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Home › Waters › West Virginia › West Fork River below Stonewall Jackson Dam
Tailwater · Central West Virginia, the Lewis County reach immediately below Stonewall Jackson Lake running north through Weston toward Clarksburg · West Virginia

West Fork River below Stonewall Jackson Dam Fishing Guides

A cold bottom-release tailwater below Stonewall Jackson Dam that holds trout through a central West Virginia summer.

A wide river below a ridge in full autumn colour in the Appalachians
Gauge location. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Guides on the West Fork River below Stonewall Jackson Dam

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About the West Fork River below Stonewall Jackson Dam

Stonewall Jackson Dam releases from deep in the lake, and that single fact creates something central West Virginia does not otherwise have – a reach of river that stays cold enough to hold trout through July and August. The West Fork below the dam runs north through Lewis County past Weston and eventually joins the Tygart to form the Monongahela at Fairmont. The tailwater section is the part worth planning a trip around.

West Virginia manages the reach below the dam as a trout fishery, stocking rainbows and browns, and the cold release means fish carry over and grow rather than simply being caught out by June. The gauge here carries both discharge and a live water temperature series, and reading them together is the most useful preparation you can do – the cold water extends only so far downstream before the river warms, and how far depends on what the dam is releasing.

It is important to be clear about what this page covers. The trout water is a defined reach below the dam, not the whole West Fork. Downstream of that reach the river becomes a warmwater smallmouth and musky fishery, good in its own right but a completely different trip. The West Fork below Weston has a solid muskellunge reputation and the smallmouth fishing through the middle river is respectable.

Access is easy. Stonewall Jackson Lake State Park sits at the top with a resort, marina and public ground, Weston provides town access a short distance downstream, and the West Fork River Trail follows part of the corridor. Release schedules govern everything here – a generating dam can turn a wadeable reach into unwadeable water quickly, so check before you step in.

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Version 1.0, dated 6 September 2026. Applies to every photograph submitted to GuidedFloats through the contact form, a species page, or the community board.

1. What you give us

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We choose which photos to publish and may decline any submission without giving a reason. We may crop, resize, sharpen or colour-correct a photo for display, and we may remove a photo at any time. We will not alter a photo in a way that misrepresents the fish, the water or you.

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We keep your name, email address, the credit name, the water and date you gave us, and the network address the submission came from, with the submission record, as our evidence of this license. We hold that record for as long as the photo is published and for the retention period described in our privacy policy. Location data that your camera or phone embedded in the file is removed before the photo is published.

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Posting to West Fork River below Stonewall Jackson Dam.

JPG, PNG or WebP, up to 12 MB. We resize it and strip the location data out of the file.

The name shown under the photo. Leave blank to stay anonymous.

Reader photo license v1.0 — the short version:

  • You grant Guided Floats, LLC a non-exclusive, royalty-free license to publish, resize and crop your photo on guidedfloats.com and in GuidedFloats’ own social posts and apps. You keep the copyright and can use the photo anywhere else.
  • You confirm that you took the photo yourself, that publishing it does not infringe anyone else’s rights, and that anyone recognisable in it (or a parent or guardian, if they are under 18) is happy for it to appear here.
  • Credit is printed beside the photo wherever it appears on the site, using the credit name you give us. Leave it blank and we use your name; write “Anonymous” for no name. Your email address is never published.
  • Withdrawing is one email to hello@guidedfloats.com naming the photo. It comes off the site within 7 days.
Read the full license

Version 1.0, dated 6 September 2026. Applies to every photograph submitted to GuidedFloats through the contact form, a species page, or the community board.

1. What you give us

By ticking the box on the form you grant Guided Floats, LLC (“GuidedFloats”, “we”) a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to store, copy, resize, crop and display your photograph on guidedfloats.com, in GuidedFloats’ own social media accounts and mobile apps, and in material that promotes the site itself, in connection with the fish, water or community feature you sent it in for. The license lasts until you withdraw it (section 4).

You keep the copyright. The license is not exclusive, so you can use the photo anywhere else and license it to anyone else. We will not sell your photo, license it on to anyone else on its own, or use it in paid advertising for a third party.

2. What you confirm

You confirm that you took the photograph yourself (or otherwise own the rights to it), that you have the right to grant this license, and that publishing the photo does not infringe anyone else’s copyright, privacy or other rights.

If any person is recognisable in the photo, you confirm that they have agreed to its being published here, and that a parent or guardian has agreed on behalf of anyone under 18. Please do not send photographs of other people’s catches, screenshots, or pictures copied from other websites or social media.

3. Credit

We print the credit name you give us beside the photo wherever it appears on the site, and record it as the photo’s creator in the page’s structured data. If you leave the credit blank we use the name you gave us on the form. Write “Anonymous” if you prefer no name at all. Your email address, phone number and the exact spot the photo was taken are never published.

4. Withdrawing the license

You can withdraw the license at any time by emailing hello@guidedfloats.com, or by using the contact form, and telling us which photo you mean. We will remove the photo from guidedfloats.com within 7 days of receiving your message and stop using it in anything new. Copies that are already outside our control — search-engine caches, social posts that have already gone out, printed material already produced — may take longer to disappear or may not be recallable, and we are not responsible for those.

5. What we may do

We choose which photos to publish and may decline any submission without giving a reason. We may crop, resize, sharpen or colour-correct a photo for display, and we may remove a photo at any time. We will not alter a photo in a way that misrepresents the fish, the water or you.

6. Your details

We keep your name, email address, the credit name, the water and date you gave us, and the network address the submission came from, with the submission record, as our evidence of this license. We hold that record for as long as the photo is published and for the retention period described in our privacy policy. Location data that your camera or phone embedded in the file is removed before the photo is published.

7. Versions

The version of this license you accepted is stored with your submission and printed with the photo. A later version does not apply to a photo you have already sent unless you agree to it.

Access

Stonewall Jackson Dam - the outlet and the top of the cold-water reach.
Stonewall Jackson Lake State Park - resort, marina and public ground at the dam.
Tailwater access below the outlet - the primary trout fishing reach.
Weston - town river access a short run downstream of the dam.
West Fork River Trail - rail-trail bank access along the middle river.
Jane Lew - middle river access where the water turns warmwater.
Clarksburg - lower river access in the smallmouth and musky reach.

Seasons

Spring: stocking below the dam and the highest, most consistent releases.
Summer: the cold release keeps trout catchable when other West Virginia water is too warm.
Fall: falling water temperatures extend the trout reach further downstream.
Winter: cold and lightly fished, with the tailwater still holding carryover fish.

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Questions

What is the current flow on the West Fork River below Stonewall Jackson Dam?

As of Sep 17, 5:15 am, the USGS gauge WEST FORK R BL STONEWALL JACKSON DAM NR WESTON, WV reads 1,020 cfs, with water temperature 73 F. Conditions update every 15 minutes.

What species can you catch on the West Fork River below Stonewall Jackson Dam?

Anglers target Brown Trout, Channel Catfish, Muskellunge, Rainbow Trout, Rock Bass, Smallmouth Bass on the West Fork River below Stonewall Jackson Dam in West Virginia.

Where can you access the West Fork River below Stonewall Jackson Dam?

Stonewall Jackson Dam - the outlet and the top of the cold-water reach. Stonewall Jackson Lake State Park - resort, marina and public ground at the dam. Tailwater access below the outlet - the primary trout fishing reach. Weston - town river access a short run downstream of the dam. West Fork River Trail - rail-trail bank access along the middle river. Jane Lew - middle river access where the water turns warmwater. Clarksburg - lower river access in the smallmouth and musky reach.

When is the best time to fish the West Fork River below Stonewall Jackson Dam?

Spring: stocking below the dam and the highest, most consistent releases. Summer: the cold release keeps trout catchable when other West Virginia water is too warm. Fall: falling water temperatures extend the trout reach further downstream. Winter: cold and lightly fished, with the tailwater still holding carryover fish.

Where are the fishing regulations for the West Fork River below Stonewall Jackson Dam?

Regulations change by season and section. Read the current rules on the West Virginia agency site: https://wvdnr.gov/fishing/fishing-regulations/