Best places to fish in Charleston

Charleston is a river town, and the fishing here means the moving water of the Kanawha, Elk and New rivers rather than a big reservoir. The Elk River is a well-known muskie fishery, where guides throw oversized bucktails and glide baits for the fish of ten thousand casts, often in fall when the big musky get aggressive. The New River, one of the oldest rivers on earth, holds trophy smallmouth bass that crush topwater and tubes in the current seams and around ledge rock through summer. Flathead and channel catfish prowl the deeper Kanawha holes, and the surrounding Appalachian mountains hide stocked trout streams for anglers who want to wade cold water. Most trips launch from ramps and float accesses around Charleston and up the Elk and New river valleys. The guides below are ranked by Google review volume and rating.