Statewide, the minimum length limit for pure-strain muskies is 30 inches, with a creel limit of two. Morrison also noted a new special regulation put in place this year is a 40- inch minimum length limit on North Bend Lake, a 300-acre body of water located in Ritchie County. But as was previously stated, most anglers release their muskies, which has much to do with the improvement of muskie fishing, not only in West Virginia, but wherever the fish is found.

QUALITY MOUNTAIN MUSKIE WATERS
Muskie angling is readily available to many anglers in the Mountain State. While certain reservoirs receive notoriety in regard to muskie fishing, generally, it's the flowing waters experts like the DNR biologists point anglers toward.

"Lakes like Stonecoal and Stonewall Jackson do have muskies in them, but the action is not as consistent as it is on many of our flowing waters," Kevin Yokum said. "For that reason, I tend to suggest anglers concentrate on the streams and rivers that contain muskies."

What follows is a look at a few of the high-quality muskie waters contained within the state. They are ones picked by biologists Kevin Yokum and Scott Morrison as ones likely to provide good fishing this summer, particularly if good conditions exist.

BUCKHANNON RIVER
Muskie waters tend to be divided into two categories. Action waters, where the fish are more numerous but tend to run smaller, and "size" waters, where you will work harder for a strike, but the chances for a trophy fish are better. Some waters are a blend of the two.

According to biologist Yokum, the Buckhannon River falls into the "action" category.

"This isn't to say you can't catch a fish over 40 inches in the Buckhannon, but the odds are much better that you will catch smaller ones," he said. "But it's not uncommon to catch several muskies in the same day."

As any muskie angler will attest, multiple muskie days are a rare treat indeed, even if the fish are on the short side.

Like all of West Virginia's muskie creeks and rivers, the Buckhannon is characterized as being of low gradient, with long, slow-moving pools. Yokum said the Buckhannon is also rich in submerged timber, which serves as ideal ambush cover for muskies.

A well-known catch-and-release area is located on the Buckhannon River. According to the DNR, the 6.5-mile section runs from the city of Buckhannon's water-supply dam, upstream to the first riffle. Included in this area is the section of French Creek, from its mouth to the first riffle. The entire stream section is commonly referred to as the Buckhannon Pool. All muskies caught within the parameters of the special regulations area must be released immediately.

Though the catch-and-release section is popular with muskie anglers, Yokum said there is good muskie fishing throughout much of the river.

The Buckhannon River is currently the subject of a tagging study aimed at determining, among other items, muskie movements in the river.

Public launch sites on the Buckhannon River can be found at Carollton, Hall and Rangoon in Barbour County, and Buckhannon, Pringle Tree, the FEMA site and the Trust Joint McMillan Plant in Upshur County.

The Buckhannon River is only suitable for small boats, as is true for most of West Virginia's flowing muskie waters.

MIDDLE ISLAND CREEK
According to Yokum, Middle Island Creek is another muskie fishery where big muskies take a back seat to numbers. Like the Buckhannon River, Middle Island Creek also contains a lengthy catch-and-release section that is popular with anglers from Tyler County and surrounding areas.

The DNR lists the boundaries of the muskie-managed waters as a six-mile section beginning at the state Route 18 bridge near Centerville and continuing downstream to the low-water bridge near the Jug Wildlife Management Area. Included in this area are sections of Indian and McElroy creeks from their mouths to their first riffle.