POND FORK - “Little fish, little fish in the brook, daddy wants you on his hook.” Anglers young and old are one step closer to enjoying a day casting lines after area waterways were stocked with golden and rainbow trout this past week.

Employees from the Boone County Commission supervised the release of golden and rainbow trout in county rivers, including Pond Fork, Big Coal and Spruce Rivers.

Rainbow trout are near the top of the food chain in most freshwater environments such as the Big Coal River. These fish will consume more fish and fewer insects as they grow, but insects continue to be a part of the diet in most all populations, according to the U.S National Marine Fisheries Service.

Rainbow trout are popular in American cuisine and are said to have a tender flesh and a mild, somewhat nutty flavor.

The U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service has a detailed description of threats to the rainbow trout, noting they have been particularly decimated by habitat loss due to dams, confinement of streams in concrete channels, water pollution, groundwater pumping, Urban heat island effects, and other byproducts of urbanization.

According to the West Virginia Department of Natural Resources, small public fishing lakes are stocked beginning in January, and stocking of catchable rainbow trouts continues through May in suitable waters.