national park: the New River.
Reports current for Friday, October 23
Every one of the 13 West Virginia waters we cover has a live read this morning. None reaches 4 out of 5 and 9 are slow. Water runs 47 F to 74 F. Pressure is rising on most of them, which costs a point in our model when the sky is clear.
Best right now: Elk River 3/5, Kanawha River 3/5, Stonewall Jackson Lake 3/5
Live verdicts from this morning's reports.
New River Gorge: 53 miles of the New River inside a national park and preserve, with catch-and-release reaches for black bass and walleye.
Cheat Lake: a 1,730-acre hydroelectric lake on the Cheat River near Morgantown, with its own walleye slot and yellow perch limit.
A 2,790-acre Corps reservoir on the Gauley River near Summersville, known for clear water and rocky shores, with stocked trout in the tailwaters below the dam.
From Sutton Dam to Charleston, the Elk River holds a native muskellunge population, smallmouth bass, slot-protected walleye and stocked trout in the tailwater.
A 1,750-acre Corps of Engineers lake near Grafton whose bass, walleye and musky reproduce naturally, with stocked trout in the tailwater below the dam.
Central West Virginia’s muskie lake: Stonewall Jackson holds toothy fish and bass in a state park setting.
Bluestone Lake: a 2,040-acre reservoir where the Bluestone River joins the New River, West Virginia's third-largest body of water.
The Tygart Valley River above Tygart Lake, gauged at Belington, with stocked trout in its Randolph County headwaters and smallmouth bass and musky downstream.
Greenbrier River: a 162-mile undammed river in southeastern West Virginia, with a bass slot near Ronceverte and stocked trout in Pocahontas County.
South Branch Potomac: a 141-mile river with stocked trout through Pendleton County and dense smallmouth bass below Petersburg.
Cranberry River: a national forest trout stream with a 4.3-mile catch-and-release section and the fly-fishing-only Dogway Fork.
West Virginia’s big river: the Kanawha runs hybrid stripers, smallmouth and catfish past Kanawha Falls.
A Monongahela trout stream: the Williams runs stocked and native trout through high country.
Species activity across the state's covered waters. Peak of the year: May.
1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted.
Seasonal surface curve for this state's dominant water type (estimated).
| Water | Type | County | Live gauge | Peak month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New River Gorge fishing report | River | Fayette | USGS | May |
| Cheat Lake fishing report | Reservoir | Monongalia | USGS | Apr |
| Summersville Lake fishing report | Reservoir | Nicholas | USGS | Mar |
| Elk River fishing report | River | Clay | USGS | May |
| Tygart Lake fishing report | Reservoir | Taylor | USGS | Mar |
| Stonewall Jackson Lake fishing report | Reservoir | Lewis | USGS | Mar |
| Bluestone Lake fishing report | Reservoir | Summers | USGS | May |
| Tygart Valley River fishing report | River | Barbour | USGS | May |
| Greenbrier River fishing report | River | Greenbrier | USGS | May |
| South Branch Potomac River fishing report | River | Hampshire | USGS | May |
| Cranberry River fishing report | River | Webster | USGS | May |
| Kanawha River fishing report | River | Fayette | USGS | May |
| Williams River fishing report | River | Webster | USGS | May |
Almost everything here swims in current: the New and Greenbrier's smallmouth (the East's best river bronze), the Elk and Cranberry's wild trout, the South Branch's canoe-country bass, and tailwaters (Summersville's Gauley) that hold serious rainbows. Stocked-trout culture runs deep: the state's put-and-take program is a social calendar: but the wild and wilderness water is the treasure.
April-May: pre-spawn river smallmouth heavyweights, stocked-trout crowds on every named creek. June: topwater season opens on the rivers: the year's best fun. Summer: wet-wading pocket water, muskie floats on the slow rivers, catfish nights. Fall: the gorge in color: aggressive smallmouth, empty accesses midweek. Winter: deep-pool walleye on the New's native strain, tailwater trout for the hardy.
The New River's smallmouth: 20-inch river fish in national-park whitewater. The wild-trout creeks of the highlands are the intimate counterpoint.
Two kinds: a beloved stocking program on hundreds of streams (crowded, social, fun), and genuinely wild fisheries: Cranberry, Elk headwaters, Seneca Creek: for those who walk. The trout stamp covers both.