Print it. Bag it. Bring it.Phones die, screens crack, and most of this water has no signal. Print this map, fold it into a zip-top bag or dry bag with your license, and you have a backup your electronics can’t give you. Every marker is numbered so you can say exactly where you are.
| # | Point | Type | Lat, Lon | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sutton Dam US Army Corps of Engineers | Point of interest | 38.66199, -80.69285 | Head of this sheet; the float is the reach below the dam. |
| 2 | Bee Run Recreation Area USACE, Sutton Lake | Park / conservation area | 38.65525, -80.68221 | At the dam, on the lake above the float reach. |
| 3 | Sutton Bridge Sutton | Bridge crossing | 38.66428, -80.73079 | |
| 4 | Senator Jennings Randolph Highway US 19, Sutton | Bridge crossing | 38.65641, -80.74022 | |
| 5 | Elk River special regulation section (Sutton) WVDNR special regulation area | Regulation section limit | 38.65641, -80.74022 | Sutton Dam downstream to the U.S. Route 19 bridge at Sutton. |
| 6 | Elk River Camp and RV Private | Campsite | 38.65527, -80.76685 | Caravan and tent site below Sutton. |
| 7 | Perry Street Gassaway reach | Bridge crossing | 38.66515, -80.78006 | |
| 8 | Frametown-Herold Road Frametown | Bridge crossing | 38.63533, -80.86444 | |
| 9 | Strange Creek Road Strange Creek | Bridge crossing | 38.56698, -80.89795 | |
| 10 | Duck Public slipway | Access / boat ramp | 38.58514, -80.92720 | Slipway at the community of Duck. |
| 11 | Duck Post Office Road Duck | Bridge crossing | 38.58298, -80.93782 | |
| 12 | Ivydale Ridge Road Ivydale | Bridge crossing | 38.53620, -81.03448 | |
| 13 | Pisgah Bridge Pisgah | Bridge crossing | 38.46023, -81.08827 | |
| 14 | Clay Highway Clay | Bridge crossing | 38.43116, -81.11374 | |
| 15 | Camp Creek Road Camp Creek | Bridge crossing | 38.49241, -81.21738 | |
| 16 | Wallback Wildlife Management Area WVDNR Wildlife Management Area | Park / conservation area | 38.51760, -81.22484 | |
| 17 | Queen Road Queen Shoals | Bridge crossing | 38.47176, -81.28366 | |
| 18 | USGS 03197000 Elk River at Queen Shoals USGS streamgauge | USGS gauge | 38.47200, -81.28420 | Roster gauge coordinate. |
| 19 | Blue Creek Road Blue Creek | Bridge crossing | 38.44916, -81.45587 | |
| 20 | Coonskin Park Kanawha County Parks and Recreation | Park / conservation area | 38.39818, -81.57934 | Lower river at Charleston; OSM misspells the county 'Kanawah'. |
| 21 | Henry C. "Hoppy" Shores Drive Charleston, near the mouth | Bridge crossing | 38.39938, -81.57917 |
Gauge: USGS 03197000 — ELK RIVER AT QUEEN SHOALS, WV. Live flow on the web page.
Species: Channel Catfish, Muskellunge, Rock Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye
Regulations: wvdnr.gov/fishing/fishing-regulations/
Emergency: call 911 and give the number of the nearest point on this map plus its coordinates.
Queen Shoals - river access near the gauge and the reference point for flow on the lower float reach.
Clendenin - public access and the usual downstream takeout for floats coming off the Clay reach.
Clay - a landing serving the middle of the classic lower-river smallmouth and musky water.
Sutton, below the dam - the top of the long free-flowing reach and the coldest water on the lower river in summer.
Webster Springs and the upper river are smaller, stocked with trout in season, and fished by wading rather than floating.
Low-water bridges function as informal access at several points but flood out and are impassable after rain.
Banks between landings are largely private; plan floats landing
Spring: high and stained into May. Musky fishing is at its best in the cooler water and smallmouth begin moving onto the gravel late in the season.
Summer: the core smallmouth float season, with low clear water, good topwater fishing and long floats between landings.
Fall: prime for both species. Cooling water brings the largest smallmouth of the year and starts the best musky window on the river.