Cumberland River Report

[pacofly13]

myself and a friend were at the Cumby on June 19th-21st. At that time the core was generating 1 from early in the morning till dusk and then turning it off at night.. not helping us too much since we both wade. We actually did fairly well considering the water was a bit stained and we had to get up quite early and head down stream 8/9 miles to get as much fishin in as we could. Once the generation reached us the fish would turn off and the clarity really dropped. we caught several rainbow and brown each day w/ a few even in the 15/16inch range, i also managed to catch a 20inch bow by the dam next to some downed trees... most were caught on typical searching patterns of hairs ears, princes,copperjohns, and some zebras. Hopefully the core starts pulsing 1 generator or turns on the sluice soon so things clear up and cool down the water so i can get down there again!
hope this helps- Matt
p.s. headed down july 16-19th ... i'll post how we do

[MarkHansen]

Fished the Cumberland River on Saturday. Started fishing at 9:30am and fished until 7:30pm. Water was low and green - looked great. All of the gravel bars were showing. Watch those lower-units! Lots of trees and stumps. Temps were about 62'.

As for hatch, nothing to report. Same as before. A few pale dunns coming off. Not many rising fish. Very few.

Spoke to the guys at Strange Bait. There was a guide in the shop when we stopped. Report was: no traffic on the river. A few striper fishermen, not many trout guys if any. Report was - fishing is slow. Mostly stockers. Small fish. A few browns being caught by the srtiper fishermen.

At the boat ramp, spoke to a fly guy from Chat/TN who has property in the area. Fishing is slow. Not many big fish and not big numbers of catches.

Caught a handful of rainbows on nymphs. Small bugs #16 or #18. Copper Johns and Purple Prince. I did manage to haul one brown out of the trees with a streamer.

Overall - poor fishing compared to other years. Here are some pics.

This is why you need a motor on that water -slow water:



Noticed one guy fishing from the bank - Crocus Creek.



Low water and trees - below Crocus Creek



Once upon a time this island was very productive - Spearman Island



Oh yea. Don't let me forget this bad boy. This keeps you coming back. Hauled from a streamer in the trees. Fast water against the bank.




Nice color. I would rather catch one of these v.s. large numbers of small rainbows.

[waterwolf]

I had been wondering how it was, and the spotty reports I had heard was that it was pitiful. It is a shame, and this week we may get some really bad news on the future of this resource.

That is a nice brown, he looks very skinny though, especially for that river.

I am shocked at the numbers of trees at spearman, it used to be fairly clean. I can remember running full bore up through Crocus in the fog and weaving through the stump fields, white knuckle ride is an understatment.

Memories is all I have of what used to be a wonderful river. The last time I was there, the float along spearman and down through the flat below was epic. 18" fish after fish, after fish, was the norm. That day, there was a massive sulphur hatch and there were some tremendous fish which were pulling up out of the deep stretch below.

I will miss the cumberland, and too any who never fished it, it was quite the river for a very long time, and maybe the best in the country.

[txbrown]

I too, have found memories of the Cumby. I caught my largest regional rainbow to date on that stream below the dam. 24 inches.

What is the news regarding the river? Are they going to let it go due to the dam issues? That would be sad, indeed.

[pacofly13]

[QUOTE=waterwolf;84623]I had been wondering how it was, and the spotty reports I had heard was that it was pitiful. It is a shame, and this week we may get some really bad news on the future of this resource.




I read your post, and along w/ my limited time fishing there this year combined also w/ various guides reports... it brings me worry. Not sure if you meant earlier in your message if you knew the Core was going to release some more news or not? I know they had stopped work on a length of dam do to some cracks and some testing needed, but hadn't found out much other info(not that they are really good at releasing any info or anything).

I too can think back even if just for a couple years and remember great early caddis hatches, sulpher hatches during summer, and even some great fall BWO's at certain stretches! Sometimes near the end of the day your forearm would be soo sore you weren't sure if you could handle another fat 16inch brown. One could pull into Helms landing and see cars from TN,GA,ALA,NC, and so on.. not quite that earlier this summer at Helms. In a final thought i hope all is not lost.. but i guess i can only hope.

[waterwolf]

The Corps is supposed to make an announcement this week (I think) regarding the future of Wolf Creek Dam. Somewhat reliable sources have said there is a good chance they will be breaching the dam, in order to construct a new one. If that happens the trout fishery is over until the new dam is completed and the lake is filled. I would say 5-10 years, and honestly wished they had just done this when this whole project started. Hopefully everything works out, and life returns to a wondeful river.

[kentuckytroutbum]

According to lakecumberland.com website, the Corp has not resumed work on the critical section which is where the earthen portion joins the concrete portion on the dam. And they're calling it 35% complete, and will complete it in 2012! IMHO, I don't see how they can!

I wish I could say that I was an optimist about the current dam, but at this stage, I'd be surprised if they can save it! IMHO.

My wife & I have fished the tailwater for a number of years, and we've caught many a nice "bow and browns in the Cumberland. Had great times, and met a lot of nice fly flingers at Helm's. If they have to breach the dam, there is no telling when the Cumberland will be back to its former state.

Bill

[silvercreek]

Has a dam of this size ever been intentionally breached? As I understand it this is the largest impoundment east of the Mississippi. Silvercreek

[kentuckytroutbum]

Silvercreek-

To my knowledge, no dam, holding this many acre-feet of water has ever been intentionally breached. As an architect, I've followed the progress of the repairs very closely, and the problems they've encountered.

Not only was the dam leaking, the bigger problem is that the karst limestone bedrock supporting the dam was also leaking. The karst limestone in southern & western KY is honeycombed with cracks, fissures,sink holes, caverns, and caves which gives underground water a path to dissolve the limestone. If you've been through Mammoth Cave, you can see the erosive nature of underground water to limestone bedrock. The big danger, to me, is that the karst limestone would collapse, and the dam would implode on itself, causing untold damage & loss of life.

Please don't get me wrong, I am not trying to be a fear monger, I really do hope that the Corp can save the dam. But with them not working on the "critical" section, and the cracks that have become evident at the top of the concrete dam & roadway, I have my concerns.

Let's hope that the Corp gives us good news in a few weeks, that they can save the dam and importantly to us, the river as a trout fishery.

Bill

[waterwolf]

Originally Posted by silvercreek

Has a dam of this size ever been intentionally breached? As I understand it this is the largest impoundment east of the Mississippi. Silvercreek

Not that I know of, and before they breached it they would have to drain Lake Cumberland, which poses huge problems because of the local economy surrounding that reservoir.

I personally do not know what the answer is, and really do not know how they would breach the dam, and rebuild a new one that wouldn't have the same issues. IMO, this problem may never be solved, and the Cumberland may just hang on, as a marginal trout stream from now on. Similar to the Hiwassee, Elk, Duck, and a few other rivers scattered around the region.