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Tygart Valley River Fishing Report

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

The Tygart Valley River above Tygart Lake, gauged at Belington, with stocked trout in its Randolph County headwaters and smallmouth bass and musky downstream.

2/5
Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
Flow
404 cfs
Air / High
61 / 61 F
Wind
N 4 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 03051000, 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.

2/5Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.

Tygart Valley River is in transition: bait on the move and predators following. The river is running 404 cfs, dropping and clearing. Today brings clear skies, wind N around 4 mph, rising pressure near 1024 hPa and a high of 61. Water sits around 62 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 9:54 AM-11:54 AM and 10:23 PM-12:23 AM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

MuskellungeExcellent

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.

Smallmouth bassGood

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.

WalleyeGood

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.

Tomorrow: Similar at 60 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 Tygart Valley River at Belington.

Flow, last 30 days

USGS gauge 03051000.

1,0992,8294,558404 cfs09/2310/0310/1310/23

Today’s flow against 119 years of October 23

At 404 cfs, the flow at USGS gauge 03051000 (Tygart Valley River at Belington) is at the 75th percentile for the date: normal. In half of the 119 years of approved record the daily mean on October 23 was below 105 cfs; the highest was 2,310 cfs and the lowest 1 cfs.

p10 18median 105p90 959

Percentiles of the daily mean flow for this date, from the USGS Water Data Statistics API for gauge 03051000; 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 temp61 F
High / Low61 / 40 F
WindN 4-5 mph
Pressure1024.1 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain11% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset07:37 / 18:29
MoonWaxing Gibbous, 91%
Water temp (seasonal)~62 F est.

Bite planner

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

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunset

Which day to fish Tygart Valley River this week

The best day on Tygart Valley River this week looks like Tuesday Oct 27, at 4 out of 5, against 2 today.

Best day this week: Tuesday, Oct 27 — good at 4/5, falling pressure, usually the best window of a week.

Today, Oct 23 — Tough

Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.

Solunar majors
9:54 AM-11:54 AM and 10:23 PM-12:23 AM
Minor period
4:16 AM-5:16 AM
Sun
07:37 to 18:29
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Partly cloudy, 10 mph
Rain chance
0%

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

Species guide

The species that matter on Tygart Valley 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. 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 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. 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 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. 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.

When to come: the Tygart Valley 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 62 F (estimated, not a reading).

4050607080JanMarMayJulSepNovOct, ~62 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 Tygart Valley 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 59 F, wind to 8 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 63 F, wind to 8 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 64 F, wind to 8 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 for trout. Statewide muskellunge limit one a day, 30-inch minimum; below Tygart Lake from the mouth to Valley Falls, walleye 15-inch minimum and eight a day (WVDNR 2026). Bass and trout limits are in the WVDNR 2026 Fishing Regulations Summary.

Access

WVDNR access sites at the County Route 39 bridge, Burnt Bridge and Scotts Ford in Randolph County; Valley Falls State Park below Tygart Lake.

About this water

The Tygart Valley River in Randolph and Barbour counties, West Virginia, above Tygart Lake; gauged at Belington.

Fishing Tygart Valley River: the full guide

Stocked trout in the headwaters

WVDNR's 2026 stocking list includes the Tygart Valley River headwaters in Randolph County, stocked twice a month from February to April, once in May and weekly for two weeks from the third Monday in October. The agency's 2021 District 3 guide described that stocked reach as running from Valley Head downstream 11 miles to Becky's Creek.

Smallmouth and muskellunge

WVDNR's 2026 regulations summary names the Tygart among West Virginia's smallmouth bass rivers and its muskellunge rivers. Its esocid management plan lists the Tygart River among waters stocked with muskellunge between 1958 and 1999. Statewide, the musky limit is one a day with a 30-inch minimum.

Access above Belington

WVDNR's District 3 guide lists river access in Randolph County at the County Route 39 bridge and Burnt Bridge, both pull-offs, and at Scotts Ford, which has a parking lot and a pier. The flow gauge for this page, USGS 03051000, is at Belington in Barbour County.

Below Tygart Lake

Downstream of the dam, WVDNR stocks the Tygart Lake tailwater in Taylor County once a month from February to May and again in October. From the river mouth up to Valley Falls, walleye under 15 inches must be released and the daily limit is eight. Valley Falls State Park near Fairmont covers 1,145 acres around a series of four falls on the river and is open from 7 a.m. to sunset.

Common questions

Where is the stocked trout water?

In the Randolph County headwaters, which WVDNR stocks from February to May and in October.

Are there muskellunge?

Yes. WVDNR lists the Tygart among its musky rivers and stocked the river with musky between 1958 and 1999.

What is at Valley Falls?

A 1,145-acre state park near Fairmont around four falls on the Tygart Valley River, open 7 a.m. to sunset.

Is fishing good at Tygart Valley River 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.

Nearby waters

Tygart Lake20 miStonewall Jackson Lake31 miDeep Creek Lake47 miCheat Lake47 miWilliams River53 miSavage River55 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

River and reservoir readings
USGS 03051000 — Tygart Valley River at Belington
Read from the USGS Water Data API (api.waterdata.usgs.gov). Latest value timestamped 2026-10-23 at 18:30 UTC.
Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 39.0200, -79.9300 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.