The conversation turned to trout fishing and where we might soon rendezvous for an upcoming trip. My first thought was the Cumberland River tailwater, but the recent generation schedule had been unfriendly to wading anglers and shore-bound fishermen, which we would be.
My friend Alan Clemons, a skilled and deeply experienced Alabama-based bass angler but a novice in the trout and fly world, had done some online angling research.
“How about Hatchery Creek? Isn’t it at the hatchery?” he asked.
“It is.”
“Ever fish it?
“A couple of times.”
“And?”
This was, as modern communications between distant friends now often are, a text exchange. While considering my response, my phone dinged.
“???”
“It’s an odd place,” I typed.
“Odd?”
“Yeah. It’s loaded with trout, though. Let’s meet there.”
Dates were agreed upon for a Tuesday and Wednesday in late March. I arrived on Monday afternoon with about an hour of daylight left and went straight to the creek, where I missed a fish on the second cast and later caught a feisty brook trout. The fast action wouldn’t last. Clemons arrived later.
The rain started around midnight, not heavy but steady, and continued until about 3 the next afternoon.
We waited, impatiently.
By the time we got to the parking lot and assembled tackle, the sky had cleared, and the wind had shifted from the northwest.
Clemons pulled on chest waders while I donned knee boots.
“You won’t really need those,” I said. “Everyone wears them, but no one wades. At least not more than ankle deep. Unless you want to cross the creek.”
Considering the desire to occasionally cross the narrow stream, I traded knee boots for hip waders, and we made the short walk to the water.
. . .
Hatchery Creek flows for slightly more than a mile (about 6,000 feet) across federal property below Wolf Creek Dam in Russell County. Its practical purpose is to return water from the Wolf Creek National Fish Hatchery to the Cumberland River. It’s a pretty place, with a natural look and feel, but it is unlike any trout stream I’ve ever fished because every inch of it is manmade. Each rock, boulder and piece of woody cover in the creek was placed to provide an optimal trout habitat; the gravel bed (more than 1,800 tons) was designed and placed to provide what biologists deemed would be prime trout-spawning cover.
The stream flow is a constant 25 to 35 feet per second. It flows clear and cold and is surprisingly deep in places. Every spot looks fishy.
For management purposes, the creek is divided into an upper and lower section. The upper section is directly below the hatchery and most easily accessed from the hatchery parking lot (handicapped parking is available next to the stream). This upper stretch is only about 400 feet long and is loaded with trout. Anglers can keep five per day. The park-like surroundings are clean, safe and kid friendly.
About a 3-foot drop separates upper Hatchery Creek from lower Hatchery Creek. The lower stream winds through a thick, bushy landscape for nearly a mile before dropping through a series of rock-lined pools to the Cumberland River. Fish move up from the Cumberland into the creek, which holds rainbows, browns, brook and cutthroat trout. The lower creek is managed as catch-and-release, artificial lures only.
Trails flank the creek, and it’s all public property, so access is not a problem. But Hatchery Creek is not an easy place to fish. This, too, is by design.
After years of planning, development and construction, the creek opened during the winter of 2015-16. The surrounding landscape was then raw, open and ugly, dotted with freshly planted saplings and a few standing trees. Timber that had been cut or pushed aside during the creek’s construction was left where it lay. The plan then, according to fishery officials, was for the property to be left and managed “wild and wooly.” It would be allowed to grow thick, bushy and thorny. Anglers’ use of the creek-side trails would keep some foliage at bay, but it would be allowed to grow unimpeded, and it has. It’s a year-round fishery, but stifling heat, an overgrowth of cover and an abundance of bugs—including critters that bite and sting—can sometimes make summer angling particularly challenging.
The trout, however, are there— strong, healthy and wary. A few reach the magical 20-inch mark. Thanks to creek designers, they have plenty of places to hide, including several undercut banks deemed “lunker bunkers” by creek builders. Stealth and a drag-free float are highly recommended. Fly fishermen who employ a strike indicator generally enjoy more hookups than those who don’t. If you’re not finding fish, lighten your tippet and reach for a number 20 or smaller midge. Red is a popular color, but it doesn’t always translate to success. Don’t hesitate to experiment.
My friend spotted several fish but enjoyed no hookups. This is not an uncommon experience for first-time visitors. His assessment of Hatchery Creek was also not uncommon for first time visitors:
“I’ll be back.”
Me, too.
. . .
Hatchery Creek is open year-round, sunrise until sunset. A fishing license and trout stamp are required for anglers aged 16 and older unless license exempt. Details at fw.ky.gov.
A Hatchery Creek live webcam (updated every 60 seconds) can be viewed at https://wcnfh.com/cam0.php.
Readers may contact Gary Garth at editor@kentuckymonthly.com