2022 West Virginia Top 10 Lakes/Rivers for Bass Fishing

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Chase Sansom

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This list was made solely on votes from an open survey to the public we ran a few weeks ago. Here are the results we were able to get, along with some info on each lake! Stay tuned as we will do this again next fall!

1. Stonewall Jackson Lake. Weston, West Virginia.  Located between Weston and Roanoke, West Virginia is the 2,630-acre lake. The second largest in the state and winner of the best bass lake in West Virginia for 2022. The lake was voted in 70% of the time through 490 total votes. Stonewall is known for big bags of largemouth any time of the year, you truly never know when a bag over 20 pounds might hit the scales. Recently on October 2nd, The Great Outdoors Marine held a tournament where Doug Stamper and Dave Ferguson weighed a 5 fish limit of 14.73.
2. Summersville Lake. Summersville, West Virginia Located right in the town of Summersville, West Virginia is the state’s largest manmade lake. 2,700 acres of smallmouth fishing and some largemouth are located in the lake. Out of 490 total votes, Summersville was voted in 55% of the time. Summersville has always been known for smaller bags of smallmouth, but anglers can have days there where they can catch 30 or 40 fish in a day. The latest tournament held in Summersville was hosted by the Marshall Bass Trail on September 24th. Tim and Tyler Cline took the win with a 5 fish limit weighing 7.56.
3. New River. West Virginia. Stretching from the upper parts of Hinton to Gauley Bridge in West Virginia is a famous stretch of water in the south. Considered one of the best southern smallmouth fisheries and it seems to prove that each year. While the river is 360 miles long in total, from Gauley Bridge to the border of West Virginia and Virginia is roughly around 100 miles in West Virginia. Smallmouth fishing is the name of the game on the New River, we recently wrote an article “The Type of Inflation We Can Live With” which has information on how the total size of smallmouth has increased in the New River over the past few years.
4. Sutton Lake. Sutton, West Virginia. Nestled in the town of Sutton and Flatwoods, West Virginia is the 1,520-acre lake. Of 490 total votes, Sutton was voted in 45% of the time. Sutton has always been known for numbers of bass, but occasionally you will see those 13-to-15-pound stringers there. It is not uncommon in the spring to have days where you can catch 30 fish or more in a day. Last April the Marshall Bass Trail held their season-opening tournament there where Mike Samples and Lloyd Coleman won it with a 5 fish limit weighing 13.83.
5. Greenbrier River. West Virginia. The Greenbrier flows far in West Virginia from Durbin to Hinton, which eventually flows into the New River. As the crow flies about 84 miles from Durbin to Hinton, but most likely over 100 miles of river. Another place inside the Top 10 that is predominantly smallmouth related, but not the size of smallmouth compared to the New River. That being said it might lack the size of smallmouth, but numbers of smallmouth can be had in the Greenbrier. The river offers great wading or kayaking experiences as well. You have likely heard stories of 50 or 60 fish days wading in the Greenbrier River. From 490 votes, the Greenbrier was voted in 30% of the time.
6. Upper Mud River Lake. Palermo, West Virginia . Located in Lincoln County, West Virginia is the 306-acre lake. Upper Mud River is a 10-horsepower restricted lake, but the lake offers excellent bass fishing. Most of that is contributed to the catch and release of all bass on the lake. Mud River has an abundance of cover for bass such as standing timber, grass, channel swing banks, laydowns, and much more. While there aren’t any tournaments on the lake due to the catch and release rules, it is known to pump out trophy largemouth exceeding 6 pounds. Many times, there have been stringers over 20 pounds caught and released there. Out of 490 votes, Mud River was voted in 22.50% of the time.
7. East Lynn Lake. East Lynn, West Virginia. Surprisingly East Lynn Lake made the Top 10 list by being voted in 20% of the time. Located in Wayne County, West Virginia is the 1005-acre lake that in the spring can produce some big stringers of largemouth. While a lot of locals consider it the “dead sea” East Lynn seems to produce great weight considering it is only a 1000-acre lake with minimal cover in the lake. In previous years there have been several bags over 17 or 18 pounds in the spring and night tournaments. Most recently, The Logan Shrine Club held a fundraiser tournament there on September 10th where winners John Elkins and Doodle Adkins weighed a limit of 13-11. The big fish of that tournament was a 6-4 that Ryan Davidson caught.
8. Stonecoal Lake. Horner, West Virginia. Another shocking lake that was lower on the Top 10 list. Stonecoal Lake is a manmade lake sizing up at 550 acres and located just right outside the town of Weston. Of the 490 total votes, Stonecoal was voted in 20% of the time. The lake has opportunities for smallmouth, largemouth, and spotted bass. Similar to Upper Mud River Lake, the lake is restricted to 10 horsepower and under motors only. Although there are some tournaments held on Stonecoal every year and those tournaments generally take some weight to win. There isn’t much tournament information or results readily for the public, but there have definitely been five fish stringers pushing 20 pounds weighed there in previous years.
9. Kanawha River. West Virginia. Just sliding into the Top 10 was none other than the Kanawha River which stretches from Kanawha Falls to Point Pleasant into the Ohio River. As the crow flies from Kanawha Falls to Point Pleasant is around 70 miles, but the river is approximately 97 miles long. Being voted in 15% of the time, the stingy river snuck into the Top 10. That being said the river can provide some great fishing and sometimes weight. Most likely in the river when you see bags topping over 10 pounds it is predominately with smallmouth. Although there are a handful of creeks scattered throughout the river that largemouth live in as well. The latest tournament held there was October 1st by BASS Nation of West Virginia where Jimbo Collins won the event with a limit of largemouth weighing 7.32. No one else in the field caught a limit that day.
10. South Branch Potomac River. West Virginia. Rounding out the Top 10 was the South Branch of the Potomac River. It also was included in the Top 10 by being voted 15% of the time in our survey. The South Branch of the Potomac is located in the eastern part of the state. Through West Virginia, the river is about 75 miles long and provides excellent smallmouth fishing. While there aren’t any readily available tournament data from the river, it is well known for big smallmouth and numbers of smallmouth as well. Similar to the Greenbrier river as well as it provides many opportunities for wading and kayaking.