West Virginia's Greenbrier River has a fine trout population and holds good numbers of smallmouth bass as well.

Holding true to its moniker as the Mountain State, West Virginia indeed features plenty of rugged territory. And where there are mountains, there will be streams and rivers that drain them.

The Greenbrier River is a good example, one that provides excellent fishing for smallmouth bass and trout.

"The Greenbrier is one of the largest tributaries of the New River," said Larry Nibert, a veteran guide and outfitter. "It drains much of West Virginia's portion of the Allegheny Mountains."

Nibert said some of the best smallmouth bass fishing takes place on the Greenbrier in the section starting near Anthony Creek and Caldwell

"There is a nice special regulations section in that area," said Nibert. "A 6-mile section of the Greenbrier running from the U.S. Route 60 bridge near Caldwell and extending downstream to the U.S. Route 219 bridge at Ronceverte, is under a slot-limit regulation."

That means one bass longer than 20 inches can be kept, as well as bass under 12 inches. Bass between 12 and 20 inches must be released. The number of kept bass can't exceed the statewide creel limit.

Nibert said that while the Greenbrier isn't noted for exceptionally large smallmouth bass, that doesn't mean the fish aren't there.

"During the fall and again in the early spring, we catch a lot of smallies in the 16- to 21-inch range from the Greenbrier," said Nibert.

The Achilles' heel of many of the state's better smallmouth bass rivers is the presence of whitewater, which creates access issues for anglers lacking the experience and gear necessary to safely float them. But this isn't an issue on much of the Greenbrier.

"It's a river that just about anyone can float, with the exceptions of a few sections downstream of Alderson," he explained. "Between Alderson and Hinton, where the Greenbrier flows into the New, there are some sections where a person lacking whitewater experience could get into trouble."

Nibert said the Greenbrier, upriver of Alderson is ideal for floating in a canoe, kayak or personal pontoon boat.

In regard to the type of water he's looking for this time of year, Nibert has had his best success at the heads of backwater pools, especially if there is a mix of sand and rock along the bottom. These areas tend to hold the most pre-spawn smallmouth bass, he said.

Access to the Greenbrier River is excellent. In addition to the obvious spots near bridges, the Greenbrier River trail runs along 79 miles of the river valley in Greenbrier and Pocahontas counties.

"It makes it easy to jump on a mountain bike and peddle your way to some great fishing spots," Nibert said.

Public access sites are found in Alderson, Anthony, Caldwell, the Interstate 64 Bridge, Jiffy Foam, Renick and Ronceverte.

In addition to the excellent smallmouth bass fishing found on the Greenbrier, the river also features an outstanding trout fishery, primarily fueled by the West Virginia Division of Wildlife's exceptional stocking program.

Some of the better trout opportunities are located in Pocahontas County, which is not only home to the headwaters of the Greenbrier River, but also such blue ribbon trout streams as Williams River, Cranberry River and the Shaver's Fork of the Cheat River.

Jeff Knapp is an outdoors columnist for the Butler Eagle.