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New River Gorge Fishing Report

Updated Fri, Sep 4, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

America's newest national park is an ancient river: world-class smallmouth in whitewater scenery, floated or waded under the great bridge.

4/5
Good. Solid day ahead.Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.
Flow
1,740 cfs
Air / High
86 / 88 F
Wind
NNW 9 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 03185400, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.

Satellite view
Friday
4
September 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.

4/5Good. Solid day ahead.Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.

New River Gorge lines up a genuinely fishable day across the board. The river is running 1,740 cfs, dropping and clearing. Today brings cloud cover, wind NNW around 9 mph, rising pressure near 1014 hPa and a high of 88. Water sits around 73 F for the season (estimated). With the last quarter, the solunar majors run 5:39 AM-7:39 AM and 5:39 PM-7:39 PM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

Smallmouth bassExcellent

Peak season. Tubes, jerkbaits and swimbaits around gravel points, boulders and current seams.

WalleyeExcellent

Jig and minnow on rock reefs and points; the evening bite on wind-blown shores is the one to plan around.

MuskellungeExcellent

Bucktails and rubber over cabbage and rock bars; moon majors matter here more than anywhere.

Catfish (blue, channel)Excellent

Drift cut bait across flats near the river channel, or anchor on ledges at dusk.

Tomorrow: Cooler at 80 F with a rain chance. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Sep 5, 6:30 AMHow this report is made →

Water and weather

Live readings from New River at Thurmond.

Flow, last 30 days

USGS gauge 03185400.

4,63810,02015,4021,740 cfs08/0508/1508/2509/04

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp86 F
High / Low88 / 70 F
WindNNW 9-14 mph
Pressure1014.2 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain100% cloud, 12%
Sunrise / Sunset06:57 / 19:49
MoonLast Quarter, 50%
Water temp (seasonal)~73 F est.

Bite planner

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

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunsetPRIMEPRIME

Next 7 days

Tap a day for the detailed outlook.

Fri Sep 4 · Showers, 88/70 F, wind 9 mph, rain 12%

Fair or better. A 9 mph breeze puts a working chop on the banks it hits: fish the wind-blown side.

Species guide

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

Smallmouth bass illustration

Smallmouth bass

Best: May-Oct

Current and rock. Finds gravel flats, boulders and drop-offs, and fights far above its weight. Peak season. Tubes, jerkbaits and swimbaits around gravel points, boulders and current seams.

Walleye illustration

Walleye

Best: May-Jun, Oct

The glass-eyed prize of northern lakes. Low light, wind-blown structure and live bait. Jig and minnow on rock reefs and points; the evening bite on wind-blown shores is the one to plan around.

Muskellunge illustration

Muskellunge

Best: Sep-Nov

The fish of ten thousand casts. Weed edges, rock bars and big-water structure. Bucktails and rubber over cabbage and rock bars; moon majors matter here more than anywhere.

Catfish (blue, channel) illustration

Catfish (blue, channel)

Good year-round

The most reliable bite on most southern waters. Blues run big; channels fill the cooler. Drift cut bait across flats near the river channel, or anchor on ledges at dusk.

When to come: the New River Gorge 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
Catfish (blue, channel)
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 73 F (estimated, not a reading).

4050607080JanMarMayJulSepNovSep, ~73 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 New River Gorge today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Sep 3

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Muskellunge led the card at excellent. High of 89 F, wind to 5 mph.

Wed, Sep 2

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Muskellunge led the card at excellent. High of 88 F, wind to 5 mph.

Tue, Sep 1

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Smallmouth bass led the card at excellent. High of 85 F, wind to 8 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
Only used to send you this water's report each week. No spam, ever.

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 license. Walleye: protective rules on New River native strain sections: check WVDNR. Smallmouth: quality limits by reach.

Access

NPS accesses at Thurmond, Cunard, Sandstone Falls, McCreery; commercial raft-fishing outfitters in Fayetteville.

About this water

53-mile gorge section of the New River, Fayette/Raleigh/Summers counties, WV. National Park & Preserve since 2020.

Fishing New River Gorge: the full guide

Old river, new park

The New River is geologically among the oldest rivers on earth, and its gorge (national park status since 2020) hosts the East's premier river smallmouth fishery: miles of boulder gardens, ledges and pools where 20-inch bronze fish eat topwater in whitewater country. Rafting fame brought the crowds; the fishing discreetly matches it.

Smallmouth by float

The classic program floats the gorge sections (Thurmond to Cunard, McCreery runs) in rafts or drift boats: tubes and Neds through the pools, buzzbaits and walking baits across the flats at dawn, streamers on 7-weights for the fly crowd. Flows rule everything: 800-2,500 CFS floats fishable; big water moves the game to the banks. Our gauge panel tracks Thurmond daily.

Wade windows and tributaries

Low summer flows open wading at the access points (Sandstone Falls' ledges, Brooks Falls, Meadow Creek): pocket-water smallmouth fishing of the highest order. Walleye hold the deeper winter pools (a native strain the DNR protects and rebuilds), muskies patrol the slow banks, and flathead cats own the night shift.

Timing the gorge

April-May: pre-spawn heavyweights on jerkbaits and tubes as water warms past 55F. June: the topwater opening: the year's most fun fishing. Summer: dawn-and-dusk surface windows, midday finesse, rafts everywhere on weekends. Fall: crisp floats, aggressive feed-up fish, empty water midweek. Winter: deep-pool walleye for the specialists.

Common questions

Do I need a raft to fish the New River Gorge?

No: Sandstone Falls, Meadow Creek and the access-point ledges wade beautifully at summer flows. But one guided raft float through the canyon is the full experience: fishing between rapids under 900-ft walls.

How big do New River smallmouth run?

The river produces legitimate 20-inch-plus citations yearly: the boulder habitat and crayfish base build heavy fish. April-May and October are the trophy windows.

Is fishing good at New River Gorge right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.

Nearby waters

Bluestone Lake21 miSummersville Lake24 miGreenbrier River26 miElk River40 miCranberry River44 miNew River61 mi
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