Cheat River is Stocked with Trout for the First Time This Season
Preston County Journal
22 March 2016
By Thresea Marthey
ROWLESBURG — The Cheat River is once again stocked and ready for
fishing season again.
Rain greeted Trout for Cheat, Inc. volunteers who stocked the
Cheat River with 1,700 pounds of trout on Tuesday, Mar. 15.
“This is our 16th year, and the first of four stockings for this
year,” Trout for Cheat President Art George said. “We make 18
stops along the Cheat River.”
The trout range from two to eight pounds each, and the Trout for
Cheat committee members as well as cadets from the Mountaineer
ChalleNGe Academy join together to put the fish into the river.
To make stocking a little easier, volunteers and cadets created a
bucket brigade type chain, handing giant buckets of fish and water
to one another until they reached the banks of the Cheat River,
where the fish were gently set free.
Indian Lake Fisheries of Elkview have been providing the trout for
the stockings for 13 years.
“It is awesome doing this,” Indian Lake Fisheries Wholesale
Manager Chris Veltri said. “We pride ourselves on long term
business.
The Mountaineer ChalleNGe Academy Cadets have been helping for
many years also.
“We have 28 cadets here today,” Mountaineer ChalleNGe Academy
Program Coordinator Kim Keene said. “We have been doing this for
many years.”
“We also knew it would be raining, so we made sure they had rain
coats today,” Keene said.
The Mountaineer ChalleNGe Academy uses the trout stocking program
as part of its 40 hours of community service each cadet is
required to have in order to graduate.
“Groups call us when they have an event where they need help or
volunteers,” Keene said. “Or if I know there is an event coming up
where volunteers may be needed, I will call the group so the
cadets can get their community service hours.”
Trout for Cheat is accepts donations for the stocking program.
They can be sent to 200 View Street, Kingwood, W.Va. 26537.