List of West Virginia State Fishing Records

This list of West Virginia State Fishing Records includes all major records of the largest fish of each species taken by hook and line in West Virginia waters. ^[1] All records are obtained from official West Virginia Department of Natural Resources sources.

Records

Species	Year	Total Length (Inches)	Total Weight (Pounds)	Location	Angler	Record	Reference
Largemouth Bass	1994	24.8	12.28	Pond - Grant Co.	David W. Heeter	Weight	[1]
	2025	26.26	9.85	Pond - Harrison Co.	Seth Spry	Length	[1]
Smallmouth Bass	1971	24.25	9.75	South Branch	David Lindsay	Weight	[1]
	1976	25.5	7.5	New River	Franklin J. Elliott	Length	[1]
Rock Bass	1964	13.8	1.75	Big Sandy Creek	Warren Ryan		[1]
Spotted Bass	1988	19.0	3.82	R.D. Bailey Lake	Leonard Blankenship	Length -Tie	[1]
	2000	19.0	4.77	R.D. Bailey Lake	Kevin Dameron	Weight	[1]
Striped Bass	2010	47.16	45.70	Bluestone Lake	James Brooks		[1]
Hybrid Striped Bass	1985	31.5	16.75	Kanawha River	Robert Honaker	Weight	[1]
	2000	32.1	14	Kanawha River	Frankie Harris	Length	[1]
White Bass	1985	20.0	4.56	New River	Louis Puskas		[1]
Bluegill / Hybrid Bluegill	1964	13.75	2.25	Pond - Fayette Co.	Dennis Criss	Length	[1]
	1986	11.7	2.75	Pond - Randolph Co.	Mark Allan Lewis	Weight	[1]
Redbreast Sunfish	2024	9.29	0.57	New Creek Lake	Zach Adkins		[1]
Redear Sunfish	2025	12.44	1.6	Plum Orchard Lake	John Plott	Length	[1]
	2024	12.0	1.75	Plum Orchard Lake	John Plott	Weight	[1]
Pumpkinseed	BE THE FIRST (minimum of 9 inches) new category as of 2026 [1]
Bowfin	1994	32.25	7.54	Pond - Berkeley Co.	Donald E. Newcomb, III	Length	[1]
	2024	30.2	10.6	Ohio River	Lauren Noble	Weight	[1]
Buffalo	1976	41.0	38.0	Little Kanawha River	Hobert Null		[1]
Common Carp	2022	41.2	45.2	Summersville Lake	Ayden Minick	Length	[1]
	1998	39.3	47.0	Pond - Preston Co.	Gary Johnson	Weight	[1]
Grass Carp	2020	54.75	67.4	Warden Lake	John Miller	Length	[1]
	2005	50.75	71.69	Warden Lake	William R. Turner	Weight	[1]
Blue Catfish	2025	51.49	66.3	Kanawha River	Justin Connor	Length	[1]
	2023	50.51	69.45	Ohio River	Michael John Drake	Weight	[1]
Bullhead Catfish	1977	22.75	6.1	Tygart Lake Headwaters	Gary R. Freeman		[1]
Channel Catfish	2024	43.51	46.7	Pond - Wayne Co.	John Tyler Rutherford		[1]
Flathead Catfish	1956	52.0	70.0	Little Kanawha River	L.L. McClung		[1]
Chain Pickerel	2019	27.87	4.0	Upper Deckers Lake	Matt Born	Length	[1]
	2001	27.75	6.19	Tuckahoe Lake	Steven Demma	Weight	[1]
Black Crappie	2024	17.76	3.15	Woodrum Lake	Dwight Priestly	Length	[1]
	2025	17.7	3.6	East Lynn Lake	Jerry Porter	Weight	[1]
White Crappie	1971	19.75	4.05	Meathouse Fork	Leonard Edgell		[1]
Eel	1983	44.25	6.27	Elk River	Steve Woods	Length	[1]
	1977	44.0	7.25	Bunker Hill Quarry	Arlie R. Ruble	Weight	[1]
Fallfish	1970	21.25	3.5	North Fork of South Branch	James Blackwell		[1]
Freshwater Drum	1954	37	25	Little Kanawha River	Bill Dawkins	Length	[1]
	2021	35.59	27.88	Kanawha River	John A. Gibson	Weight	[1]
Longnose Gar	2023	53.62	15.0	Ohio River	Rich Chapman	Length	[1]
	1993	50.5	19.08	Kanawha River	Michael Shan Casey	Weight	[1]
Goldeye	1983	18.5	3.0	Ohio River	Delbert McWilliams		[1]
Muskellunge	2022	55.0625	51.00	Little Kanawha River	Lucas King		[1]
Northern Pike	1989	42.6	22.06	Dog Run Lake	Boyd O. Pratt, Sr.		[1]
Redhorse	2025	24.57	5.75	Ohio River	Jason Floyd		[1]
Sauger	1985	23.0	4.75	Ohio River	Steve Powell	Length	[1]
	2012	22.50	5.06	Ohio River	David L. Vance	Weight	[1]
Saugeye	2006	27.68	8.73	East Lynn Lake	Everett Chapman		[1]
Skipjack	2021	20.15	3.1	Ohio River	Ethan Moss		[1]
Tiger Musky	1994	49.25	36.5	Mountwood Lake	Clyde E. Beckett		[1]
Brook Trout	1981	23.5	4.78	Lost River	Jack E. Foltz	Length	[1]
	2004	22.25	7.64	Shavers Fork of Cheat River	Gary M. Chapman	Weight	[1]
Brown Trout	1968	32.0	16.0	South Branch	Paul Barker		[1]
Golden Rainbow Trout	1987	27.5	8.63	Stonecoal Lake	Gerald Estep	Length	[1]
	2023	26.25	9.72	Little Beaver Lake	Charles Lilly, Jr.	Weight	[1]
Rainbow Trout	2014	33.11	19.40	Pond - Berkely Co.	Eric Files, Sr.		[1]
Tiger Trout	2011	28.7	10.65	Krodel Lake	Mike Connolly	Length	[1]
	2025	27.6	12.55	Mannington Lake	Robert Riggs	Weight	[1]
Walleye	1976	35.0	15.0	Kanawha Falls	Fred Cline	Length	[1]
	2004	30.87	18.97	Elk River	Jerry Rose	Weight	[1]
Yellow perch	2010	15.44	1.20	Summersville Lake	Craig Hollandsworth	Length	[1]
	2018	14.5	2.04	Summersville Lake	Clinton Mills	Weight	[1]

References

1. "West Virginia Fishing Regulations". West Virginia Division of Natural Resources. Retrieved 2026-01-18.