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Coal River Water Trail
The Coal River Water Trail. Maintained access points, slow warm water and good smallmouth and catfish within half an hour of Charleston.
Full guide to Coal River Water Trail →Kayak Fishing
A fast-growing discipline in West Virginia, with the B.A.S.S. Nation Kayak Series running competitive events statewide. Reservoirs and the smallmouth rivers both fish well from a boat you can carry.
The water trail network provides mapped, legal access points every few miles on rivers that hold smallmouth bass, which makes it the practical infrastructure for kayak fishing in the state.
A fast-growing discipline here, with a dedicated competitive series and a lot of unpressured water.
Our recommendations
Where we'd send you
For bass
Sutton Lake
Sutton and Burnsville lakes. Quiet coves, standing timber, bass and muskie, and camping at the launch.
Full guide to Sutton Lake →For the best fish
Cacapon River
The Cacapon. Clear enough to sight-fish, shallow enough to wade when you want to, and full of smallmouth.
Full guide to Cacapon River →Practical note
Life jacket requirements apply to kayaks the same as any other vessel, and river levels change everything about access. Check river levels before you commit to a shuttle.
What to know before you go
- Water trail access points double as the best kayak fishing launches
- The New, Greenbrier and Coal all fish well from a kayak
Regions that do it best
Reservoirs, trout water, developing rail-trail
Mountain Lakes
The geographic center of the state and its least-visited region.
Water trails and forest trails near CharlestonMetro Valley
The Kanawha and Guyandotte valleys around Charleston and Huntington, containing the largest share of the state's population.
Ohio River islands and the North Bend Rail TrailMid-Ohio Valley
The Ohio River corridor and the counties inland from it.
Every place we cover for kayak fishing
River · Mountain Lakes
Elk River
One of the finest and least-known trout fisheries in the Appalachians.
Tailwater cold year-roundWild browns fishery
State Park · Mountain Lakes
Stonewall Jackson Lake State Park
A 2,650-acre lake with the most developed resort facilities of any West Virginia lake park — a lodge, marina, Arnold Palmer golf course and the state's largest open-water fetch for small-boat sailing.
2,650 ac lake82 mi shoreline
Lake · Mountain Lakes
Sutton Lake
A 1,440-acre Corps of Engineers reservoir on the Elk River in Braxton County, with several campgrounds, quiet coves and the dam that creates the Elk tailwater fishery below.
1,440 ac lakeCorps managed
River · Mid-Ohio Valley
Hughes River
Three forks — North, South and Middle — draining a landscape of narrow ridges and small farms in Ritchie and Wirt counties, giving quiet Class I canoe water and good smallmouth fishing with almost no other boats.
3 forksClass I difficulty
River · Metro Valley
Coal River Water Trail
An organized water trail on the Big Coal, Little Coal and main-stem Coal rivers south of Charleston, with maintained access points, mapped mileages and signage — the product of sustained work by the Coal River Group to turn a working-class industrial river back into a recreation asset.
88 mi water trailClass I difficulty
State Park · Metro Valley
Beech Fork State Park
A 3,981-acre park around a 720-acre Corps reservoir near Huntington, with one of the largest campgrounds in the state park system, good bass fishing and easy trails.
3,981 ac park720 ac lake
Lake · Metro Valley
East Lynn Lake
A 1,005-acre Corps reservoir in Wayne County with a strong bass and crappie fishery, a large wildlife management area around it and very little traffic.
1,005 ac lake23,000+ ac surrounding wma
River · Metro Valley
Kanawha Falls
A wide ledge falls at Glen Ferris where the Gauley and New join to form the Kanawha — a well-known bank fishing spot for hybrid striped bass, walleye and catfish, with roadside access and a historic inn across the highway.
Confluence new + gauleyRoadside access
State Park · New River Gorge
Bluestone State Park
On the shore of Bluestone Lake, the third-largest body of water in West Virginia, at the point where the Bluestone River meets the New.
2,155 ac park2,040 ac bluestone lake
Trips built around it
AdvertiseThis space is available
Guides and rentals for kayak fishing
Reserved for a West Virginia operator serving this activity. The listings above and below it are unpaid.
List your business hereQuestions people ask
Is kayak fishing popular in West Virginia?
Yes and growing. The West Virginia B.A.S.S. Nation runs a dedicated Kayak Series, and the state's water trail access network makes river kayak fishing unusually easy.
Organizations, agencies and resources · 6
Groups that handle access, maintenance, licensing and conditions data for this activity. Starred entries publish updates worth following.
WV Division of Natural Resources (WVDNR)
Fishing, hunting, wildlife, boating, wildlife management areas, public lands and recreation. The licensing and regulatory authority for hunting, fishing and boating statewide.
Visit Coal River Group / Coal River Water Trail
Rivers
Paddling, river access, conservation and recreation along the Big Coal, Little Coal and main-stem Coal rivers — one of the most developed water trail networks in the state.
Visit
Elk River Water Trail
Paddling
Elk River paddling access developed alongside the Elk River Rail Trail.
WVDNR Fishing
Fishing
Licensing, regulations, stocked waters, species information and public fishing access statewide.
Visit WV B.A.S.S. Nation Kayak Series
Fishing
Kayak-fishing events, standings and resources — the competitive arm of a fast-growing discipline.
Fishbrain
Fishing
Community fishing maps, catch logs and reports with West Virginia coverage.
Visit Related activities
Every organization we link to: local tourism offices, the state and federal agencies that manage the land, the nonprofits and clubs that keep access open, and the universities doing the research.
West Virginia has roughly 1.5 million acres of public land and a handful of places that carry almost all of the attention. The consequence is that a great deal of very good ground sits nearly empty, usually for one of three reasons: nobody has heard of it, the road in is gated or rough, or it is undeveloped and has nothing to advertise. Those are the places below — of them across regions.