The brook trout is West Virginia's only native trout species and is the official state fish. Fishermen often call them "natives." These fish embody the "Mountaineer spirit" because they thrive only in the cold, pristine streams of the high mountain valleys, especially in the headwaters of rivers like the Cheat, Greenbrier, and Potomac. You can tell a brook trout apart from others by the light, twisting lines across its back (instead of spots) and the milky-white edge on its lower fins. Brook trout feed primarily on aquatic and terrestrial insects and larvae.

The best time to fish for them is in late April or May when the water warms slightly and the first major insect hatches appear. They reproduce in the autumn over gravel beds.

The longest brook trout ever recorded in the state was 23.5 inches, caught in the Lost River in 1981, and the heaviest was 7.64 pounds, caught in Shavers Fork in 2004.