chasin' smallies around Kentucky

I headed down to Kentucky on Tuesday to chase some smallies with my friend, Alan.  First things first, we needed some lunch to fortify us before the work ahead of us.  Of course, Alan knows where all the truely authenitic Kentucky spots are and this one did not disappoint. 

Right when we walked in the front door, you could feel the history in every nook and cranny of this general store.  In the back of the store, amongst the hardware and field tools, there are a number of tables filled with farmers and locals.  We ordered a couple of sandwiches and stood out from the crowd in our fishing clothing.  The other diners knew we were not going to be putting in an honest days work. 

 Built in 1915, you only have to hang out here for a bit and then next thing you know you are in Walton's Mountain.

  Ok, know that we have the important things out of the way...let's get to the fishin'!
We drove down this road and then turned down that road and then headed down a holler in the deep woods and they we came upon the creek.  You could say that we would have the water to ourselves.

  We started working the water and hoping it would be a top water day.  Well, that was not working so I went to the tried and true fly I used on my last two outings, the bead head brown wooly bugger.  Fish can't resist this fly so I knew that I would start hookin' up. 

Well, that did not seem to be the ticket, so I got serious and put on the olive zuddler.  I worked the water hard and Alan and I came to the conclusion that the fish were going to win this day.  I landed five fish; all dinks.  This is when I started getting thirsty and we headed back to the truck.  While we sat on our coolers and had a coldy, we came up with all the reasons the fish were not biting.  The temp the night before had been 45.  It just wasn't hot enough.  We would try again in the hot summer.

this was the best fish of the day.  what a woopin'

 
OK, let's forget about Tuesday and head out Wednesday morning and hit the Elkhorn on the way back to Cincinnati.  I drove through Frankfort and had the Elkhorn on the mind when I came upon a sign that had me turning my vehicle in a driveway and taking a little diversion.

Well, that was well worth the hour tour and I had to let the water warm up on the Elkhorn because it was 45 again last night.  I even talked fishin' with one of the guys bottling some single barrel bourbon.
I headed out of the Buffalo Trace Distillery with the Elkhorn Creek and smallmouth on the mind.  I got my gear together and hit the water and man was it cold.  I started swinging the bead head bugger and picked up one smallie along the far bank.  I worked downstream for quite a bit and nothing else.  This was a section of the Elkhorn I had never been on.  I decided to work upstream towards a series of rapids.  I also thought I better switch flies and put on the olive zuddler.
  As I was working my way through the faster moving water I had thoughts of slow fishing on Tuesday, but then I started liking the looks of the water and my spirits lifted.  The look of the water wasn't so much smallmouth lookin' water, but very trout like.

If I am not going to catch fish, at least I like to enjoy the type of water I am in.  I picked up a couple of nice fish in the faster moving water and my hopes lifted.

 By the end of the day I picked up twenty fish in four hours of wading, with only three of the fish being dinks.  One of my favorite fish of the day took my olive zuddler in very fast moving water just below a waterfall just like he was a trout out West.