The Inter-Mountain photo by Edgar Kelley With trout stocking season shifting into high gear, many local fishermen have been taking to local rivers and streams. An avid angler takes a seat on a rock while trying his luck on the Shavers Fork of the Cheat River Friday.

The Inter-Mountain photo by Edgar Kelley
With trout stocking season shifting into high gear, many local fishermen have been taking to local rivers and streams. An avid angler takes a seat on a rock while trying his luck on the Shavers Fork of the Cheat River Friday.

ELKINS — As warmer weather begins to move into the region, outdoor enthusiasts are beginning to leave the cosy comforts of home in order to enjoy the recreational activity of their choice.

With an abundance of streams in Randolph and surrounding counties, trout fishing in the late winter months and into the spring is very popular among both the young and old.

“Trout fishing was big last year because everybody was off work or working from home because of COVID,” Mark Scott, assistant chief of Fish Management for the state Division of Natural Resources, told The Inter-Mountain Friday. “And I expect to see pretty much the same this year. I think a bunch of people are going to be getting out and enjoying the outdoors.”

Due to the DNR Hatchery Program being behind on some stockings this year due to bad weather conditions in February, stocking are about to heat up as the weather does.

Heavy snowfall last month, especially in the high elevations and unplowed wilderness areas, made travel unsafe for hatchery staffers to get out and release trout into some streams.

A local favorite of many fishermen, Spruce Knob Lake, was nearly inaccessible due to ice and snow build-up during the month of February.

When stockings are missed, however, the DNR will make them up by either doing additional stocking runs or by adding additional fish to the remainder of the scheduled stockings.

“Beginning in March we have a lot of waters being stocked and those schedules are pretty tight,” Scott said. “Sometimes it’s hard to find a day or a place in one of the runs to make up that stocking. If they can’t find a spot to fit the whole missed stocking in one run, what they typically do is add some extra pounds of fish to the scheduled stocking to make up that difference.”

Last year the DNR stocked 850,000 catchable trout in 110 streams, 72 impoundments and nine reservoir tailwaters, with the average size of the trout being 12.5 inches in length.

“Stocking runs usually January through May. Some waters will get January through April and some may get February through May, just depends on the water quality and if it gets warm early,” Scott said. “Trout fishing is all year around, but the stocking really picks up in March and goes all the way into May.”

One special event planned this year is the return of the West Virginia Gold Rush, which will be held March 23 through April 3. For a fourth year in a row, the DNR is planning statewide stockings of golden rainbow trout during this time. Of the 50,000 golden trout stocked for the Gold Rush, 100 fish will have specially marked, numbered tags.

Anglers who reel in a catch with a numbered tag can enter to win one of four prizes. One lucky winner will win the grand prize, a three-night cabin stay at Blackwater Falls State Park. Other prizes include one-night cabin stays at a West Virginia state park or forest, West Virginia State Parks gift cards and exclusive Gold Rush merchandise.

“We have the Gold Rush coming up and a lot of people like that, especially the kids,” Scott said. “It’s really a fun event for everyone.”

A complete list of which streams were stocked this past week can be seen at the DNR website wvdnr.gov.