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Legendary Cumberland River trout fishing guide Gerry McDaniel holds a brown trout that fell for a nymph fly in the Cumberland River just upstream of Burkesville. The holiday season is prime time to catch trout from the Cumberland River on fly fishing gear.
This is the final 2023 installment of the "Fall Fishing Festival" series of articles detailing productive fishing techniques and opportunities across Kentucky. These articles will continue to appear until mid-winter.
While winter slows down most fishing in Kentucky, trout angling remains hot in the tailwater below Lake Cumberland’s Wolf Creek Dam.
When resource managers release water through the dam to generate electricity, the outflow comes from deep within Lake Cumberland. The water is cold enough for trout to thrive in the river year-round. Trout are a coldwater species and only know it is winter from the shorter days.
“The water temperature in the Cumberland River never really changes much,” said John Hast. “I don’t approach fishing the Cumberland much differently than in the summer months. You usually have better water in winter.”
While Hast currently serves as bear and elk program coordinator for the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources, he’s also an avid angler who enjoys casting flies in the Cumberland River year-round. You’ll often find him fishing the river alongside his parents, a decades-long family tradition.
The Cumberland River offers 75 miles of trout water from Wolf Creek Dam to the Tennessee state line. Each year, Kentucky Fish and Wildlife schedules the stockings of more than a quarter-million trout in the tailwater. Stocked species include rainbow, brown, brook and cutthroat trout. The department stocks rainbow trout up to 15 inches long and brown trout up to 12 inches in the river.
Because of the heavy stocking, the cold-water nature of trout and accessibility, the Cumberland River provides one of the most reliable places to fish in winter. If you need a day on the water to decompress over the holidays, the Cumberland River is about as good as it gets, especially if you like to fly fish.
“From December through February, go on a warm day,” Hast said, “not an uncomfortable day, no freezing weather. It is a completely different river than in summer. There are no people. You are often the only one on the river. If you are boat fishing, there is no one to tow you back to the ramp if you have motor trouble, so be aware of that. On many of our winter trips, we just wade at Helm’s Landing.”
Wade fishing is a great avenue into winter fishing on the Cumberland River. The Find a Place to Fish Page lists public access spots where anglers may wade the Cumberland River, including Helm’s Landing Access. Unless you are experienced with boating on this tricky river, wade fishing is the safest option.
Because of the chill, wading anglers should wear neoprene waders and plenty of insulated clothes. Anglers should be mindful of the current and avoid wading beyond their capabilities.
Anglers only need a few flies for fishing the tailwater in winter. “There are only about 10 flies you need the whole time on the Cumberland,” Hast said. “A good nymph selection, including Copper Johns, Prince Nymphs and Hare’s Ears in sizes 16 to 18, serves you well. For swifter current, I like a Dally’s tailwater jig in the same sizes.”
Hast also fishes beadhead Woolly Buggers in olive, brown and orange and black. These imitate small baitfish or other aquatic food. Hast also uses Woolly Buggers weighed with lead wire to help the bait sink to the trout’s feeding level, or strike zone.
Using a nymph, which imitates the small aquatic bugs that trout feed on, is an excellent way to introduce someone to fly fishing. A good technique involves suspending the nymph under a floating strike indicator. The strike indicator serves as a bobber; it allows the nymph to drift at the same speed as the current – a more natural presentation of the bait. If the strike indicator disappears, a trout has inhaled the nymph. Pull your fly rod straight up and drive the hook home.
The flowing holes with hides in the form of rocks or undercut banks make the best places to fish nymphs and Woolly Buggers in winter. Woolly Buggers are best fished near the bottom in winter since they imitate both crayfish and baitfish.
Hast favors Prince Nymphs with a tungsten head and the Dally’s tailwater jig that also employs a tungsten head. These flies sink quickly as tungsten is much denser than lead.
“Your fly needs to be near the bottom to have any luck on the Cumberland River,” Hast explained. “I use tungsten-weighted nymphs in swifter current because the tungsten bead gets the fly down in the water where you need to get.”
Hast uses small, foam strike indicators for stealth as well as a more realistic drift. When using tungsten head flies, he attaches two small foam indicators to the fishing line instead of one large one. Stocked trout in a southern tailwater are generally not as wary as the wild reared trout in Yellowstone National Park, but they are not stupid either.
Hast fishes a 4-weight fly rod for nymphs and a beefier 6-weight rod for throwing Woolly Buggers. He uses a 12-foot tapered leader in 5X (about 5-pound test) for fishing nymphs. He ties about 3 feet of tippet line material to the end of the tapered leader. Tippet is a thinner extension to the tapered leader that provides stealth as well as extra length to tie on flies.
“I attach the strike indicator just below where I tie on the tippet to the leader to start,” Hast said. He then adjusts depth by moving the strike indicator up or down from there.
Hast uses a 4-foot section of what is known as a polyleader attached to his fly line and runs an 18- to 24-inch section of 4X (about 6-pound test) fluorocarbon tippet off the polyleader. A polyleader adds heft to the presentation and allows an angler to get a fly down in the water while still using a floating main fly line. Fluorocarbon tippet line, while more expensive than other kinds of fishing line, is less visible to fish.
Hast fishes the Woolly Bugger just over bottom with slow strips of the fly line on the retrieve.
One must know the electrical generation schedule from Wolf Creek Dam before fishing the Cumberland River. These are available online by searching under the keywords, “Cumberland River Generation Schedule.” Recent schedules have been favorable for fishing, with little or no generation.
On the published schedule, look under the “Wolf Creek” column. Each reading of 40 represents one turbine running, so a reading of 80 means two turbines are running. Anglers should be aware that the schedule is subject to change due to power demands or weather conditions. Anglers should be mindful of sudden current surges that indicate unexpected generation from Wolf Creek Dam.
“One generator running is great for catching fish,” Hast said. “This release level allows for wading while providing current that can make the fish feed a bit more.”
Make a trip to the Cumberland River this winter. Remember, you must have a valid Kentucky fishing license and a Kentucky trout permit to fish the Cumberland River.
It is money well spent.