Cumberland tailwater quietly makes a comeback
t u o Tr
By Lee McClellan
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Kentucky Afield Spring 2018
on the
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Photo © Patrick Clayton / Engbretson Underwater Photography
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N 1972, THE U.S. Army Corps of Engineers lowered Lake Cumberland to repair leaks in Wolf Creek Dam. Angler Jim Mattingly, a local who fished the tailwater frequently, noticed a muddy area in the normally clear water. Figuring it came from a leak, he reasoned the stained water would offer trophy trout a good hiding place. The spot was rich with food. Mattingly observed huge numbers of threadfin shad blowing through the turbine outflows every time the dam generators started up. This instant buffet drew marauding bands of rainbow trout and white bass ready to gorge. On the afternoon of Sept. 10, two of the dam generators were pumping cool water into the tailwater. Mattingly and his brother, George, had little success as they cast ⅛-ounce in-line spinners into the river’s muddy water from their boat. That changed after the sun ducked below a bluff on the south side of the river. The fish turned on. Mattingly made the cast of a lifetime around 5:30 p.m. that day. A fish struck his blue in-line spinner so violently that it bent his 7-foot spinning rod to its base. The brothers saw the flashing silver sides of a rainbow trout as Jim Mattingly reeled it toward the boat. After a prolonged fight, they boated a 14-pound, 6-ounce rainbow trout, a state record that has held for 46 years. Fast forward about four decades. The U.S. Army Corps pulled Lake Cumberland down for seven years; in the meantime, contractors poured concrete into the dam’s core to fix its leaks. Lake Cumberland returned to its normal pool by 2014. This time, however, the leaks did not produce conditions for big trout. The tailwater’s big trout went into decline instead. By lowering the lake by 40 feet for a number of years, Lake Cumberland lost a significant amount of its storage capability for cool water. Trout, a cool water species, could not thrive when water temperatures in the tailwater climbed above 70 degrees in the heat of summer. BUILDING FROM ROCK BOTTOM When the water temperatures spiked, the Cumberland River lost more than 60 percent of its rainbow trout that exceeded 15 inches in length. Times were bad for trout anglers on the river. The Fisheries Division, however, had an
Spring 2018 Kentucky Afield
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The rainbow trout Jim Mattingly caught below Wolf Creek Dam in 1972 remains the state record.
TROUT STOCKINGS IN THE
CUMBERLAND TAILWATER Average lengths provided; individual fish may be longer or shorter.
2013
15-inch rainbow: 4,650 diploid, 8,280 triploid 9-inch rainbow: 75,750 diploid, 64,000 triploid 8-inch brown: 38,000 9-inch brook: 46,100
2014
9-inch rainbow: 127,850 diploid, 34,050 triploid 8-inch brown: 38,000 9-inch brook: 11,900
2015
12-inch rainbow: 6,500 diploid 9-inch rainbow: 86,000 diploid, 81,000 triploid 8-inch brown: 38,000 9-inch brook: 62,500
2016
12-inch rainbow: 6,500 diploid 9-inch rainbow: 119,500 diploid, 48,000 triploid 8-inch brown: 38,000 9-inch brook: 7,400
2017
15-inch rainbow: 6,800 diploid 9-inch rainbow: 139,750 diploid, 24,000 triploid 12-inch brown: 3,000 8-inch brown: 28,000 9-inch brook: 43,000
2018
(projected) 15-inch rainbow: 10,000 9-inch rainbow: 147,000 (diploid/ triploid ratio not set) 12-inch brown: 3,000 8-inch brown: 28,000 Brook: Dependent on production
10 Kentucky Afield Spring 2018
George Mattingly photo
innovative plan: Stock larger fish and supplement these with a special, fast-growing variety of rainbow trout. “We are trying to bring back the premier rainbow trout fishery we had before the drawdown of Lake Cumberland,” said Fisheries Division Director Ron Brooks. The effort began even before repairs to the dam were completed and the lake returned to its normal level. In 2010, Kentucky Fish and Wildlife stocked 18,500 triploid rainbow trout into the tailwater. Triploid trout are sterile and grow faster than the rainbow trout normally stocked (see story on page 40). Researchers wanted to see if triploids could thrive in the tailwater and boost the depleted fishery. The department stocked another 64,000 triploids in 2011, followed by 72,000 in 2012. These were in addition to the regular trout stockings. During this time, the department asked its trout supplier, Wolf Creek National Fish Hatchery, to hold back some trout to allow them to grow bigger before being stocked.
In 2013, the department released some 13,000 rainbow trout measuring 15-18 inches into the tailwater, supplementing the usual stocking of 140,000 rainbow trout measuring an average of 9 inches. The stocking of bigger fish that year included 4,650 rainbow trout and 8,280 of the sterile fish. The department enacted the slot limit and lowered the creel limit for trout in 2004, long before the dam repair issue arose. Fisheries Assistant Director Dave Dreves oversaw trout management in the Cumberland River at the time. By stocking trout within the tailwater’s 15-20 inch protective slot range, he said, the fish had time to grow while providing anglers a chance to catch bigger rainbows. “We are continuing to stock the larger fish,” Brooks said, “so fishing pressure won’t reduce the quality of the fishery. There is a lot more access up by the dam down to Helm’s Landing. We’ve adjusted the stocking plan to accommodate the fishing pressure at various places on the river.” Marcy Anderson, Southeastern Fisher-
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Waynesburg resident David Naylor caught this 14.2-pound rainbow trout while bank fishing just below Wolf Creek Dam on the afternoon of Dec. 31, 2016. When weighed on a certified scale the next morning, it fell just 3 ounces short of the state record.
James Gray photo
ies District biologist for the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources, said research shows the plan to restore the Cumberland tailwater is working. “We had a dramatic increase in the number of 15- to 18-inch rainbow trout from 2016 to 2017,” she said. “In our population sampling, we went from 6.2 fish per hour in that size range in 2016 to 21.8 rainbow trout that size in 2017.” Creel surveys conducted on the tailwater below Wolf Creek Dam supported the jumps noted in Anderson’s electrofishing sampling. In 2017, creel clerks interviewing tailwater anglers recorded 109 rainbow trout 16 inches long, 99 fish 17 inches long, 61 fish 18 inches long, 20 fish 19 inches long and 11 fish measuring 20 inches long. Clerks also documented four rainbow trout measuring 23 inches. They saw a 24-inch and a 26-inch rainbow trout with estimated weights between 6 to 7 pounds. TARGETING TROPHIES How can anglers target these bigger trout? Always start by checking the generation schedule at Wolf Creek Dam. This tells anglers how much current and water level to expect. All the planning in the world about proper flies, lures and presentations becomes moot if the river is blown out. Wolf Creek Dam has six turbine generators to produce electricity, each with a maximum discharge of 4,000 cubic feet per
fw.ky.gov
second (CFS). The dam also has six sluice gates at the bottom of the dam, which do not produce electricity but can release water from the bottom of the lake and help aerate the tailwater. Find generation schedules for the past few days at the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) webpage and future generation schedules from the Nashville District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Each generator produces 45 megawatts of electricity. So if the projected schedule shows “45,” that means one generator; 90 corresponds to two generators, while 270 means all six generators are expected to operate. Wade fishing is impractical with more than one turbine running. Boating becomes hazardous when more than two turbines are running. Water temperatures in the Cumberland River remain cold enough year-round to trigger hypothermia. Anglers should respect the heavy current and stay off the water when discharge is high. Wearing your life jacket at all times is a good idea when boating the river, regardless of generation schedule. Water releases depend on flood conditions in the basin or the demand for electricity. Wolf Creek Dam operates on a peak schedule, ramping up generators as demand for electricity increases. In summer, generators are generally turned off at night, then are gradually put online as power demand surges with the heat of the day. Boaters must deal with heavy fog on early summer mornings; they must take care to avoid wading anglers and throttle down when they en-
counter them. Brooks developed a system over the past few years to deal with water releases from Wolf Creek Dam. “Depending on the generation schedule, I can either fish in the upper river near the dam or at Helm’s Landing, then switch down river in the afternoon,” he said. “In the spring and fall, there are lots of big fish from the dam to Helm’s Landing that migrate up there. In spring, you will get big rainbow trout up by the dam.” Brooks moves downriver to the Burkesville area if water releases are heavy in the morning. He launches at Bakerton Ramp and fishes the area before moving on to the mouth of Crocus Creek. There is a $5 fee to use the Bakerton Ramp, payable at Sprouls Grocery, 407 Bakerton Road. “The lower river around Bakerton and Crocus Creek isn’t as affected by dam releases,” Brooks said. “I can usually fish all afternoon in this stretch. You don’t have to be a morning person to fish this section of the Cumberland tailwater.” The Derby City Fly Fishers post a chart on how long it takes water to reach downstream fishing locations once generation starts. Access this information on the club’s website, derbycityflyfishers.com. Brooks’ time investment in fishing the Cumberland River paid off with a 22-inch rainbow trout last year. “You can catch it when there are all big trout,” he said. “I’ve been down there and not caught any trout smaller than 15 inches for an hour or two. When you hit it right, it is just crazy.” FLY FISHING TIPS Brooks prefers fly-fishing the Cumberland River. “My best fly for big rainbows is a large, tan-colored stonefly,” he said. “I usually throw a size 6 fly – and no smaller than a size 8 – for bigger fish. Fish it on the bottom and just bounce it off rocks.” Sinking line produces best when there is some current. “The sinking line really helps,” he said. “It keeps the stonefly down in the strike zone. The Cumberland often flows a little faster than what stoneflies prefer.” The Chicago Fly in size 6 is an effective fly for Cumberland River trout. Similar to a black leech pattern, the Chicago’s heavy beadhead helps keep it in the strike zone of larger trout on the Cumberland. Fish it with a sinking tip line or dead drift it with a weight-forward floating line. Nymphs also work well. Brooks’ fa-
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vorite is the Prince Nymph, which is also a stonefly imitator if worked in water with some current. “I like size 10 to 12 in the Cumberland,” he said. “Use a strike indicator when using a nymph. I also like Pheasant tail and Hare’s Ear nymphs with a gold beadhead in the same sizes. ” Many trout guides on the Cumberland use the Prince Nymph on a dropper rig. The dropper rig employs two or more flies suspended under a strike indicator, which is fly fishing talk for a small bobber. They tie a Prince Nymph closest to the strike indicator, followed by a Copper John nymph in the middle and a small larval midge pattern on the bottom. “I use just two flies on my dropper rigs, a Prince Nymph on top and a small midge on the bottom,” Brooks said. “The two-fly rig is easier to cast and deal with. Many people don’t go deep enough with the midge. You need to set your strike indicator so the midge stays just above bottom.” Midges, a small aquatic insect that trout devour, hover around the river bottom in their larval stage. Anglers also see a fair amount of black fly hatches near the surface. A midge fly tied with a small tungsten head helps get it down. The best sizes run from a small 16 to a tiny 22. Olive/black, black and red midge patterns work best. Anglers can also match the black fly hatch with a small white and black midge or small dry fly. “I use a bulky dry fly like a grasshopper as a strike indicator and drop the midge off it in the Cumberland tailwater,” Dreves Prince Nymph
Pheasant tail
said. “I’ve had good success with it.” The size of trout taken on small flies often surprises Brooks. “Sometimes, they want those teeny flies, sometimes they want big flies,” he said. “It is unbelievable that big trout will eat such a small bug, but they do.” There are times Brooks prefers fishing dry flies on the Cumberland. “I was at Rainbow Run last fall and trout were rising all over the place,” he said. “I caught great numbers, and every now and then a nice trout.” TROUTING WITH SPINNING GEAR Fly fishing isn’t for everyone. Although an avid fly angler himself, Brooks said spinning gear has the potential to out-fish fly gear. “You can cover so much more water with spinning gear – and with an inline spinner, such as a Rooster Tail – that I think you can catch more trout,” he said. “I just enjoy catching them on fly gear.” An ultra-light to light power spinning rod spooled with 4-pound fluorocarbon line and a white, grey, pink or red in-line spinner is a deadly combination on the Cumberland River. Work this lure over rock-lined stretches with flow or cast it out in the middle of the river and bring it back with a slow, steady retrieve. Rainbow trout huddling just above bottom will come from a good distance to strike this simple, old-school lure. Dreves favors a jig that first came on the trout fishing scene nearly 20 years ago. In the water, it resembles a quivering grub. “The Trout Magnet is my favorite lure for Cumberland River trout,” said Dreves. “It is such an effective system with 2- to 4-pound test line and a long spinning rod with the Trout Magnet soft plastic lures.”
Try these flies for fat trout
The rig draws its heritage from the suspended marabou jig presentation that produced a 40-pound, 4-ounce brown trout from Arkansas’ Little Red River in 1992. The fish remained a world record until 2010. Amazingly, Arkansas angler Howard “Rip” Collins caught the monster brown on a 4½foot ultralight spinning rod spooled with 4-pound line. Collins used a 1/32 -ounce olive marabou jig suspended underneath a bobber. The Trout Magnet consists of a 1¼-inch, tapered plastic grub with a split tail rigged on a 1/64-ounce dart head jig. Anglers suspend the grub underneath a foam bobber and allow it to bob as it drifts with the current. “You want to adjust the strike indicator so the Trout Magnet is just above bottom,” said Dreves, who favors salmon, white and black lures. “I caught a 20-inch brown and a 19-inch rainbow trout on it in one day on the Cumberland. I was ½-inch from a Master Angler award for two trout in one trip.” Spinning anglers can slay trout on suspending jerkbaits, such as the 2¾-inch YoZuri Pins Minnow or the 2½-inch Rapala X Rap. The best colors for the Pins Minnow are Baby Brook, Gold Frame, Purple and Hot Pink Trout while anglers throwing the Rapala X Rap should try Gold, Hot Mustard Muddler or Silver. Anglers working suspending jerkbaits should begin their presentation by reeling the lure down in the water column, then jerking the bait two to three times, followed by a pause. Some days, rainbow trout only go after jerkbaits worked aggressively with almost no pause. On other times, working the jerkbait subtly with long pauses is more effective. A good pair of polarized sunglasses can reveal large rainbow trout rising from the depths to inspect a jerkbait. It is easy to lose your nerve when you see a huge trout ready to pounce, but a subtle jerk producing a slight twitch can provoke a savage strike. An overly aggressive jerk often sends the trout back into hiding.
Copper John Stonefly
Hare's Ear Mosquito wet fly
12 Kentucky Afield Spring 2018
Midge nymphs Obie Williams photos
fw.ky.gov
Cumberland River Tailwater Fishing Access Boat Ramp / Bank Access Carrydown Only / Bank Access Bank Access
Mud Camp Creek WMA (Boat-in only)
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Williams-Fox Ramp (McMillans Ferry)
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FISHING ACCESS Rainbow Run is a long shoal just downstream of the historic Rockhouse Natural Bridge off KY 379 in Russell County. Anglers may wade this shoal, now owned by Kentucky Fish and Wildlife, but it is only accessible by boat. Anglers often launch a canoe or kayak at the Rockhouse Natural Bridge, paddle downstream to fish Rainbow Run, then take out at the Winfrey’s Ferry boat ramp. It takes anglers on foot less than half an hour for the mile-long hike from the takeout back to Rockhouse Natural Bridge. It is best to leave someone behind to watch the equipment. Because this section is in a large bend of the river, the float is approximately 6 miles long. Anglers also may motor upstream from Winfrey’s Ferry to Rainbow Run. A long, deep hole continues just past Winfrey’s Rocks, a large outcrop on river right. The rocks were a landmark for steamboat pilots, who could
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Long Bar
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y ! [ by boat. It is about 1.5¾ miles downstream of the Cloyd’s n Landing Boat Ramp, at the mouth io at tr s y of Mud Camp Creek. ! u ll yi c Burkesville Ramp The upper river from Wolf Creek Dam n y ! Ya ne to Rockhouse Natural Bridge offers the best en selection of public access for wade fishing. Anglers will find bank access at the Traces on the Cumberland Kendall Recreation Area, just below Wolf use the (fee ramp) y Creek Dam. Further downstream is the ! depth of l KY 61 Boyd’s Bar shoal, found where Little Indian the river on Creek flows into the Cumberland River at the stone to the end of Ray Mann Road. Between these gauge whether two areas is Hatchery Creek, a manmade there was enough watrout creek with plenty of bank access conter to pass the Rainbow Run tained on public land. shoal just upstream. If too shallow, the The channel off Boyd’s Bar on the oppilots would turn around in the deep hole at posite shore is a productive spot to drift the rocks. [ ¾ Beadhead Pheasant Nymphs under strike Rainbow Run, adjacent to a long island [ ¾ indicators at low water. with a level bank, offers prime wading for Long Bar Fishing Access off Wells Botanglers. The rocky composition of the shoal tom Road in Russell County provides bank offers exceptional trout habitat. Pockets of [ and wading access to one of the most producdeeper water line the bottom of this shoal ¾ [ ¾ tive fishing areas on the Cumberland River. where trout hide and ambush food from ¾[ This area, consisting of an island with the below. Large rocks, woody cover and deep main river shoal on one side and a small chanscour holes line the riverbank opposite the nel on the other, is a favorite of trout guides. island at Rainbow Run, making trophy habFor walk-in anglers, Long Bar fishes best itat for rainbow and brown trout. during low flow periods. The side channel beAnglers can find a variety of access tween the bank and island becomes impassable points along the Cumberland River by visiting the Kentucky Fish and Wildlife webpage when the water is swift and rising, so wading at fw.ky.gov. Click the “Fish” tab, followed anglers should remain alert to conditions. Other areas include Helm’s Landing, by the “Find a Place to Fish,” then “Search which is accessible for wading, and bank for Boating and Fishing Access Sites.” The fishing at one of the most unique places entry for “Lake Cumberland Tailwater” in Kentucky: Rockhouse Natural Bridge, lists all of the boat ramps and wading access used as a shelter by Native Americans and spots on the river. early Long Hunters. From the parking lot, The Cumberland River from Winfrey’s anglers walk through the Rockhouse, the Ferry downstream to the Tennessee boundseventh largest natural bridge in the United ary is best fished from a boat. One spot acStates, to the river. The river is too deep to cessible from the bank is just downstream wade at the Rockhouse entrance, but proof the KY 61 Bridge at Burkesville, directly vides productive fishing along the banks. across the river from the Traces on the The recovery of the world-class rainbow Cumberland boat ramp. trout fishery in Cumberland River is well Anglers will find another public bank underway. This season, take the time to enfishing area at Mud Camp Creek Wildlife joy one of the best fishing destinations in the Management Area (WMA) in Cumberland upper South. n County. This area, however, is accessible only Ad ri
Boat Ramp
Helms Landing
Spring 2018 Kentucky Afield 13
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