Why are Bluestone's launches sometimes under water?

WVDNR says the Corps' dam safety work cuts outflow by more than half, so the lake rises whenever inflow reaches 10,000 cfs, flooding WMA ramps and roads.

What fish are in Bluestone Lake?

WVDNR lists smallmouth and largemouth bass, rock bass, trout, walleye, crappie, striped bass, muskellunge and catfish.

Where can I check the lake level?

USGS station 03179800, Bluestone Lake near Hinton, reports the lake elevation.

Is fishing good at Bluestone Lake right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.

Bluestone Lake Fishing Report Today (October 2026)

Smallmouth bass

Best: spring and fall, when bigger fish come shallow

A bronze-brown black bass of clear, cool streams and rocky lakes, with dark vertical bars instead of a side stripe. Michigan DNR says its southeastern coast, from Port Huron to Lake Erie, is known nationally for both the size and the number of its smallmouth. Spring pre-spawn and fall: Iowa DNR notes the larger bass come up to shallow structure, where a shallow-running minnow bait or a spinnerbait just under the surface works.

Walleye

Best: spring and late fall, around dawn, dusk and night

A cool-water perch of large lakes, reservoirs and rivers whose reflective eyes are built for low light, so it feeds most at night and in murky water. The Missouri Department of Conservation ranks it among the continent's most important freshwater game fish. Spring: post-spawn fish scatter and can be slow for a couple of weeks. Fall: one of the best windows, with minnows on jigs and three-way rigs as the water cools toward ice-up.

Muskellunge

Fished from late spring into late fall where seasons allow

Muskellunge are solitary, fish-eating ambush predators of the pike family, holding in weed beds and other cover in lakes and rivers of the Great Lakes, upper Mississippi and Ohio basins. This band covers the spring spawn, which in Wisconsin runs at 49-60°F; spawning muskies eat little and rarely chase lures, Wisconsin DNR says. After the spawn, and again as fall water cools, work large lures along weed edges and structure.

Catfish (blue, channel)

Year-round, best at dusk and after dark

Three big catfish share most of the country's rivers and reservoirs: the channel catfish, the most widespread; the blue catfish, the largest; and the flathead, which hunts live fish. All feed mostly on or near the bottom. In spring after ice-out, Iowa finds channel cats feeding on winter-killed shad on the shallow, warmer mudflats at the upper ends of reservoirs; cut bait on the bottom works there.

Largemouth bass

Best: the spring pre-spawn and the fall feed

A warm-water sunfish of lakes, reservoirs, ponds and slow river backwaters that holds tight to cover: weeds, logs, rock ledges and docks. In Texas, TPWD surveys rank it "by far" the freshwater fish anglers most want to catch. In spring, pre-spawn bass push shallow as the water climbs through the mid-50s; in fall they feed actively until the water cools into the low 50s, then drop back toward deeper structure.

Striped bass

Best: spring and fall inland; on the coast, during the seasonal migrations

The largest of the temperate basses, a sea-run fish of the Atlantic and Gulf coasts that now also lives in reservoirs across much of the country after hatchery stocking. Inland, it follows schools of shad and herring through open water. Spring and fall are the shoreline seasons: ODWC points to windblown points, riprap and dams during the May shad spawn and the pre-winter feed.

Crappie

Best: the spring spawn; summer around docks, brush and the thermocline

Two slab-sided panfish, the white crappie and the black crappie, that gather around submerged timber, brush piles, docks and bridge pilings in lakes, reservoirs and slow river backwaters. Texas Parks and Wildlife counts crappie as the state's most popular panfish. Pre-spawn fish move toward shallow coves, and Iowa DNR points to wading as an effective way to reach them in spring; minnows or small jigs under a float.

Bluestone Lake Fishing Report

Today's Fishing Report

The plan, species by species

Before you go

Water and weather

Water level, last 30 days

Right now

Bite planner

Which day to fish Bluestone Lake this week

Today, Oct 23 — Tough

Species guide

Smallmouth bass

Walleye

Muskellunge

Catfish (blue, channel)

Largemouth bass

Striped bass

Crappie

When to come: the Bluestone Lake calendar

Species activity by month

Water temperature through the year

Angler reports

Water log, last days

Before you go

License

Regulations

Access

About this water

Fishing Bluestone Lake: the full guide

Where two rivers meet

Game fish

Higher, more variable water during dam work

Checking the level

Common questions

Nearby waters

Where this page's numbers come from