Indian Creek Fishing Guides
A limestone creek in Monroe County with a fine wade-and-float smallmouth fishery, running out of karst country to meet the New River below Red Sulphur Springs.
Guides on the Indian Creek
Claimed profiles take booking requests. Unclaimed profiles are built from public records so the river is never empty; the guide can claim or remove one any time.
No guides listed yet
Guide or outfit this water? Create your profile. Listing is free, the commission is 10% or 7% with a premium profile, and premium profiles list first on this water.
About the Indian Creek
Indian Creek drains a little over a hundred and fifty square miles of Monroe County karst and empties into the New River below Red Sulphur Springs, and it is one of the better small smallmouth creeks in a part of West Virginia that has several. The country it runs through is limestone, with sinkholes, springs and caves in the uplands, and the creek gets a real spring component as a result. That shows in the water, which runs clearer than most Appalachian creeks and holds a steadier summer flow, and it shows in the fertility: the creek grows good fish for its size and carries a heavier insect load than the freestone streams in the mountains to the north.
Smallmouth are the fishery. They hold on the ledge drops, in the shade of the sycamores and at the heads of the long gravel runs, and a creek smallmouth here is a genuinely strong fish in water this small. Rock bass are abundant and will take almost anything, redbreast sunfish fill the slower pools, and channel catfish work the deeper holes. A few of the coldest spring-fed tributary mouths hold trout, stocked and occasionally holdover, which adds an unexpected option in the early season. Most of it is wading water fished from the bank and the gravel, though the lower reach above the New River confluence will take a canoe on decent flows.
The gauge at Red Sulphur Springs is reporting stage reliably but its discharge record has gone quiet over the past week, so the stage trace is what to read rather than a flow number. That is workable on a creek of this size: a stable low stage means clear water and visible fish, a rising stage after a valley storm means a day or two of colour, and a long summer drawdown means the smallmouth have packed into the ledge pools. Spring and autumn are the seasons worth planning around, and the New River confluence is always the fallback when the creek is off.
This water needs a real photo
The photo at the top of this page is not Indian Creek.
It is a regional stand-in, honestly captioned but generic — we will not put a name to a river we cannot prove. Send us a photograph you took here and it replaces the stand-in, with your credit on it.
Add a photo of this water
Landscape, not fish — the water itself. Reviewed by hand before it appears. The first one published here earns the Pioneer badge.
Fished this water? Add a photo
Reviewed by hand before it appears. Pick the water, not the spot — we never publish exact locations.
Access
Red Sulphur Springs - the gauge community and the most used access point on the lower creek.
Indian Mills - the small community on the middle creek with road crossings and walk-in access.
Union - the Monroe County seat, with services and the base for fishing the upper creek.
New River confluence - the downstream end of the creek, and a strong fishery in its own right.
Greenville - a middle-creek community used by local anglers.
Hinton - the larger town on the New River downstream, with guides, lodging and tackle.
Monroe County farm crossings - the township bridges that provide most of the practical bank access.
Seasons
Spring: high and coloured early, then excellent as it drops, with smallmouth feeding hard and stocked trout in the coldest tributary mouths.
Summer: low, clear and warm, with fish concentrated in the ledge pools and the first and last hours of light carrying the fishing.
Fall: the best smallmouth fishing of the year, clear water and light pressure through October and into November.
Winter: cold and quiet, fished rarely, with the deepest ledge pools the only reliable option on mild days.
From the water
No logged trips yet. Be the first to put this water on your map.
Log this water
Fished it or cleaned it? Log in or create a free account to log a trip with photos and earn the waterway badge.
Questions
What species can you catch on the Indian Creek?
Anglers target Brown Trout, Channel Catfish, Creek Chub, Rainbow Trout, Redbreast Sunfish, Rock Bass, Smallmouth Bass on the Indian Creek in West Virginia.
Where can you access the Indian Creek?
Red Sulphur Springs - the gauge community and the most used access point on the lower creek. Indian Mills - the small community on the middle creek with road crossings and walk-in access. Union - the Monroe County seat, with services and the base for fishing the upper creek. New River confluence - the downstream end of the creek, and a strong fishery in its own right. Greenville - a middle-creek community used by local anglers. Hinton - the larger town on the New River downstream, with guides, lodging and tackle. Monroe County farm crossings - the township bridges that provide most of the prac...
When is the best time to fish the Indian Creek?
Spring: high and coloured early, then excellent as it drops, with smallmouth feeding hard and stocked trout in the coldest tributary mouths. Summer: low, clear and warm, with fish concentrated in the ledge pools and the first and last hours of light carrying the fishing. Fall: the best smallmouth fishing of the year, clear water and light pressure through October and into November. Winter: cold and quiet, fished rarely, with the deepest ledge pools the only reliable option on mild days.
Where are the fishing regulations for the Indian Creek?
Regulations change by season and section. Read the current rules on the West Virginia agency site: https://wvdnr.gov/fishing/fishing-regulations/