Kevin Yokum.

OCTOBER
New River
Smallmouths
No one seemed surprised when a state-record smallmouth emerged from New River. In fact, the New River is West Virginia’s No. 1 trophy water for smallmouth bass and it has been for a number of years. If you’re after giant smallies, the New offers the Mountain State’s best bet.

October marks a time when smallmouths are feeding heavily to bulk up for winter, and since many sportsmen have vacated the waters for hunting opportunities, the fishing pressure will likely be at a minimum.

The New River offers fishing for shore-fishermen as well as float-fishing anglers. Good-sized smallmouths are routinely caught from the New River’s banks, including sites upstream from the Interstate 64 bridge at the Hinton exit.

Anglers fishing from a boat have more options, but the New is no place for inexperienced boaters. Anglers need to choose what sections to float very carefully, as some stretches of the New River include rugged water.

Anglers will find a ton of high-quality habitat on the New River, and sometimes all the potential hotspots make it difficult to decide where to cast a line. Areas featuring the best habitat include riffles, shoreline weed beds, rock boulders and pool tailouts.

NOVEMBER
Gauley River Trout
Some of the best trout fishing in West Virginia lies deep in the heart of the Gauley River Canyon, and relatively few people know about it.

Trout are stocked in the Gauley River tailwaters throughout the spring, and sometimes the tailwaters receive bonus stockings during the summer. Additionally, the Gauley is stocked twice each October, and special helicopter stockings put in even more trout in late October. Starting to get the picture?

The Gauley receives plenty of trout, and November is a great time to take advantage of the cumulative effects of yearlong stockings. Anglers willing to tough out the November conditions will likely encounter some of the best trout fishing of the year.

Late-season water temperature provides prime feeding conditions for trout, so anglers can expect vigorous action, provided the weather hasn’t turned nasty.

DECEMBER
Kanawha River
Saugers
Cold weather and a hot sauger bite seem to go hand in hand. The Kanawha River generally serves up dependable action for Mountain State sauger anglers, although some years are clearly better than others.

The system of locks spanning the Kanawha at London, Marmet and Winfield continue to offer the best locations for sauger fishing, and that’s where you’ll find most serious sauger anglers come winter.

The dams are sauger hotspots because they form a natural barrier that concentrates fish. Once in the tailwater, these fish stay because of the well-oxygenated water and constant food supply coming through the dam.

Each dam features angler enhancement facilities, such as fishing piers and shoreline walkways designed to make fishing more productive, so make sure to take advantage of those.

There you have it, a look at some of our wild and wonderful state’s finest fishing from the beginning of the New Year to the very end.

Find more about West Virginia fishing and hunting at: WVgameandfish.com