3/11/2011
SOUTH CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Anglers caught and reported 319 muskies to the West Virginia Husky Musky Club in 2010, according to Bret Preston, assistant chief of the Wildlife Resources Section of the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources. The fish were reported from 29 West Virginia waters and more than 60 percent of them came from water stocked by the WVDNR. The 2010 catch represented the largest in more than 40 years of record keeping.
The top waters in 2010 included: Little Kanawha River (54 fish); Stonewall Jackson Lake (47 fish); Buckhannon River (41 fish); Middle Island Creek (20 fish); and Monongahela and South Fork Hughes rivers (14 fish each). Two muskies more than 50 inches in length were reported from Stonewall Jackson Lake.
The Husky Musky Club has maintained musky catch information since 1969 and 5,222 fish have been registered from 71 different West Virginia waters. The top 10 waters during this 42-year period are: 1) Middle Island Creek; 2) Buckhannon River; 3) Little Kanawha River; 4) Stonewall Jackson Lake; 5) Elk River; 6) South Fork Hughes River; 7) Hughes River; 8) West Fork River; 9) Stonecoal Lake; and 10) Tygart River.
Anglers interested in registering their first legal-sized musky may join the West Virginia Husky Musky Club for no membership fee. More information about this Club may be found at
www.wvdnr.gov/fishing/HuskyMusky.shtm or from the nearest WVDNR district office.
Contact Information
Curtis Taylor, Wildlife Resources Section
304-558-2771
dnr.wildlife@wv.gov