Claytor Lake in Southwest Virginia, covering 4,495 acres of a mountainous section of Pulaski County, was formed by the construction of a dam in 1939. The lake is 21 miles long, has a maximum width of one‐half mile, and a maximum normal pool elevation of 1,846 feet above sea level. During the period 1939–1946 the lake was stocked with 650,000 walleye fry, 74,854 young bluegills, 3,570 adult bluegills, 12,040 adult yellowbelly sunfish, 20,135 young largemouth bass, 10,813 adult largemouth bass, 3,000 young smallmouth bass, and 3,894 young white crappie. In spite of the heavy stocking, largemouth bass and yellowbelly sunfish failed to become important species in the lake. Until 1946 the impoundment was closed to walleye and bass fishing each year from December 31 to June 20. After 1946 all fishing was prohibited during the December 31 to June 20 period. The fishes of Claytor Lake exhibit slow growth for the first year but after the second year the growth rate is considered good. The bluegill is the principal forage fish, but its population is restricted by competition with the channel catfish and crappie for food. Angling success on Claytor Lake is usually low. In 1948 the best fishing occurred during June and October when returns of 0.11 and 0.14 pounds of fish were caught per hour and the poorest fishing was in August with a return of 0.072 pounds of fish per hour. The harvest of bluegill, white crappie, walleye, and channel catfish by anglers was low during the 1948 and 1949 fishing seasons. Tagging returns suggest that anglers realized the highest rate of harvest, a 20 to 30 percent return, from spotted and smallmouth bass. As a result of the findings of the Claytor Lake fisheries investigations, it was recommended that: (1) the fishing season be extended to the entire 12 months for all species of fish with the exception of the black basses, for which the season should be closed during the months of April and May; (2) the introduction of the gizzard shad be investigated for producing a plankton‐shad‐bass and walleye food chain; (3) attempts be made to popularize the fishing for bluegill, crappie, and channel catfish to increase the harvest of these species; (4) creel census be continued to determine any changes in the composition of the fish population, in sport fishing conditions, and in the approximate harvest of sport‐fish populations; (5) fish collections be made to determine current food habits, population changes, age‐growth rate, and similar life history data.