CHARLESTON, WV – Gov. Jim Justice celebrated West Virginia’s Fall Trout Stocking season yesterday with a ceremony on the banks of the upper Guyandotte River in Wyoming County.

During the ceremony, Gov. Justice conducted the first ever state stocking of the Guyandotte and announced that the river will be added to the trout stocking schedule, beginning in 2022.

“Look around. This beautiful river – the Guyandotte – the water is pristine. There couldn’t be a place any more beautiful than right here, right now,” Gov. Justice said. “By stocking this river on a regular basis, it will provide many, many more opportunities for our anglers to enjoy the great fishing we have in this great state and for the nature-lovers to enjoy all the beauty we have in this great state. It’s all going to bring more people into West Virginia.”

Gov. Justice was joined by DNR Director Stephen McDaniel for the ceremony.

“The Guyandotte is a beautiful river,” McDaniel said. “We’re going to be stocking thousands of pounds of trout here, starting at the beginning of the year through May, and we’re excited. This is something the Governor has been wanting to do for a long time. It’s a great day for southern West Virginia and, Governor, we thank you for everything.”

The upper Guyandotte River was stocked with 250 pounds of rainbow trout purchased from Mountaineer Trout Farm. They are in addition to the regular fall trout stocking allotment from the DNR.

Building upon his commitment to further improve West Virginia’s already world renowned angling opportunities, Gov. Justice also announced that the DNR is finalizing a new Trout Management Plan that will include this additional stocking location and more exciting changes to the trout program in the future. Regulations included in the new Trout Management Plan will go through Natural Resource Commission protocol and are anticipated to go into effect in 2023.

The West Virginia Division of Natural Resources (DNR) kicked off the 2021 Fall Trout Stocking season last week.
This fall, the DNR will stock approximately 40,700 pounds of trout from DNR hatcheries in 38 waters throughout the state, including 12 lakes/ponds and 26 rivers/streams. Stockings will continue through this Friday.
Updated stocking locations can be found online at WVdnr.gov.

Anglers should expect good trout fishing to continue for several weeks even after the Fall Trout Stocking window closes, especially in larger streams and lakes, where trout will have more room to disperse.

While fishing for trout in West Virginia, all anglers 15 and older are required to have a West Virginia fishing license, trout stamp and valid form of identification. To learn more about West Virginia’s fishing regulations, visit WVdnr.gov. To purchase a fishing license and trout stamps, visit WVfish.com.

Under Gov. Justice’s leadership, in April 2019 the DNR began spreading out over longer sections of streams for trout stocking, allowing for fish to be available to anglers at many new and exciting locations. The state has also committed over $30 million in fish hatchery upgrades and over $100 million in improvements are underway at every West Virginia state park and forest, from lodge renovations to increasing outdoor opportunities.

“You’ve got to have new ideas and new initiatives and creativity in what you’re doing and be bold enough to do it,” Gov. Justice said. “There’s lots of great stuff that we can do in West Virginia and we’re doing it.

“These ideas turn into tourism dollars, which multiply like you can’t imagine,” Gov. Justice continued. “It really turns the wheel for us and brings us opportunity after opportunity.

“West Virginia is really on its way. West Virginia has truly become the diamond in the rough that everybody is realizing that they missed.”