Hatchery Creek needs to be high up on your list of places you need to fly fish.
Very recently we took at trip down to Kentucky to specifically test out some new prototype fly fishing reels we will be launching soon under a different brand. The reels went off without a hitch. Thankfully, the fishing did too. What Kentucky has created with Hatchery Creek is a fly fishing wonderland around every single bend in this man-made stream. For those of us in the Midwest with limited access to trout, this is a place you need to check out.
Located just outside of Jamestown, Kentucky, you’ll find plenty of opportunities to rent an AirBNB, hotel, motel, or even a campsite. Considering all the lockdowns in place we were facing with Covid, finding a place to stay was easy and affordable. Other than fishing, hiking, enjoying the outdoors, or relaxing, there isn’t much else to do. For fly fishermen though, that’s perfect.
Hatchery Creek
Just a few years ago, the State of Kentucky started an initiative at Wolf Creek Dam, whose tailwater creates the Cumberland river. The end result is a mile long creek created with consistent flows, and tons of trout. There is a small catch and keep section right where the creek begins, but just after that, some world-class catch and release trout fishing takes hold.
Every section of the creek was created with trout fishing in mind. From boulders, marsh, timbers, ripples, pools, and undercuts, Wolf Creek has it all. Most impressively though was the number of large trout. A vast percentage of the fish population in the creek are holdover stockers. However, trout from the Cumberland do come up. Multiple 20+ fish raised on streamers were seen. Due to the pressure this stream gets though, they are educated and spooky. With that being said, we did catch browns, brookies, and rainbows all day long both days we fished.
Now that we fly fished this stream in the summer, we can’t wait to get back over the winter. Lesser crowds and people would be a welcome site. Thankfully, that didn’t deter the fish.