Perhaps it's the ever present sound of the New River's rapids at times a muted whisper, at times a thunderous cacophony that sets it apart from other fisheries. No matter where you float the New, no matter where you wade along its banks, the sound of the rapids lingers in your ears and reminds you that this river is no ordinary smallmouth bass stream.

      The river is broad shouldered and powerful, and its bass are similarly imposing. Every year a few fortunate anglers manage to land smallmouths that weigh six pounds or more world-class fish by anyone's measuring stick.

      Anglers routinely argue over which of the New's sections provides the best fishing. Some prefer the broad, relatively gentle riffles and rapids between Hinton and Sandstone Falls. Others prefer the slightly more challenging whitewater between Sandstone Falls and Prince. Still others believe the long roadless stretch between McCreery and Stonecliff Beach harbors the best angling. But most fishermen acknowledge that the biggest bass inhabit the thundering waters between Thurmond and Hawks Nest Lake.

      Fishing that stretch, known as the "Lower Gorge," is best accomplished by floating in a raft or dory with a veteran whitewater guide. Only the most experienced boat handler can reach the most difficult eddies and back currents trophy smallmouth tend to prefer.

      By law, anglers may keep up to six bass a day from the New; however, most of the river's outfitters practice catch-and-release angling.

      Fed by cold, limestone-rich water that surges from underground caves, Second Creek, which flows along the border of Monroe and Greenbrier counties, ranks as one of the state's richest trout streams. Mayflies, caddis flies, and stone flies staples of a trout's diet thrive in its fertile flows. With a perpetual buffet of insects to feed upon, the creek's rainbow and brown trout display the deep bellies and small heads character-istic of supremely conditioned fish.

      The creek flows through posted private land throughout most of its length. But since 1989, one magical two-mile section has been open to the public. Managed under fly-fishing only, catch-and-release regulations, that section harbors some truly remarkable trout.

      Most of the trophies are brown trout, which tend to stay where they're spawned and not run downstream like their red-striped cousins. Veteran Second Creek anglers routinely catch browns of 20 inches or more. Most of them, however, tell tales of their catches being broken off by much larger fish.

       No matter what the size, though, Second Creek fish tend to be quite a challenge to catch. The abundance of food, coupled with constant fishing pressure, tends to transform the trout into wary, sporadic feeders. To consistently score on Second Creek's wild, spooky trout, anglers must be willing to duplicate the insects that happen to be hatching that day and must be capable of drifting their imitations past the fish in an utterly natural and lifelike manner.

      In the special regulations section, all trout must be released as soon as they're caught. Spinning and bait casting tackle are prohibited.

      Of all West Virginia's major impoundments, Stonewall Jackson Lake in Lewis County is the only one constructed with anglers in mind. Instead of cutting the trees that would be flooded when the lake was filled, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers officials left them standing to create habitat for bass and other game fish. When the lake opened in 1989, Division of Natural Resources officials placed catch-and-release regulations on largemouth and smallmouth bass.

      Today's anglers reap the benefits of those foresights. Hands down, Stonewall boasts the best bass fishing of any Mountain State lake more than 300 acres in size. Anglers routinely catch bass in the three- to five-pound range, and larger specimens prowl the lake's depths.

      Though bass are the major drawing card, they aren't the only one. The lake's tree-littered bays and backwaters are home to some of the state's best crappie fishing, and its deep river and creek channels harbor burgeoning populations of saugeye and channel catfish.

      If that weren't enough, muskellunge in the 20- to 40-pound class also lurk in Stonewall's cool green waters. These titans occasionally show themselves to anglers, if only to attack the bass or catfish wriggling at the end of their lines.

      Boat launch facilities are located at Vandalia, Georgetown, Jacksonville, and Stonewall Jackson Lake State Park. Gas, bait, and groceries can be bought at the marina near the park's launching ramp. The Division of Parks charges a dollar-a-day access fee to enter the park.

      Any list of the state's finest trout streams simply must include the Elk River upstream of Whittaker Falls in Pocahontas and Randolph counties. Wild rainbow trout, spawned in tiny tributary streams, teem in the river's swift riffles and runs. Brown trout, stocked as fingerlings, grow to trophy proportions in its boulder strewn pools.

      Anglers who fish it quickly discover that it's quite literally two streams in one. The first section, which extends downstream about three-and-one-half miles from the junction of Old Field and Big Spring forks, runs through a roadless canyon. An abandoned rail line parallels the stream and provides access for those adventurous enough to make the long walk in and out.

      At the end of the first section, the river sinks into an underground cavern. It returns to the surface two miles downstream at the upper end of the second section. From there, the Elk tumbles merrily along for two more miles until it drops off the high sandstone ledge that forms Whittaker Falls. Access to this lower stretch is much easier, as a county road parallels the stream the entire way.

      Both sections have become favorites of Mountain State fly-fishers, mainly because their rich waters support an amazing variety of aquatic insects. The stream's reliable hatches of March Brown, Gray Fox, and Green Drake mayflies make it a "must-fish" destination for match-the-hatch anglers.

      DNR officials manage both sections of the upper Elk under artificial-lures-only, catch-and-release regulations. All trout caught must be released at once.

      Like a modern-day phoenix, the Kanawha River has risen from the ashes of its former self to become a brightly burning beacon that beckons to anglers. Pollution nearly killed the Kanawha in the 1960s, but environmental reforms have brought it back. Today, it ranks as one of the state's best mixed-bag fisheries, supporting an impressive variety of game fish largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, spotted bass, white bass, hybrid striped bass, rock bass, walleye, sauger, channel catfish, flathead catfish, carp, muskellunge, crappie, sunfish, and freshwater drum.

      The best places to fish the river, hands down, are the tailraces of the Corps of Engineers' navigation dams at London, Marmet, and Winfield. Steel fishing piers provide easy access to the dams' turbulent outflows, where fish regularly congregate to feed.

      High flows and muddy water often make early season fishing an iffy proposition, but the summer and fall months ordinarily provide consistent action.

      Of all the species available to Kanawha River tailwater anglers, the hybrid striped bass is by far the favorite. The river's hard-fighting hybrids average three to seven pounds apiece and fight like demons in the swift currents.

      Saugers, smaller but equally tasty cousins of walleyes, provide hot early-season fishing. Anglers who fish their March and April spawning runs often catch 10 to 20 fish an hour. They're seldom large, but their delicate flavor makes up for their diminutive size.

      In late spring and late summer, white bass tend to school around the fishing piers, providing nearly constant action for anglers who use minnows, spoons, or silvery jigs. There's no guarantee, however, that the fish that grabs one of those shiny baits is going to be a white bass. In the Kanawha, it could be nearly anything!

      John McCoy is the outdoors editor for The Charleston Daily Mail, West Virginia's largest afternoon daily newspaper. An outdoors columnist for the Daily Mail for 21 years, he also writes for Field & Stream.