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

Deep in the Monongahela backcountry — a gated, walk-in freestone with native brookies in the Dogway Fork and stocked trout in the main river, a stream that's been clawed back from acid rain by years of liming.

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
Mayflies
Caddisflies
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
About this water

Deep in the Monongahela backcountry — a gated, walk-in freestone with native brookies in the Dogway Fork and stocked trout in the main river, a stream that's been clawed back from acid rain by years of liming. Remote, quiet, and worth the legs.

  • Acidic sandstone
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