If you like fishing on a warm summer day beneath a cloudless sky, walleye fishing might not be for you.
Walleye are known for dwelling in deep water, being most active after dark, and biting best during the months when West Virginia’s waterways are still fringed with ice. Maybe that’s why walleye fishing in West Virginia is so criminally underrated.
But these toothy, moon-eyed predators provide outstanding fishing for those who know where to look and don’t mind braving the chill of winter and early spring.
Much like neighboring Pennsylvania and Ohio, walleye in West Virginia are abundant and widespread. Most rivers and quite a few lakes in the Mountain State support walleye, but these are the best of the best.
Kanawha River
The largest inland waterway in West Virginia, the Kanawha River is a tributary that flows through Charleston and meets the Ohio River at Point Pleasant. It’s an excellent walleye river and one of the best places in the state to catch your limit.
The Kanawha has long been known mostly for numbers when it comes to walleye, but more big fish have been turning up in anglers’ catches since the early 2000s. A state record weighing 17.82 pounds was caught here in 2003.
A combination of stocking and natural reproduction sustains the Kanawha’s population, and walleye over 20 inches are increasingly common. The best fishing is on the lower Kanawha, where three lock and dam systems regulate the river’s flow.
From January through March, tailraces below the Winfield, Marmet and London Lock and Dam are excellent places to fish for walleye. All three offer bank fishing access.
Walleye also come up from the Ohio River as far as the Winfield Lock and Dam, making the lowest pool an especially good area.
Jig heads tipped with live minnows or 3-inch curly tail grubs are the baits of choice, with white and chartreuse being top colors.
Tygart Lake & Tailwater
The Tygart Valley River, a tributary of the Monongahela River, offers solid walleye fishing, but the river is outshined by its only major impoundment: 1,750-acre Tygart Valley Lake.
With clear water and plenty of steep, rocky structure, Tygart Lake is a classic walleye lake. Walleye have been stocked here since the 70s and occasionally top 10 pounds. Tygart Lake State Park provides access.
Tygart Lake is drawn down about 80 feet every October and doesn’t fully refill until April. The winter drawdown can benefit anglers, concentrating fish in predictable areas. In winter and early spring, the upper end of the lake along the river channel is the place to be.
In summer, when the lake is full, the key to locating walleye is identifying the thermocline. Areas where the thermocline intersects rocky bottom structure are good bets.
There is also excellent walleye fishing below the Tygart Dam, partly because walleye get washed through during the drawdown. The pool immediately below the dam holds walleye year-round, but anglers catch most of the larger fish from December through April.
Tygart Lake also made our list of the best crappie fishing spots in West Virginia.
Ohio River
About 277 miles of the Ohio River form the border between West Virginia and Ohio. Walleye fishing can be quite good in the Ohio River, but closely related sauger are even more abundant.
Sauger are smaller than walleye, typically measuring 12 to 14 inches, and can be identified by their more boldly-defined mottled coloration and lack of a white spot on the tip of the tail.
Walleye and sauger typically inhabit the same areas and behave similarly, so it’s common to catch some of each when fishing the Ohio River.
A series of locks and dams divides the river into pools, and you’ll find walleye and sauger in every one.
Almost without fail, the best places to fish are the tailraces at the head of each pool. Walleye and sauger make their way upriver in late fall as the Ohio River cools down, and they inevitably stop where a lock and dam blocks their progress.
Anglers can find them in these areas through spring. Tailraces below the Pike Island Lock and Dam and the New Cumberland Lock and Dam are especially good, but the Hannibal, Willow Island and RC Byrd tailraces are also solid choices.
Many of the areas that offer a good chance to catch walleye also can be excellent places to go catfish fishing.
Elk River
The Elk River is a tributary of the Kanawha River, and the two rivers are held in similar esteem by West Virginia anglers. The Elk has been a walleye stronghold for generations, and its population is sustained entirely through natural reproduction.
The Elk is known more for producing big fish than for numbers. Anglers have caught past state records here and land double-digit walleye every year, including a few over 14 pounds.
Mouths of tributaries are prime areas to fish during the winter and early spring seasons. The confluences of Strange, Duck, Sycamore and Buffalo creeks are all good areas to find congregations of walleye early in the year, along with the Birch River.
Live suckers and chubs are the favorite bait among most local anglers who fish the Elk River. Curly tail grubs and Rapala Husky Jerks can also do the trick.
The Elk River is dammed in Braxton County to form Sutton Lake, and the lake is also an underrated walleye fishery. The area where the Holly River and Laurel Creek meet at the upper end of the reservoir is a perennial hotspot.
Higher upstream, the Elk River transforms into one of West Virginia’s premier trout fisheries.
Summersville Lake
Summersville Lake is a 2,700-acre reservoir on the Gauley River. The largest lake in West Virginia, it’s a deep, clear reservoir with lots of rocky structure, including points, humps, and steep, cliff-like banks.
Availability of larger walleye has fluctuated a lot, but numbers in the lake remain fairly consistent. Walleye have not been stocked here since the ’60s, so the population is entirely self-sustaining.
As they are prone to do, walleye head to the upper end of Summersville Lake and its tributaries in winter to spawn and then return again in spring. McKeys Creek is a major spawning ground, and the mouth of the creek is a reliable area to find post-spawn walleye in April and May.
November is another month when catch rates are generally high. As a flood control reservoir, Summersville Lake is drawn down about 60 feet in the fall, and many anglers find success when the lake is smaller.
Honorable Mentions
Monongahela River
The Monongahela River flows 130 miles from the Allegheny Plateau of West Virginia to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where it joins the Allegheny River to form the Ohio. It’s known more for its complicated history of pollution than its fishing.
But the Monongahela has been cleaned up in recent decades, and the upper portion has always been far cleaner than the lower reaches. It also supports a substantial walleye population made up of primarily healthy, eating-size fish.
Walleye are most often caught from the Monongahela River’s deep slack water pools, particularly at bends, channel swings, and tributary mouths. Night fishing can be great in April and May after walleye have spawned and water temps are on the rise.
Jennings Randolph Lake
A 952-acre impoundment of the North Branch Potomac River, Jennings Randolph Lake snakes along the state line between West Virginia and Maryland. It’s not the best lake in the state for numbers of walleye, but it’s known for giants.
Jennings Randolph Lake is one of the top spots in West Virginia to catch a 10-pound walleye. You might only catch a couple on a good day, but they’ll give you a run for your money. Anglers catch big walleye year-round, though specific hotspots are tough to pin down.
Another tricky part of fishing Jennings Randolph Lake is access. Boat ramps are only open from April to October when the lake is at summer pool (it’s drawn down 35 feet in winter), but the entire shoreline is walkable during the low water months.
New River
Known for its surging whitewater and some of the planet’s best smallmouth bass fishing, the New River is also a top-notch walleye fishery. Walleye measuring 20-plus inches are not uncommon.
The river is home to the native New River strain of walleye, which are now stocked across the Mountain State. The DNR has been raising them in hatcheries and re-stocking them in the New River itself since 2005.
February and March are prime months for New River walleye, as the fish make their way upstream to spawn and stack up below the river’s many natural waterfalls. Sandstone Falls, located within New River Gorge National Park, is a particularly good spot.
Stonewall Jackson Lake
Stonewall Jackson Lake is one of West Virginia’s most popular multispecies fishing lakes. Anglers can expect both walleye and sauger in the mix when they fish this 2,630-acre West Fork River impoundment.
Unlike many West Virginia reservoirs, Stonewall Jackson Lake was left with much of its standing timber intact when the lake was built. Although a lot of that timber has deteriorated over the years, it still provides great walleye habitat.
Most walleye are caught close to the bottom throughout Stonewall Jackson’s timber-filled coves. Focus on shallow coves near channel swings around nightfall, when walleye move up from deep water to prowl the shallows.
Know that Stonewall Jackson is also home to some of West Virginia’s better musky fishing, so you might have an even larger toothsome fish snatching your lure.
Catch More Walleye
Walleye can be tricky to catch. We break it down with some of the simplest walleye fishing methods and tips.