For more consistent walleye producing hotspots, look to the lake’s largest tributaries. The mouths of Muddelty Creek, McKeys Creek and even Hominy Creek all offer good opportunities for springtime walleyes.

Anglers looking for more year-round spots can fish underwater structure in the Battle Run or McKeys Creek areas. Both areas feature classic sloping points and rocky humps that make ideal walleye habitat. Fishing the humps can be exceptional when walleyes are holding on these structures.

One distinguishing character of Summersville Lake is the severity of the lake’s drawdown. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers operates the lake for flood control, so the agency is mandated to lower the lake 77 feet from its summer recreational pool to winter pool in order for the lake to accommodate winter and spring runoff. Changes occur when the Corps of Engineers starts to raise the lake elevation around April 1 of each year and then lower it in September.

At the summer pool elevation, Summersville Lake offers plenty of boating access from four different launching facilities. However, during drawdown conditions, only two ramps remain operable, Salmon Run and the winter ramp located beside the dam. The ramp at Long Point hosts the only marina service on the lake.

Anglers should check with the Summersville Lake office or call the lake’s fishing report at (304) 872-5809 for up-to-date details on fishing, current water conditions and lake access.

Walleye fishing on Summersville Lake can be challenging as the lake is filled with extremely clear water, and walleyes tend to drift up and down the water column, sometimes suspending in 60 to 80 feet of water.

Summersville anglers routinely catch walleyes by using a variety of techniques, but a bottom-bouncing jig tipped with a night crawler or a Lindy rig rank among the most successful. Live minnows and minnow-tipped jigs are a natural choice for lake anglers because minnows serve as such a coveted food source for walleyes.

Deep-diving plugs can be effective when walleyes hang deep, but the latest “hot” bait of choice for late winter and spring walleyes on the lake seems to be jigging spoons.

While locating walleyes on Summersville Lake can be difficult, an ideal place to start walleye fishing would be from one of the lake’s rocky points. Wind direction is also important, as walleyes seem to prefer one side of a point to another, usually the backside of a wind-driven point. Typically, walleyes will hit a lure as it crosses the point and drops into deeper water.

This article’s featured waters, Summersville and Tygart lakes and the Kanawha River are regarded by many as West Virginia’s best walleye waters, but there are certainly others worth fishing.

Other recommended Mountain State walleye waters include Cheat, Stonewall Jackson, East Lynn lakes and, of course, Stonecoal Lake. Anglers should also be aware of up-and-coming walleye “newcomers,” such as the New River and Stephens Lake.

Walleye populations are expanding in these waters as this article hits the press, and no one knows just how good these new walleye fisheries may become.

West Virginia will never be able to hold a candle to walleye factories like Lake Erie, but if you fish our state’s best numbers walleye fisheries, you can certainly cash in on stringers full of tasty walleyes without having to travel far from home.