Waters · United States
James River (Cartersville) fishing report
Updated Friday, 9 October 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 (89/100)
Muskellunge is the most promising species on James River (Cartersville) today. Water temperature at the gauge is 19.8°C (68°F) and barometric pressure is rising. Gauge JAMES RIVER AT CARTERSVILLE, VA shows the water level falling (2 cm/24h).
James River (Cartersville) water temperature and flow
- Water temperature: 19.8°C (68°F)
- Discharge: 21.9 m³/s (773 cfs) — down 7% over 24 hours
- Level trend: falling (2 cm/24h)
Measured at gauge JAMES RIVER AT CARTERSVILLE, VA · reading 31 min ago. Published by the national hydrological service, not estimated by us.
Best time to fish today
- 07:00–09:00 local time — score 89/100
- 12:00–14:00 local time — score 86/100
- 18:00–20:00 local time — score 88/100
3-day outlook by species
| Species | Friday 9 Oct | Saturday 10 Oct | Sunday 11 Oct |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smallmouth Bass | 85 — excellent | 90 — excellent | 85 — excellent |
| Muskellunge | 89 — excellent | 92 — excellent | 86 — excellent |
| Channel Catfish | 67 — good | 68 — good | 65 — good |
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)
- light: helping (+1)
- season: helping (+1)
- precipitation: helping (+0.9)
- river flow: helping (+0.88)
Forecast computed Fri, 09 Oct 2026 10:31:25 GMT · data: Open-Meteo + gauge JAMES RIVER AT CARTERSVILLE, VA · refreshed automatically through the day · see our published accuracy
Wondering how this stacks up against the apps you already know? Cast & Scan vs Fishbrain vs BassForecast — an honest comparison, including where they beat us.
Read before you go
- The best time to fish for bass
- How river flow trend changes the bite
- Barometric pressure and fishing, explained
More smallmouth bass waters
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- American River (Fair Oaks) — California, USA
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- Delaware River (Callicoon) — New York/Pennsylvania, USA
- French Broad River (Asheville) — North Carolina, USA
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)
- Susquehanna River — Pennsylvania, USA (305 km away)
- Juniata River (Newport) — Pennsylvania, USA (323 km away)