Muskies are stocked as 4- to 8- inch fingerlings in most waters, although a few waters are now earmarked to receive 10- to 14-inch advanced muskie fingerlings. Since these advanced fingerlings likely have a higher survival rate than the normal fingerlings, why not stock them everywhere? It's simply a matter of cost, which is always a big factor in the number of places these fine game fish can be stocked. Muskies remain extremely expensive to rear in state hatcheries. It takes seven acres of minnow forage to raise one acre of advanced fingerling muskies.

Anglers are reminded that West Virginia regulations require that a muskie be 30 inches in length to harvest. Although growth rates vary among rivers and lakes, it usually takes muskies four or five years to attain this legal size. The daily muskie possession limit remains at two.

In 2005, a 40-inch size limit was instituted on North Bend Lake. This new 300-acre impoundment may eventually produce trophy muskies, but right now, no waters can compare with the proven trophy potential of Stonewall Jackson, Burnsville and Stonecoal lakes.

STONECOAL LAKE
Stonecoal Lake is a sleeping giant, according to many anglers who fish this water. Days of fruitless fishing can suddenly end with the fish of a lifetime.

That's what happened to Anna Marsh in 1997 when she hooked into a muskie while trout fishing from Stonecoal's shoreline. The remarkable catch was registered when she finally wrestled a 49.75-pound, 50.37-inch muskie onto the bank. The 10-pound-test line she was using held true even without a wire leader. The muskie still holds West Virginia's weight record to this day.

It happened again in 2003 when Glen Boyd was trout fishing on Stonecoal and spotted a large fish cruising the shoreline. Heaving the largest lure in his box, a 4-inch Mepps spinner, toward the fish, he certainly wasn't prepared for what struck the other end of his line. A 52.7-inch muskie engulfed the spinner and towed Boyd's boat around the lake for the next 45 minutes. After keeping the fish fresh in his bathtub all night, the enormous muskie was verified the next day as West Virginia's new length record, breaking an ancient mark established from Lester Hayes' Elk River giant.

Stonecoal Lake doesn't look out of the ordinary, but this 550-acre reservoir on the border of Upshur and Lewis counties has earned the reputation of being one of West Virginia's finest producers of large muskies. Completed in 1972, this steep-sided lake is very deep and its water stays extremely clear.

Muskies in this lake grow very fast. Growth data collected by the DNR shows that Stonecoal muskies are capable of adding length even at ages exceeding 10 years, something muskies in most waters simply can't do.

Many anglers have speculated that this sustained growth is due to the muskies ingesting a healthy diet of trout, which are regularly stocked in the lake. Meals of 12- to 18-inch trout sure would produce rapid growth, especially when muskies don't have to expend much energy to capture them. Stonecoal has repeatedly proven that big muskies dwell in its waters, and at any time an angler might hook up with a fish of a lifetime.