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Where to fish

  • Forecast
  • Catches

Mine

  • Favorites
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© 2026·AI-powered bite forecast
0.1.0+2163 · 92c14a40

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United States / West Virginia / West Fork River

Bite forecast: West Fork River

  • length 104 mi
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Best fishing days for the next week

  1. TuesdaySeptember 8weather-based forecast
    56/100medium activity

    Drizzle: 63–81 °F

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Nearby rivers

  • Freemans Creek8 mi
  • Hackers Creek9 mi

Nearby water bodies

  • LakeStonewall Jackson Lake2 mi
  • ReservoirKeith Fork Lake5 mi
  • ReservoirWolfpen Lake6 mi
  • ReservoirDry Fork Lake6 mi
  • ReservoirStonecoal Reservoir8 mi

West Fork River (West Virginia) — one of the area's fishing spots. About 167 km long. A smart bite calendar — moon phase, atmospheric pressure, and weather combined into an hourly fish-activity forecast for the coming days.

Catches

Recorded 6 catches here. Most commonly caught: Largemouth bass, Channel catfish. Peak season: year-round.

  • Largemouth bass
    West Fork River
    66 °F9 mph
    Jun 05, 2019
  • Largemouth bass
    West Fork River
    50 °F2 mph
    Oct 14, 2018
  • Largemouth bass
    Stonewall Jackson Lake
    79 °F11 mph
    May 12, 2018
  • Channel catfish
    West Fork River
    55 °F7 mph
    Mar 28, 2018
  • Channel catfish
    West Fork River
    55 °F7 mph
    Mar 28, 2018
  • Largemouth bass
    West Fork River
    28 °F4 mph
    Dec 08, 2017
ThursdaySeptember 3weather-based forecast
51/100medium activity

Clear: 70–86 °F

  • MondaySeptember 7weather-based forecast
    50/100medium activity

    Cloudy: 54–84 °F

  • Bite calendar

    Aug 31 – Sep 6
    Mon
    Tue
    Wed
    Thu
    Fri
    Sat
    Sun
    Bite activity:highmediumlowslow
    Based on:weatherseasonal
    What is a bite calendar?
    Striped bassBlack crappieSmallmouth bassWhite bassMuskellungeWalleyeWhite crappieBrook troutLargemouth bassBlue catfishBluegillBrown troutCarpChannel catfishFlathead catfishRainbow troutSpotted bass

    Black crappie

    6/10 · Fair

    Hourly activity

    0:006:0012:0018:0023:00
    Bite activity:highmediumlow

    The bite is moderate — fish feed in short bursts. Pressure is dropping — this usually boosts the bite.

    Peak bite hours

    Best time — 06:00–08:00 (dawn bite) and 19:00–21:00 (dusk bite).

    Tactics

    Work the cover — snags, weed edges, hole entrances; retrieve the lure with pauses.

    Lures

    In clear water, natural colors work best: small jig or minnow bait.

    Gear

    It's a hot day — a hat, sunglasses, and plenty of water are a must.

    Summary

    An average day — best chances during peak windows.

    How this forecast is calculated

    Why this forecast

    The computed water temperature is around 71 °F — inside the 57–75 °F comfort range for Black crappie, so baseline activity is high.

    Computed water temperature by month; the green band is the 57–75 °F comfort rangecomfort 57–75 °F71 °F
    JFMAMJJASOND

    Black crappie works the twilight: the peaks are pinned to sunrise and sunset — their times are in the sun-and-moon card above.

    The day: daylight hours and when Black crappie feeds0:0012:0024:00

    Pressure is flat: it moves no more than 0.03 inHg over the day, so the weather isn't shifting today's bite.

    Pressure through the day, 0.03 inHg change
    00:00 · 30.0223:00 · 29.99 inHg

    One more input — the moon's feeding windows: within their hours the score sits higher than across the rest of the day. The window times are in the “Solunar feeding periods” card below.

    Feeding windows on the day scale0:0012:0024:00

    September is an active season for Black crappie here.

    JFMAMJJASOND

    These are the same values the bite curve above was computed from. How the forecast works

    2 SepWednesday, September 2
    +83°

    Clear · feels like +90°

    Low / high
    +69°…+85°
    Precipitation
    0.00 in
    Wind
    6 mph WSW
    Cloud cover
    0%
    Humidity
    57%
    Pressure
    30.08 inHg
    00:00+72°—5 mphsouth wind, 5 mph77%0%
    01:00+71°—5 mphsouth wind, 5 mph74%0%
    02:00+71°—5 mphsouth wind, 5 mph69%0%
    03:00+71°—5 mphsouth wind, 5 mph68%0%
    04:00+70°—5 mphsouth wind, 5 mph72%0%
    05:00+69°—5 mphsouth wind, 5 mph73%0%
    06:00+69°—5 mphsouth wind, 5 mph73%0%
    07:00+69°—6 mphsouth wind, 6 mph71%0%
    08:00+71°—5 mphsouth wind, 5 mph71%0%
    09:00+76°—3 mphsouth wind, 3 mph66%0%
    10:00+80°—4 mphsouthwest wind, 4 mph61%0%
    11:00+82°—4 mphwest wind, 4 mph58%0%
    12:00+83°—6 mphwest wind, 6 mph57%0%
    13:00+84°—6 mphwest wind, 6 mph55%0%
    14:00+85°—7 mphsouthwest wind, 7 mph53%0%
    15:00+85°—6 mphsouthwest wind, 6 mph53%0%
    16:00+85°—7 mphsouthwest wind, 7 mph54%0%
    17:00+85°—7 mphsouthwest wind, 7 mph54%2%
    18:00+83°—7 mphsouthwest wind, 7 mph54%0%
    19:00+80°—4 mphsouth wind, 4 mph65%0%
    20:00+77°—5 mphsouth wind, 5 mph71%0%
    21:00+75°—6 mphsouth wind, 6 mph68%0%
    22:00+74°—7 mphsouth wind, 7 mph68%0%
    23:00+73°—6 mphsouth wind, 6 mph67%0%
    +85°+77°+69°
    Weather throughout the day
    0:006:0012:0018:0023:00

    Sun and moon

    Wednesday, September 2
    The day: daylight and the hours the moon is above the horizon. Local time0:0012:0024:00
    DaylightMoon above the horizon
    Sunrise
    06:49
    Sunset
    19:48
    Day length
    12 h 59 min
    Sunshine hours
    12 h
    UV index
    6
    high
    Moon
    Waning gibbous
    Moonrise
    22:30
    Moonset
    12:49

    The day is 2 min shorter than yesterday.

    Sunshine hours count direct sun only — cloud cover cuts it, so it is shorter than daylight.

    Solunar feeding periods

    +14% in the windowWednesday, September 2
    Feeding windows on the day scale, local time0:0012:0024:00
    Major periodsMinor periods
    • Major04:15–06:15Moon overhead
    • Minor12:19–13:19Moonset
    • Major16:43–18:43Moon underfoot
    • Minor22:00–23:00Moonrise

    The windows are set by the moon's transit and rise, and the forecast above already accounts for them: within these hours the bite score sits higher than across the rest of the day, while the day's overall level still comes from the catch-calibrated model.

    What are solunar periods?

    BiteGuide·From anglers’ reports

    What actually worked on this water

    Based on 6 verified catchesPeriod: 2017–2019

    This is a summary of anglers' reports, not a proven cause of the bite: conditions lining up does not mean they drove it.

    By fish species

    vertical axis — number of catches

    024
    42
    Largemouth bassChannel catfish
    By fish species
    ValueCatchesShare
    Largemouth bass467%
    Channel catfish233%

    By month

    vertical axis — number of catches

    012
    21111
    MarMayJunOctDec
    By month
    ValueCatchesShare
    Mar233%
    May117%
    Jun117%
    Oct117%
    Dec117%

    Air temperature, °F

    vertical axis — number of catches

    023
    1311
    23505977
    Air temperature, °F
    ValueCatchesShare
    23–30 °F117%
    50–57 °F350%
    59–66 °F117%
    77–84 °F117%

    Pressure, inHg

    vertical axis — number of catches

    023
    33
    28.7428.94
    Pressure, inHg
    ValueCatchesShare
    28.74–28.90 inHg350%
    28.94–29.09 inHg350%

    Wind direction

    vertical axis — number of catches

    024
    24
    SSW
    Wind direction
    ValueCatchesShare
    S233%
    SW467%

    Wind speed, mph

    vertical axis — number of catches

    023
    132
    049
    Wind speed, mph
    ValueCatchesShare
    0–2 mph117%
    4–7 mph350%
    9–11 mph233%

    Measured river conditions are available for West Fork River: current gauge height, streamflow, and water temperature when reported by the source.

    Water

    Gauge height
    8.53 ft
    Streamflow
    48.7 ft³/s
    Water temp · measured
    74 °F
    In the model
    71 °F

    USGS gauge WEST FORK R BL STONEWALL JACKSON DAM NR WESTON, WV, 2 mi away · measured 2026-09-02 18:15 · data source · provisional data, subject to revision