The South Branch is big water, perfectly capable of holding trout over from one year to the next. Some of the holdovers grow to be whoppers. The state-record brown trout, a 32-inch, 16-pound monster, came out of the South Branch in 1968. Every year, the river yields several rainbows and browns in the 5- to 10-pound class.

Hatchery crews stock the river from the point where it flows across the Virginia line to the lower end of the legendary Smoke Hole canyon. U.S. Route 220 parallels the stream from the Virginia line to Ruddle, and CR 2 provides access from Upper Tract to the Smoke Hole's Big Bend Recreation Area.

One section of the river has been set aside for catch-and-release angling. The segment begins two miles below Eagle Rock along U.S. Route 220 and extends another two miles downstream from there.

The South Branch's main tributary, the North Fork of the South Branch, also ranks among the state's blue-chip fisheries. It, too, flows through Pendleton County, just a ridge or two away from its larger sister.

The North Fork is shallower and not quite as rugged as the South Branch. Two major floods within the last decade have triggered aggressive post-flood dredging by private landowners and government agencies. Most of the river's big boulders have been pushed out of the main channel and onto the banks.

Even so, DNR crews have continued to stock the stream weekly. It has remained an angler favorite because two roads provide constant access to it for its entire length.

From the Virginia line downstream to Cherry Grove, CR 19 follows the river closely. State Route 28 parallels it the rest of the way to Petersburg.

A 3/4-mile segment of the North Fork near Seneca Rocks is reserved for catch-and-release fishing.

Gandy is an average-sized trout stream with above-average water quality. Its headwaters flow through the Sinks of Gandy, a mile-long limestone cavern that cools the fledgling creek's waters and enriches them with calcium and other mineral nutrients.

From the Sinks downstream to the town of Whitmer, Gandy is prime trout water, with excellent populations of wild brook and brown trout, as well as stocked rainbows and browns.

County Route 29 parallels the stream for almost its entire length. County road crews keep the mostly-dirt thoroughfare open in all but the most severe late-winter conditions, and stocking crews ordinarily have little trouble keeping their weekly schedule.

Anglers who would like to experience first-hand the value of habitat improvement should visit the stretch of stream just downstream of Swallow Rocks. In the early 1990s, DNR crews did an artful job of placing boulders in the stream to restore habitat lost to flood scouring. It's difficult to tell which boulders were placed and which ones have been there for eons. The trout seem to like both.

The Elk combines limestone-rich water quality with world-class freestone structure. That fortuitous convergence gives birth to more than 30 miles of outstanding trout water.

The heaviest stockings take place in the "big-water" section of the stream from Whittaker Falls downstream to Webster Springs. Farther upstream, DNR officials manage the stream for wild trout.

From the Elk's birthplace in Slatyfork downstream to Whittaker Falls, the trout population is composed of native brookies, stream-spawned rainbows and fingerling-stocked browns.

Catch-and-release, artificials-only regulations are in place throughout most of the upper section. The first segment, between Slatyfork and a sinkhole that swallows the river, measures 3.6 miles. The second segment, between Elk Springs and Whittaker Falls, is two miles long.

Stocked-trout fishing dominates the river below Whittaker Falls, although anglers sometimes catch holdover browns and rainbows as well.

County routes 26 and 26/1 parallel the Elk from Curtin upstream to Whittaker Falls. State Route 20 provides access between Cherry Falls and Webster Springs.

Along most of its length, Anthony picks up small, cold tributaries that tumble down from the flanks of Middle Mountain and Meadow Creek Mountain.

State Route 92 parallels the stream along most of its journey down its broad, pastoral valley. Near Alvon, the North Fork of Anthony Creek joins the main stream, and the combined waters pick up gradient as they tumble toward their meeting with the Greenbrier River. County routes 15/2 and 21/2 follow the stream, and lead to the Blue Bend Recreation Area.

Blue Bend is, hands down, the most popular fishing spot on the entire stream. A giant spring hole gives the pool its name and its reputation for harboring lots and lots of trout.

Though it goes by a different name, Dry Fork essentially is a continuation of Gandy Creek. The stream derives its name from a mostly dry tributary that intersects with Gandy just downstream from Whitmer. It seems odd that cartographers would name a large stream after an inconsequential tributary that contributes almost zero flow, but what's done is done.

Trout fishermen are more concerned with the number of fish they can catch, and Dry Fork is an excellent fishery despite its rather inappropriate name.

Holdover brown trout up to 10 pounds have been caught in the section between Job and Harman. Anglers routinely catch native brookies up to 10 inches in length, and rainbows up to 18 inches.

From Harman downstream to the town of Dry Fork, the stream becomes fairly sizable. Its holdover trout tend to be sizable, too.

County Route 29 parallels the stream from Whitmer to Harman, and SR 32 provides access the rest of the way downstream.

From March through May, when the stocking trucks are rolling, any number of West Virginia trout streams can provide day after day of relaxing entertainment. This season, thanks to the soggy hand of Mother Nature, should be better than most.