Cumberland River, Kentucky
The Cumberland River in south central Kentucky is by far the best tailwater trout fishing in the commonwealth. It is fed by outlets from the Wolf Creek Dam and offers both wade fishing and float fishing most of the year.
I had the pleasure of wade fishing the Cumberland on December 28 and had a very productive day. However, the water is high and is most conducive to float fishing. Cumberland Lake has been very low most of the summer due to lack of rainfall. The lake was also drawn down earlier this year to acommadate repairs to the dam by the Corps of Engineers. Since repairs are continuing, three generators were operated last week to account for recent rainfalls. Currently only one generator is running, but the generator schedule will vary from day to day depending on lake levels. I recommend you call the TVA at 1-800-238-2264, option 4 and then option 34 before venturing any great distance to fish this river.
Now for my fishing results. As mentioned, I tried wading and had pretty good results around snags along the river sides. The water is very swift and you can easily step off into a deep hole, so caution is the watch word under current conditions. I first fished the area around Helms Landing, which is several miles below the dam. This area is normally a good wading area, but not with the amount of water flow currently in the river. I only caught several small rainbows there and decided to try an area closer to the dam where a small creek enters the river form the trout hatchery. That's where I hit pay dirt. I caught over a dozen trout within a couple of hours with most being in the 15-18 inch range.
As mentioned earlier, the river is very floatable from the dam down river. There is an excellent boat ramp on the river side of the dam and I witnessed all sizes of John boats and bass boat being launched. Again, check with the dam management before dragging your boat down there.
If you are wondering how to get there, just take US 127 south of Russell Springs, KY to the dam. I'll be back there several times this winter.
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