West Virginia’s fall trout plants start the week of Oct. 19

West Virginia’s heavier fall trout are due next week. The Division of Natural Resources fall trout guide, updated Sept. 15, 2026, says selected streams and lakes will be stocked with catchable trout during the weeks of Oct. 19 and Oct. 26. Over those last two weeks of October the agency stocks more than 40,000 pounds in about 40 lakes and streams. Most of those fish weigh 1 to 2 pounds, larger than the winter and spring plants.

The guide points anglers at a few named waters. A 14.39-mile section of the Cranberry River in the Monongahela National Forest is listed among the state’s top trout streams and gets golden rainbows and other trout. Shavers Fork is stocked at Bemis for 0.78 miles, on the lower section between Bowden and Elkins for 7.28 miles, and on the upper section in the Cheat Wildlife Management Area for 7.75 miles. The 12-acre Watoga Lake is stocked with rainbow, golden, brook, and brown trout.

Licenses and stamps are sold at WVfish.com. The fishing map is at mapwv.gov/huntfish. Live bait is not legal in every special-regulation water, so the guide tells anglers to check the rules for the stretch they plan to fish.

This is a The Gillnet news desk summary, not a reprint.

Source: WVDNR — Your 2026 guide to fall trout fishing in West Virginia (page updated Sept. 15, 2026).