Elkhorn Trip Saturday 5/15/2015

Put the kayak in at peaks mill VPA access a couple of miles upstream of Knights Bridge and decided to take the long float to the very last take out before the river at Stillwaters. Having never been past TN Sullivan WMA takeout I had no idea what the creek was like below that point.
Caught 38 smallmouth by the time I had reached Canoe Kentucky so nothing to complain about there. The problems for me came when a storm rolled in or skirted the creek rather as I got to the next take out past Canoe Kentucky which forced me under the bridge on the bank for a couple of hours for fear of lightning putting me way behind schedule.
After the storm however, I resumed my trip fishing for a couple of more miles. In total I had boated 58 smallmouth (all of which were 13 inches and under and most 8-11 inches), 2 drum (One of which acted as a 15 lb trolling motor for me for nearly 20 minutes on my ultra light, and 1 small catfish. The fun ended pretty quickly though as darkness started to set in and after talking to a local on the bank realized I was further behind schedule than I had thought. (Had forgotten my creek map). Big Big mistake.
Anyways after reaching Stillwaters at about 9:30 pm I was definitely relieved to be on dry land. Trust me Elkhorn is not the place to be after dark! Rapids, downed trees, darkness and not knowing the water body is for sure the worst mix possible. Logical advise after a trip like this one is don't ever bite off too much at once out there on the creeks and rivers... Especially when you don't know the body of water. Take it from me and a crying wife on a dark boat ramp at the takeout.

lets see if i translate this correctly.....CRYING WIFE = KAYAK FOR SALE :p

well its good that you were able to tell your story....and not somebody else. sounds like a pretty hairy ordeal

[QUOTE=stripernut1;549015]lets see if i translate this correctly.....CRYING WIFE = KAYAK FOR SALE :p

lol how close to right you are...

I've floated all of the Elkhorn from the forks all the way to the Kentucky River. I hope to float all of it between Frankfort & Georgetown in the coming years. I'm thinking of doing a float from Switzer's Bridge to the forks before summer is over and then perhaps another section next year.

Last year, I decided to finally float the Whitewater section from the forks to Knight's Bridge. I had been scared to try this at high or even moderate flows, so I waited until the water was quite low. This may have been a mistake. I dragged my kayak for much of the way. I also wiped out in a hairpin turn. I stayed in the boat, but it was filled with water and everything soaked. The first serious wreck I've had since I bought the boat in the early 2000's.

I finally reached Knight's Bridge quite exhausted at 7:30 p.m. that evening......just before dusk. I had broke the tip off my new fly rod, ruined a cell phone and caught very few fish. On the other hand, I saw some beautiful country that I likely will never see again. That was probably my last time on that section.

[QUOTE=timmbur22;549054]I've floated all of the Elkhorn from the forks all the way to the Kentucky River. I hope to float all of it between Frankfort & Georgetown in the coming years. I'm thinking of doing a float from Switzer's Bridge to the forks before summer is over and then perhaps another section next year.

Last year, I decided to finally float the Whitewater section from the forks to Knight's Bridge. I had been scared to try this at high or even moderate flows, so I waited until the water was quite low. This may have been a mistake. I dragged my kayak for much of the way. I also wiped out in a hairpin turn. I stayed in the boat, but it was filled with water and everything soaked. The first serious wreck I've had since I bought the boat in the early 2000's.

I finally reached Knight's Bridge quite exhausted at 7:30 p.m. that evening......just before dusk. I had broke the tip off my new fly rod, ruined a cell phone and caught very few fish. On the other hand, I saw some beautiful country that I likely will never see again. That was probably my last time on that section.[/QUOTE]

At normal levels, the Switzer to Forks float will involve a lot of dragging your boat as well, especially the closer you get to Forks.

Thanks for the heads up. Yes, I've noticed some shallows near the forks.