The Cranberry River

The Cranberry River is a great looking piece of water with some truly excellent trout fly fishing. It is however very popular among anglers.//////////////

Accessing the Cranberry is very easy using the Cranberry River Road. The road is located just passed the Gauley Ranger Station prior to Richwood on the right hand side. The road leads thru a small neighborhood, and although it is clearly marked, it's easy to miss your turn off onto FR76.

The best place to fish this river and avoid lots of the pressure is the fly fishing only Dogway Fork section. To access this section, from the town of Woodbine, there is a gravel road that runs parallel to the river for about 8 miles. At the end of this road is a locked gate. You can park at this gate and then hike in about ten miles to the fly fishing only section.

There is also an access point from Dogway Road near the top of Kinnison Mountain, just off Route 39. This road is located just prior to Route 150. Once you reach the locked gate on Dogway Road, it's about a 6 mile hike into Dogway Fork.  Once you are there though, you can almost gaurantee you will have the place to yourself.

The water in this section consists of plenty of pocketwater, along with a few runs and riffles. Anglers can expect to find rainbows, browns, and wid brook trout all willing to take a fly. While the brook trout only average 6-8," the browns and 'bows are a healthy 12-14.  The best flies to use down here are dry/dropper combos such as a #10 Dave's Hopper with a #16 Beadhead Copper John hanging 2- 3 feet below it.  Because this area can be really bushy and overgrown in spots, precision roll casting and a stealth approach are necessary to get you on the fish.