Summersville Lake fishing: Smallmouth Bass, Flathead Catfish, Channel Catfish

Target species: Smallmouth Bass, Flathead Catfish, Channel Catfish, Northern Hog Sucker, Rock Bass
Boat: 4 ramps and launches on file for this water.
Start here: Launch at Summersville Lake: Battle Run, 2 lanes.

The lake

Summersville Lake covers 2,545 acres in West Virginia, across Nicholas County. It is a lake: 91.3% of it is 160 feet deep or less; the deepest point measured is at least 262 feet (79.9 m). Our records hold 5 species for this water.

Summersville Lake deep water soloing - 1.jpg
Jarek Tuszyński · CC BY-SA 4.0

Depth and bottom

Deepest measured point: at least 262 ft (79.9 m). That is the deepest contour line: the bottom goes deeper. 91.3% of the water is 160 feet or shallower. We hold 89 depth contour lines for this water.

Summersville Lake deep water soloing - 2.jpg
Jarek Tuszyński · CC BY-SA 4.0
  • 0–20 ft: 17.3% of the water
  • 20–40 ft: 22.7% of the water
  • 40–60 ft: 19.8% of the water
  • 60–80 ft: 12.3% of the water
  • 80–100 ft: 7.8% of the water
  • 100–120 ft: 5.5% of the water
  • 120–140 ft: 3.3% of the water
  • 140–160 ft: 2.6% of the water
  • 160–180 ft: 2.6% of the water
  • 180–200 ft: 2.5% of the water
  • 200–220 ft: 2.4% of the water
  • 220–240 ft: 1.3% of the water

5 target fish, led by Smallmouth Bass

  • Smallmouth Bass — Feeding water: 60–75°F.
  • Flathead Catfish — Feeding water: 70–85°F.
  • Channel Catfish — Feeding water: 70–85°F.
  • Northern Hog Sucker — Feeding water: 50–70°F.
  • Rock Bass — Feeding water: 65–75°F.

4 ramps and launches on this water

On this water we hold 4 trailer ramps and 1 shore access point.

Summersville Lake - 15.jpg
Jarek Tuszyński · CC BY-SA 4.0
  • Summersville Lake Marina Launch — 1 lane, lit for night fishing. On Gauley River, Summersville. 1706 Airport Road, Summersville 26651 · phone +1 304-872-1331
  • Summersville Lake: Battle Run — 2 lanes, lit for night fishing. On Gauley River.
  • Summersville Lake: Salmon Run Pier — 1 lane, lit for night fishing.
  • Summersville Lake: Winter Ramp — 1 lane. On Gauley River.

Shore access for bank fishing

  • Persinger Creek — 1 lane. On Gauley River.

Fee and opening hours are blank for all 5 places in this list: a blank means we hold no such field, not that it is free or always open, and this list may not be complete.

Water and conditions

Our water temperature readings average 71°F; they do not cover the whole year, so this is not a yearly average. pH averages 7.3. These readings span 2023.

What is hard here

Only 4 public ramps are on file, so the launch decides where you fish.

Where this data comes from

  • West Virginia DNR — West Virginia DNR: depth contours: class A, a survey of the bottom.
  • EPA NLA — EPA National Lakes Assessment: class B, a depth figure measured and published by an agency, without a bottom map.
  • Webster, K.E., McCullough, I.M., Soranno, P.A. LAGOS-US DEPTH v1.0, EDI, doi:10.6073/pasta/64ddc4d04661d9aef4bd702dc5d8984f (CC BY 4.0); Cheruvelil et al. LAGOS-US LOCUS v1.0 (EDI) — LAGOS-US DEPTH v1.0: Lake depth for 17,675 lakes in the conterminous U.S.: class B, a depth figure measured and published by an agency, without a bottom map.