First Elkhorn Trip of the Season

Nick caught this one.

  I have been itching to get down to the Elkhorn Creek and check it out, so when I realized that Tuesday's weather and water looked perfect, it didn't take much to get me motivated. Nick Finney and I headed down to spend the day fishing for smallmouth and one of Kentucky's premiere small streams. Water was running at about 150 c.f.s. and when we got there the clarity was awesome. We could see almost every fish we passed.


  Once I get off the highway I really enjoy the drive to the canoe livery, especially int he early morning. Nick and I got an early start and were rolling through the rolling farmland by 7:30.

   We were one of the first boats out but the water was a tad chilly. We really did not start picking up fish until nearly lunchtime and especially after lunch. After fishing all morning it was great to sit down on the bank, eat a good lunch, and just look forward to more fishing.

   After lunch we got more serious about the fishing. Nick proceeded to take advantage of some newbie luck. He had a great day and he honestly deserved it. He is a great fisherman, caster, and fly tier. We both spent some time fishing our favorite top water patterns that we had each tied. I like foam and cork, Nick prefers deer hair.

P.S. Nick can give tying lessons if you are interested, though a fly like this might take some practice.

   We worked for every fish we caught but we had a blast. We ended up throwing a simple chartreuse hard foam popper or woolly buggers most of the day. Both produced fish.

    Contact the shop for information on guide trips, directions, or any other questions you might have about smallmouth fishing on the Elkhorn creek or locally.

-Luke