Freestone · Acidic Sandstone · West Virginia, US

Cranberry River

Wide view of the Cranberry River flowing through a forested valley in West Virginia's Monongahela National Forest
Today · Not the day for it
Isonychia Nymph
Forecast · Today
Not the day for it
Not much stacked in your favour today. Worth an hour if you are nearby, not worth the special trip.
80% projected
Today's fly
Isonychia Nymph
Isonychia Nymph
Conditions on the water · Today
Estimate
Level
Dry recently
No gauge reading
Water temp16.6°C
ClarityUnfishable
Weather24°C
WindN 9 km/h
Pressure1021 hPa
Rain · recent0.0 mm
Rain · ahead1.4 mm

No gauge on this water — readings are regional estimates from weather, not a live gauge.

Water temperature for Brook Trout
Warm — slow
17°C est.ideal 10–16°C
0°14°28°
How to fish it · for Brook Trout
When
Nymphing can work through most of the day.
Where
Cover mixed depths.
Method
Start with tight-line nymphs and adjust if fish rise or drift higher.
Kit
9 ft #4 rod, floating line, 12 ft tapered leader to 4–5 lb fluoro tippet.
Why this works
Good — water temperature is working for you, but insect activity is the limiting factor today.
Likely species
terrestrials
Hatch timeline · todayPeak at 6pm

12pm(now) — Flying Ants

Stage: Terrestrials on topApproach: Dry flyActivity: 32%
Also:Reed Smut30%
Peak emergence windowWeather boost3 food groups active

Peak activity at 6pm — Slate Drake / Isonychia (Slate Drake / Isonychia, 5 food groups active)

Beyond the hatch · worth watchingambient prey(1)

Hatch predictions

Top prey shown — see all 2 with Pro.

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Evidence
Records-basedModerate confidence

Based on species-occurrence records, not local invertebrate surveys.

Through the year
0–3 scale · September highlighted
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Sculpin (North America)Hatch
2
3
2
Brown DunHatch
2
3
3
3
3
3
3
2
Early Black StoneflyHatch
2
3
2
Eastern Golden StoneHatch
2
2

Numbers are intensity 0 (none) to 3 (peak) — a guide, not a guarantee.

Ranked for today
Brook Trout fly box
What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Gallery · 2
  1. Wide view of the Cranberry River flowing through a forested valley in West Virginia's Monongahela National Forest
    The Cranberry River from a bridge near Big Rock Campground, Monongahela National Forest
  2. Terrain map of the venue
    Terrain map
Conservation note

Native brookies (notably the Dogway Fork) alongside stocked trout in the main river; acid-deposition history (liming restoration). brook_trout (char comfort-overlay), rainbow_trout and brown_trout all score post-seed; native brookies handled conservation-first.

Water quality · US Clean Water Act
  • Aquatic life: Impaired
What this classification means

EPA ATTAINS assessment unit 'Cranberry River' (WV-KG-103_04), 2022 Integrated Report. Aquatic Life use: Not Supporting. Listed impairment causes: Metals Other Than Mercury. This is a Clean Water Act assessment-unit classification (the US analogue of WFD), not a live reading.

Status is for the Clean Water Act assessment unit covering this reach.

EPA ATTAINS (Clean Water Act) · WV-KG-103_04

The full read · show the working · for Brook Trout · confidence 75%
How the 79 is built — score × weight = contribution
Temperature100 × 28%28.0
Flow60 × 22%13.2
Clarity95 × 18%17.1
Feeding Time80 × 13%10.4
Pressure75 × 7%5.3
Insect activity42 × 12%5.0
Conditions total= 79
Can you trust it?
Water temperatureair-to-water estimateestimated
Level / flowon-river gaugeobserved
Prey activitymodelled from regional profilemodelled
Related guides
Euro Nymphingsubsurface methods
Booking & contacts