"Can I catch another one?" asked Brett Oates. The 8-year-old Hacker Valley resident had just horsed a trout up the bank during an outing at Holly River State Park, while park superintendent Ken McClintic and I looked on. Brett, the son of assistant superintendent Donald Oates, made no effort to restrain his enthusiasm for fishing. And why should he? Kids, family fun and fishing naturally go together at West Virginia's state parks and forests, as well as at many other bodies of water across the Mountain State.

At 8,101 acres, Holly River is the second-largest state park in West Virginia and is located in the center of the state in Webster County.

"Holly River is a nice, safe, family-oriented park," McClintic said. "Most of our guests are repeat visitors and have been coming for years, often at the same time of year. As such, they have become friends with other park visitors who also come at the same time. So it is almost like an annual reunion when these folks return. Some of them even want the same cabin or campsite every year.

"Laurel Fork is where many people like to fish at the park. Laurel is a crystal-clear stream and has a great environment for trout. Many of the sections are very accessible for adults and children. The stream is located near the cabins. Above the cabins, if parents and children are willing and able, they can visit more remote sections. This is a hike-in fishery, as the stream cascades down the mountain, forming falls and plunge pools."

One evening while my wife, Elaine, and I were at Holly River, I hiked up the mountain that Laurel Fork flows down. I saw a number of trout finning in the quiet, rhododendron-shrouded pools. I was very impressed with the beauty and solitude of the stream. A footpath winds along the creek, making access convenient and also giving one the chance to easily amble up the mountain.

"The gorge that Laurel Fork flows through is stunningly beautiful," McClintic said. "The vegetation is very lush: moss, ferns, rhododendron, and mountain laurel; also large boulders lie along the creek. Visitors won't find a prettier trout stream anywhere."

Another plus for fishing Laurel Fork is that the stream receives regular stockings of trout. In fact, a trout-rearing pond exists near the park office and restaurant and is itself a fascinating place for children to visit and observe fish. A particularly fun time is when the trout are fed. Rainbows, browns, brookies and golden rainbows all are present in the pond. As a whole, Laurel Fork is stocked in Holly River State Park from the Pickens fire tower road downstream four miles along secondary Route 10. Fish are released into the stream once in January, twice in February and once each week from March through May.

McClintic said that these trout overwinter well. He added that park employees endeavor to spread the trout widely from the rearing pond. They tote five-gallon buckets of trout to both easily accessible and remote areas of Laurel Fork, so as to spread out the fish and the fishing pressure.