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Elk River Fishing Report

Updated Fri, Oct 23, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

From Sutton Dam to Charleston, the Elk River holds a native muskellunge population, smallmouth bass, slot-protected walleye and stocked trout in the tailwater.

3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Flow
1,230 cfs
Air / High
63 / 63 F
Wind
NNE 5 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 03197000, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.

Tap a marker for today's tip
Friday
23
October 2026

Today's Fishing Report

Generated this morning from live readings: gauge, weather model, sun and moon. A fresh report is published here every morning.

3/5Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Elk River asks for patience today: short windows, precise presentations. The river is running 1,230 cfs, dropping and clearing. Today brings clear skies, wind NNE around 5 mph, steady pressure near 1025 hPa and a high of 63. Water sits around 47 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 9:59 AM-11:59 AM and 10:28 PM-12:28 AM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

MuskellungeExcellent

Water under 50°F comes before the spawn in spring and at the end of the season in fall. In fall, where seasons stay open, slow-moving lures and large live suckers are the traditional approach.

Smallmouth bassGood

Fish hold in slower, deeper water; fish slowly and expect fewer bites until spring warming.

WalleyeGood

Spawning runs begin soon after ice-out in the high 30s to mid 40s °F; before that, slow presentations with live bait in deep, low-current wintering areas and below dams.

Tomorrow: Similar at 64 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Oct 24, 6:30 AMHow this report is made →

Before you go

West Virginia requires a fishing licence from age 15, from $24.00 for residents. What a West Virginia licence costs and where to buy it →

Chasing smallmouth bass here? Check the size and bag limits with WVDNR before you keep anything. The season dates for West Virginia, read off the agency, are on the West Virginia seasons page.

Water and weather

Live readings from Elk River at Queen Shoals.

Flow, last 30 days

USGS gauge 03197000.

2,6326,75610,8801,230 cfs09/2310/0310/1310/23

Today’s flow against 98 years of October 23

At 1,230 cfs, the flow at USGS gauge 03197000 (Elk River at Queen Shoals) is at the 77th percentile for the date: above normal. In half of the 98 years of approved record the daily mean on October 23 was below 478 cfs; the highest was 6,600 cfs and the lowest 1 cfs.

p10 70median 478p90 1,963

Percentiles of the daily mean flow for this date, from the USGS Water Data Statistics API for gauge 03197000; today’s reading is the latest instantaneous value. Classes follow the ones the USGS used on its WaterWatch maps (retired at the end of 2025): below 10th, much below normal; 10th–24th, below; 25th–75th, normal; 76th–90th, above; over 90th, much above.

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp63 F
High / Low63 / 35 F
WindNNE 5-7 mph
Pressure1024.5 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain0% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset07:41 / 18:35
MoonWaxing Gibbous, 91%
Water temp (seasonal)~47 F est.

Bite planner

Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today. Tap a bar to see why.

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunsetPRIMEPRIME

Which day to fish Elk River this week

The best day on Elk River this week looks like Saturday Oct 24, at 4 out of 5, against 3 today.

Best day this week: Saturday, Oct 24 — good at 4/5, falling pressure, usually the best window of a week.

Today, Oct 23 — Fair

A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Solunar majors
9:59 AM-11:59 AM and 10:28 PM-12:28 AM
Minor period
4:21 AM-5:21 AM
Sun
07:41 to 18:35
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Showers, 5 mph
Rain chance
0%

Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out: how the score is built.

Species guide

The species that matter on Elk River: seasons, structure and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.

Smallmouth bass illustration

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. Fish hold in slower, deeper water; fish slowly and expect fewer bites until spring warming.

Walleye illustration

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. Spawning runs begin soon after ice-out in the high 30s to mid 40s °F; before that, slow presentations with live bait in deep, low-current wintering areas and below dams.

Muskellunge illustration

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. Water under 50°F comes before the spawn in spring and at the end of the season in fall. In fall, where seasons stay open, slow-moving lures and large live suckers are the traditional approach.

When to come: the Elk River calendar

Activity by species and month, and how the water warms through the year. Tap any cell.

Species activity by month

1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted.

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Smallmouth bass
Walleye
Muskellunge
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 47 F (estimated, not a reading).

30405060JanMarMayJulSepNovOct, ~47 F now

Angler reports

Real reports from real anglers, reviewed before publishing. The water log below tracks each day automatically.

No angler reports yet this weekBe the first: your report helps every angler who checks Elk River today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Oct 22

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Muskellunge led the card at excellent. High of 65 F, wind to 6 mph.

Wed, Oct 21

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Muskellunge led the card at excellent. High of 67 F, wind to 5 mph.

Tue, Oct 20

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Muskellunge led the card at excellent. High of 66 F, wind to 5 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
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Before you go

License

West Virginia requires a valid fishing license for adults. Buy online from the state agency; one-day options exist for visitors.

Regulations

West Virginia fishing license, plus a trout stamp to fish for trout. WVDNR 2026 rules on the Elk: walleye 20 to 30 inches released, two a day with only one over 30 inches; statewide muskellunge limit one a day, 30-inch minimum; spearfishing prohibited from Sutton Dam to the US 19 bridge. See the WVDNR Fishing Regulations Summary for bass and trout limits.

Access

Sutton Dam tailwater access in Braxton County and WVDNR river access sites in Clay and Kanawha counties, from Duck down to Queen Shoals (WVDNR District 3 guide; West Virginia State Parks Elk River Trail).

About this water

The Elk River from Sutton Dam to the Kanawha River at Charleston, through Braxton, Clay and Kanawha counties, West Virginia.

Fishing Elk River: the full guide

Native musky water

WVDNR lists the Elk River in Kanawha, Clay and Braxton counties among West Virginia streams with native muskellunge. In a 2008 to 2012 study the agency sampled 161 km (about 100 miles) of river from Sutton Dam to the Kanawha River in Charleston and collected 194 muskies. More fish lived year-round in the upper part of that reach, many tagged fish gathered near Sutton Dam in spring, and habitat was poorer in the lowest 30 km because of development, dredging and the pool of Winfield Locks and Dam.

Smallmouth and walleye

WVDNR's 2026 regulations summary names the Elk among the state's smallmouth bass rivers and lists the Elk below Sutton among its muskellunge waters. On the Elk, including Sutton Lake and its tributaries, walleye from 20 to 30 inches must be released and the daily limit is two, only one of which may be over 30 inches.

Trout below Sutton Dam

WVDNR stocks the Sutton Lake tailwater, from the dam 2 miles downstream, twice a month from February to April, once in May and weekly for two weeks from the third Monday in October. Spearfishing is prohibited on the Elk from Sutton Dam to the US 19 bridge at Sutton. The catch-and-release trout section on the Elk is far upstream in Randolph County, from Elk Springs Campground to the Rose Run bridge, not below Sutton.

Floats and access in Clay County

WVDNR's District 3 fishing guide lists river access at Duck, Ivydale, Mary L. Chilton Roadside Park, the WVDOH lot at Clay, Hartland Bridge, King Shoals and Queen Shoals. It gives float lengths of 16 miles from Duck to Mary Chilton Park and 3.5 miles from King Shoals to Queen Shoals. Flows on this page come from USGS 03197000 at Queen Shoals.

Common questions

Where is the trout water?

The Sutton Lake tailwater, from the dam 2 miles downstream, which WVDNR stocks from February to May and in October. The Elk's catch-and-release trout section is upstream in Randolph County.

Does the Elk hold muskellunge?

Yes. WVDNR lists the Elk in Kanawha, Clay and Braxton counties as native musky water, and its study found more fish in the upper reaches near Sutton Dam.

What are the walleye rules?

On the Elk, walleye from 20 to 30 inches must be released, with a daily limit of two and only one over 30 inches (WVDNR 2026).

Is fishing good at Elk River right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Nearby waters

Summersville Lake22 miKanawha River24 miWilliams River36 miNew River Gorge40 miCranberry River43 miStonewall Jackson Lake48 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

River and reservoir readings
USGS 03197000 — Elk River at Queen Shoals
Read from the USGS Water Data API (api.waterdata.usgs.gov). Latest value timestamped 2026-10-23 at 19:00 UTC.
Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 38.4800, -81.1300 in this water's own timezone. A model, not an observation.
Moon and solunar windows
Calculated on this site
Astronomical calculation from these coordinates and the date, not a third-party feed. How much weight it deserves.
Pages checked
The facts in the written guide were checked against these pages, from the agencies and operators that manage the water, on October 5, 2026. Anything we could not verify was taken out.
The written guide on this page
Pablo Ruiz Quintero
How this page was made. The daily report is computed by our scoring engine from live readings; nobody types it. The written text was drafted with AI assistance from the official pages listed above, and its facts were checked against those pages by automated verification on October 5, 2026; anything that could not be verified was taken out. Pablo Ruiz Quintero sets every guideline, the data-verification system and the minimum standards a page must meet to be published, reviews page structure and approves what goes live; the responsibility is his, and the AI carries out the work. We work this way because it is how one person can keep every page current with named sources. Errors are published in the verification log; the full policy is in the editorial policy.

Readings refresh on a 30-minute window. The full method, with every figure and its source, is on how our reports are made. Something wrong here? Tell us and it goes in the log with the date.