Gonna Hit Cumberland River Wednesday

[RICHYD4U]

Gonna Get Back To The Cumberland River Below Wolf Creek On Wednesday....weather Should Be Clear. Hopefully They Won't Be Generating To Much So I Can Fish The Main River. If Not, I've Killed The Trout On Hatchery Creek Where They're Spawning, So I'll Probably Hit That.......there Are Some Hawgs In There! Caught One Brown @ 26" And Numerous Over 20" Last Visit.....i'll Report Back On How It Goes! Keep Your Lines Tight!

[MSD]

What is the easiest way to access the hatchery creek? Is one allowed to go the the Kendall Campground? Thanks for any info. Good luck.

[RICHYD4U]

Msd-
What I Have Always Done Is Park In The Parking Lot In Front Of The Fish Hatchery And Walk Down The Road To The Kid/handicap Section Of Hatchery Creek. From There, I Just Walk Past Where The Water Is Released Through A Covert And Continues Down To Meet Up With The Main River (you'll See Where The Water Drops Down And Out The Covert About 15ft Below The Trail Above).
The Browns And Bows Spawn All The Way Up To That Point Where They Can't Go Any Further......you'll See The Fish As You Walk Above On The Trail......it Gets Your Heart Pumping! They Average From 16-24 Inches....and Sometimes Bigger! Lots Of Fun...especially On A Fly Rod! Hope This Helps Answer Your Question. If You Have Anymore, I'd Be Happy To Help Out! Keep Your Line Tight!

[MSD]

Thanks for the info. I have walked on part of the trail that you are speaking of. It looks like a long way down to the water, but sounds like it's worth the effort. I guess the farther you walk down the trail, the easier it is to get to the creek? I might have to give it a try Saturday or Sunday. It's about a 2 hour drive, but it's worth the trip to me.

[RICHYD4U]

Well.....another Amazing Day At The Cumberland River! I Arrived Early Wednesday Morning Around 7:00am. I Stopped Over By The Main River To Check The Levels.....they Had Two Generators Going So,......forget About It! Impossible To Fish From The Shore With That Amount Of Water! So....i Headed Over To Hatchery Creek And Made My Way Over To Below The Kid/handicap Section. I Dropped Down To The First Long Run Were I Have Been Catching 'em All Fall/winter Long. You Have To Be Careful While Dropping Down To The River....it's Steep And Muddy!
I Was The Only Person In Site, Which Is A Benefit Of Going During The Week. Used My Fly Rod With A Two-fly Setup.....a Yellow Glu-bug With A Size 16 Bh Brassie Dropped 12 Inches Below....used A Strike-indicator Approxiametly 5 Ft Up From My First Fly With A Small Bb Weight 6 Inches Above The First Fly. It Was Obvious When I Arrived That The Trout Spawners Were Still In There As I Approached From Above....big Shadows Everywhere! First 10-12 Casts Resulted In 10-12 Big Bows (20+inches).....all In All, I Was There For About 5 Hrs And Caught Around 40 Fish, With The Fish Of The Day Being A Big, Female Bow Of 25" Who Still Was Holding Her Eggs! A Blast! Always Worth The Drive From Bowling Green! And What A Beautiful Day For January! Unbelievable! Keep Your Lines Tight!

[nonamesleft47]

Great info! Thanks for the report. I'm going to try to get down there Sunday with my 9 year old, he's been wanting to try to beat his personal best of 23" brown (dad's personal best that day was a 25 lb carp). What size flys were you using? How about tippet size? I haven't been down that far for a long time, is there any walking room on the bank or is it wading? Is there room to fly cast or are you mostly dabbling?

Thanks in advance. Ted

[RICHYD4U]

nonamesleft47-
FIRST OFF....GOOD LUCK ON SUNDAY! IT'S A GREAT PLACE TO TAKE THE KIDS....PLENTY OF HUNGRY FISH! WELL, TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS......I WAS USING A YELLOW GLUE-BUG THAT I MAKE USING YELLOW HOT-GLUE STICKS MELTED ONTO A SALMON EGG HOOK. IT'S THE EASY FLY TO MAKE! LOOKS JUST LIKE A TROUT EGG, THEY LOVE IT! THE SECOND FLY I USED AS MY DROPPER, WAS A SIZE 16 BEADHEAD BRASSIE.....(OTHER FLIES I'VE HAD LUCK ON ARE: 14-18 BEADHEAD PHEASANT TAILS, BLACK ZEBRA MIDGES, HARES EARS, AND COPPER JOHNS. THEY ALL WORK!) I CAUGHT EQUAL AMOUNTS OF FISH ON BOTH FLIES, THAT'S WHY I ALWAYS FISH WITH A DROPPER....DOUBLES YOUR CHANCES!
TIPPET SIZE WAS 4X FLOUROCARBON. YOU'VE GOTTA LOVE FLOUROCARBON! SMALLER DIAMETER, INCREASED INVISIBILITY, INCREASED KNOT STRENGTH AND NO MEMORY! GREAT STUFF! AS FOR FISHING CONDITIONS...I ALWAYS BRING MY WADERS JUST BECAUSE THE BANKS ARE SMALL, AND EXTREMELY MUDDY/SLIPPERY. YOU COULD GET AWAY WITH A PAIR OF KNEE HIGH WATER-PROOF BOOTS. AS FOR CASTING CONDITIONS....THEY ARE TIGHT! I USE A ROLL CAST AT THE END OF MY DRIFT....IT'S THE EASIEST WAY. DEFINETLY NO ROOM FOR A BACK-CAST! BEING SUCH A SMALL CREEK, YOU ONLY NEED A FEW FEET OF FLY LINE OUT TO FISH IT EFFECTIVELY...........................WELL, I HOPE I ANSWERED YOUR QUESTIONS! GOOD LUCK, HAVE FUN AND KEEP YOUR LINE TIGHT!