Cumberland: Helms to Winfrey's

[RA]

I was thinking about doing a float on the Cumberland with my yak in a couple of weeks. Is the trip from Helms to Winfrey's too much to do in one day, especially if I plan on fishing as I go? Thanks in advance for your help.

[FlyLie]

Here's a link to Cumberland River information, courtesy of the Derby City Fly Fishers. Also note the Quick Facts on lower, right hand side of the page. Gives you mileage and float times!

Good luck on your float trip and be safe....Hopefully you have someone else going with you!!

http://www.derbycityflyfishers.com/cumberland_river.htm

[redfishman]

I floated from Helm's to Winfrey's today, the water was low, we fished most the whole way, took us about 10 hours, but we motored through the deeper sections. It's a haul man. I might think about going from Helm's to the Rockhouse. That's doable without a motor.

[FlyLie]

I floated from Helm's to Winfrey's today, the water was low, we fished most the whole way, took us about 10 hours, but we motored through the deeper sections. It's a haul man. I might think about going from Helm's to the Rockhouse. That's doable without a motor.

How was the fishing? and was the river crowded? Thanks

[redfishman]

How was the fishing? and was the river crowded? Thanks

Fishing was off the charts. Low flow all day, they were sluicing so the water was considerably cooler then it has been the last month. I started out with small stuff like #16 Prince Nymphs and Pheasant Tails with midge trailers. Bites were few and far between. My brother and friend were throwing Brown Rooster Tails and were waxing them. The fish were super aggressive so I tied on a muddler minnow and caught a few, but nothing great. I think they were having a hard time seeing the stuff I was throwing because the water was a tad stained. So I went for the nuclear option and tied on a golden stonefly nymph and a red and yellow egg pattern and started waxing them on that. They wanted something flashy. By the end of the day between the three of us we boated 50+ fish. Most in the 12"-15" range with 5 or 6 in the slot. The biggest was a 19" brown that I took on the Stonefly Nymph. I didn't get as many as the other two guys did, but I brought a majority of all the bigger fish to the boat. It was one of the better days we have had on the river in a while. Hope it stays low for a bit. That makes all the difference.

[FlyLie]

Fishing was off the charts. Low flow all day, they were sluicing so the water was considerably cooler then it has been the last month. I started out with small stuff like #16 Prince Nymphs and Pheasant Tails with midge trailers. Bites were few and far between. My brother and friend were throwing Brown Rooster Tails and were waxing them. The fish were super aggressive so I tied on a muddler minnow and caught a few, but nothing great. I think they were having a hard time seeing the stuff I was throwing because the water was a tad stained. So I went for the nuclear option and tied on a golden stonefly nymph and a red and yellow egg pattern and started waxing them on that. They wanted something flashy. By the end of the day between the three of us we boated 50+ fish. Most in the 12"-15" range with 5 or 6 in the slot. The biggest was a 19" brown that I took on the Stonefly Nymph. I didn't get as many as the other two guys did, but I brought a majority of all the bigger fish to the boat. It was one of the better days we have had on the river in a while. Hope it stays low for a bit. That makes all the difference.

Thanks a bunch for the detailed report and congrats on a great Cumberland River day . Sounds like you hit the river under just the right conditions. Hopefully, the weather will be gentle relative to rainfall and we can look forward to more days of no generation, just sluice gates .