Live pool levels for Virginia's great reservoirs — Corps, Appalachian Power & utility lakes from the Blue Ridge to the Piedmont. Every tube shows the normal full pool, the current level, the lake's two signature fish (hover for the species, click for 2026 tournaments), and a live bite gauge at left. Scroll down for the Jackson & Smith River trout tailwaters, the catfish rivers, and the James & Shenandoah float rivers.
Hover a fish for its species · click a fish to search that lake's 2026 tournaments
Virginia's coldwater gems: the Jackson River below Gathright Dam and the Smith River below Philpott — bottom-release tailwaters that hold wild and holdover brown and rainbow trout. Release-driven: the cylinder shows live flow (cfs), low = wadeable, high = fast water. Hover a trout for the species; tap it for a guide.
Roughly 250–600 cfs wades best on the Jackson & Smith; always check the dam-release schedule before stepping in — generation raises the river fast.
Virginia gives up giant blue and flathead catfish on the tidal James, Rappahannock & Pamunkey. Live river stage (ft) from NOAA with the action and flood stages marked — rising, off-color water after a rain turns the cats on. Hover a cat for the species; tap it for a guide.
From the James and New to the Shenandoah and Rappahannock — classic Blue Ridge and Piedmont smallmouth water. Live USGS gage height (ft); each tube marks FLOAT (minimum floatable), EXPERT (high water) and FLOOD. Hover a fish; tap it for an outfitter.
These rivers are flashy — they jump fast after rain and drop just as quick; tailwater sections are release-driven.