Waters · United States
James River (Cartersville) fishing report
Updated Tuesday, 25 August 2026 · refreshed automatically through the day
The middle James is Virginia's flagship float-fishing smallmouth river: continuous ledges and grass beds, wadeable at summer levels and unfishable within a day of heavy rain.
Today's report: excellent (82/100)
Channel Catfish is the most promising species on James River (Cartersville) today. Water temperature at the gauge is 25.7°C (78°F) and barometric pressure is stable. Gauge JAMES RIVER AT CARTERSVILLE, VA shows the water level rising (3 cm/24h).
James River (Cartersville) water temperature and flow
- Water temperature: 25.7°C (78°F)
- Discharge: 67.7 m³/s (2,391 cfs) — up 5% over 24 hours
- Level trend: rising (3 cm/24h)
Measured at gauge JAMES RIVER AT CARTERSVILLE, VA · reading 63 min ago. Published by the national hydrological service, not estimated by us.
Best time to fish today
- 11:00–13:00 local time — score 79/100
- 19:00–21:00 local time — score 85/100
- 23:00–01:00 local time — score 90/100
3-day outlook by species
| Species | Tuesday 25 Aug | Wednesday 26 Aug | Thursday 27 Aug |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smallmouth Bass | 74 — good | 72 — good | 72 — good |
| Muskellunge | 55 — fair | 56 — fair | 53 — fair |
| Channel Catfish | 82 — excellent | 89 — excellent | 94 — excellent |
Why this score
Cast & Scan uses a deterministic, published scoring model — no black box. The strongest influences on today's James River (Cartersville) rating:
- water temperature: helping (+1)
- pressure trend: helping (+1)
- solunar period: helping (+1)
- season: helping (+1)
- precipitation: helping (+0.9)
- wind: helping (+0.85)
Forecast computed Tue, 25 Aug 2026 11:03:24 GMT · data: Open-Meteo + gauge JAMES RIVER AT CARTERSVILLE, VA · refreshed automatically through the day · see our published accuracy
Scan your exact spot
This page rates a representative point on James River (Cartersville). Bays, river mouths and depth changes can fish very differently — open the scanner, drop a pin on your exact swim and get a spot-specific forecast with tactics. Free, in the browser, no signup.
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Nearby waters
- North Fork Shenandoah (Strasburg) — Virginia, USA (147 km away)
- Chesapeake Bay — Maryland/Virginia, USA (174 km away)
- Youghiogheny River (Confluence) — Pennsylvania, USA (264 km away)
- New River (Thurmond) — West Virginia, USA (265 km away)