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Gauley River is a public river in Nicholas County, Webster County and Fayette County, West Virginia, managed by State of West Virginia (public / navigable water). You can fish it on a West Virginia licence; bank access is at road crossings, parks, WVDNR public fishing and boating access sites, the Monongahela National Forest and the New River Gorge NP, and riparian owners control the bank on non-navigable reaches. A trout stamp is required to fish for or keep trout. Public access confirmed via marquee water.
The Gauley River — famous for its fall whitewater releases from Summersville Dam, but also a strong smallmouth-bass, rock-bass and walleye river, with a muskellunge population and stocked trout in the cold tailwater below the dam. Rugged, roadless canyon for much of its length.
It runs roughly 78 miles through the Potomac & Mountain Highlands region. Anglers here mostly fish for smallmouth bass, rock bass, walleye, muskellunge; rainbow trout, brown trout, channel catfish are also on record. Live flow and gauge height come from the Gauley River Near Craigsville, Wv USGS station shown below. The nearest other mapped waters on PiscaMaps are Little Beaver Creek and Big Beaver Creek.
Species from PiscaMaps water-type profiles, WVDNR trout designations and hand research.
Night fishing: No statewide night-fishing closure in West Virginia. Some state-park lakes and a few WVDNR lakes post hours or gate at dark; the per-lake NightFishing status is shown on the water page where WVDNR records it. Trotlines, throwlines and juglines are legal on many warmwater rivers and lakes (not on trout water or in most state-park lakes) with the gear tagged.
Boats: Summersville, Stonewall Jackson, Bluestone, Tygart, Cheat, Burnsville, Sutton, R.D. Bailey and the other Corps lakes have no horsepower limit; idle / no-wake zones are marked near ramps, dams and marinas, and the flood-control lakes drop sharply in the fall drawdown. Most WVDNR and state-park lakes are electric-motor-only or have a 10-hp cap (shown on the water page). The New, Gauley and Cheat gorges are whitewater, not powerboat water.
Bank & bivvy camping: Camp at West Virginia state parks (many are on the lakes — Stonewall, Tygart Lake, Bluestone, North Bend, Watoga, Twin Falls, Pipestem near Bluestone) and state forests, the Monongahela National Forest (dispersed camping allowed across most of it, including along the trout rivers), and Corps campgrounds on Summersville, Sutton, Burnsville, Stonewall Jackson and Jennings Randolph. The New River Gorge NP has designated riverside and rim camping.
Tackle: Statewide black-bass daily limit is 6 (12-inch minimum on largemouth/smallmouth, 15-inch on some rivers); the New River and a number of others carry an 11-14 inch protected slot for smallmouth. Trout daily limit is 6 statewide, but the special-regulation streams (catch-and-release, fly-only, 3-fish/12-inch) each carry their own rule. Muskellunge 30-inch minimum, 1 per day; walleye, sauger, crappie and catfish limits vary by water. Check the current WVDNR fishing regulations for this water.
Boat ramps: 2 mapped — Boat Ramp, Boat ramp.
Camping: 7 sites mapped nearby — Campsite, Summersville Lake Shelters, Carnifex Ferry Cabins, Gauley River Wild & Woolly Primitive Campground, Long Point Campground, Mountain Lake Campground and others.
Source: OpenStreetMap contributors.
Loading live flow & gauge height…
Live from USGS gauge 03189100 — Gauley River Near Craigsville, Wv. Full gauge data →
Anyone 15-64 needs a West Virginia Division of Natural Resources fishing licence — resident annual is about $19, non-resident annual about $37 (non-resident short-term licences are sold). A trout stamp (about $12, resident and non-resident) is required to fish for or possess trout anywhere in the state, and a National Forest stamp (about $3) is needed on the stocked waters inside the Monongahela National Forest. West Virginia residents 65 and older who were residents before turning 65 are licence-exempt but still need the trout and National Forest stamps. Buy from WVDNR at wvdnr.gov / 'Go Wild' (wvhunt.com). A West Virginia fishing licence covers navigable rivers. The Ohio River is fished on a West Virginia or Ohio licence; the Potomac mainstem on a West Virginia or Maryland licence. A trout stamp is required on the stocked and wild trout sections.
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