Unseasonably warm weather in the 60’s and the itch to get out of the house led me to take a quick overnight trip to McKee, Kentucky. I stayed at Turkey Foot Campground.

It’s a free campground with no fees or reservations so I was glad to be meeting friends this night who had already nabbed a spot. There was plenty of room for three trucks to camp. The site had a sturdy fire pit, picnic table and gravel pad featuring cut stone edging and was one of the nicest public spots I’ve camped. There’s even a pit toilet.

War Fork Creek is just down the hill and the sound of running water can be heard all night. There is a loop trail at the campground and there are other creeks and trails in the area. The Sheltowee Trace runs right through this part of Kentucky and sections of the DBBB are nearby.

I saw online that they stock trout here but it was too late in the year for me to have any chance at catching something. Most of the creek was dry and hadn’t seen water for a while. I’ll definitely keep an eye on the stocking reports for this area and come back to try my luck again when the season is right.

Call me crazy but winter is for camping! No bugs, no humidity. It’s the best season for outdoors for a lot of other reasons too. For one, it’s small game season and nearing the end of rifle season so the woods are pretty much all yours if you like to hunt squirrel and rabbit.

There are still competitors in these woods though. I found evidence of bobcat and black bear right outside camp and all throughout where I hunted in the area. Squirrels that have to avoid predators like bobcats are wily and harder to find just crunching along through the leaves oblivious to you drawing a bead on them.

Doing my best to be quiet in the 4” deep dry leaves I used a ridgeline to move to an area behind where I knew squirrel were ranging around a large half-toppled hickory tree. Sure enough I found two and chose the one nearer and moving on the ground in front of me. I had him square in the hairs several times but I’m too new to this rifle to even get close (evidently) as I missed every shot of 6. The squirrel scolded and mocked me from the hickory in full view as I slunk away in shame to grab my .410.

Upon my return the squirrel and his buddy were nowhere to be seen but I could still hear them scolding me from far above. I explored the area a little more and saw a deep cut in the ridge under where we were camped. Deep in this cut turned out to be a nice rock overhang going a decent ways back into the rock. There was a small pool there where fresh bobcat and black bear tracks were clear in the mud.

I learned a few things and was reminded of a few others as I tried to cook and sleep outdoors in this cold. Some fuel types aren’t up to the task and I’m moving to a propane cooking platform using the larger tanks. The tanks are versatile and long-lasting and can handle the cold. Sleeping in the truck bed was comfortable if not the most comfortable sleep I’ve had so I’m also moving to a truck-based sleeping system using the EcoFlow battery and Ignik electric blanket and Stoic mattress. A Rumpl comforter and Rumpl pillow fill in the gaps and make for a perfect night’s sleep. I’ll still bring the 11’ hammock and underquilt but I’m done setting up a tent.

In anticipation of an upcoming trip to Big South Fork, I picked up a Winchester Wildcat on sale and took it to the local tube range at Curtis Lloyd Gates WMA for a crash course in zeroing a scope and range etiquette.

It wasn’t busy when I arrived so I was able to acclimate to the range, being my first time using it. Another user was there and he kind of walked me through the process. Once the range filled up and there were more and varied rifles being fired, everyone on the line had to be thinking and doing the same thing to make it safe. Was definitely a good time meeting and conversing with hunters and marksman and soaking up their knowledge.

The Wildcat has a 10-round spiral cartridge. I’m using Winchester 40 grain as they had a big box of those on sale as well. The BSA scope has a 40 grain specific declination dial. I need to go back and do a proper zeroing at 100 yards but currently have the scope sighted to 30 yards. Once I’d gotten the hang of adjusting the scope, daylight was fading and there just wasn’t time to get it done properly. (This wound up sabotaging me during the hunt.)

Part of the issue was that I was using little sandbags to hold the rifle as I tried to set the scope and it just wasn’t a good setup for someone my size on a rifle so small. I recently picked up a better Caldwell Steady Rest NXT system and want to get back to the range and get this rifle humming where I need it to be. There’s still some season left!

At the request of a local race organizer, I stopped by this out-of-the-way WMA to retrieve a few orienteering CP’s left from a recent race. I’d known the East Fork Wildlife Area existed but had never ventured to this part of the park.

The parking area is just below a house that sits right on the park boundary. Entering the WMA is done through a hole in the hedge at the swinging gate. It’s all downhill from there to scenic Poplar Creek. The brush is thick on the hillside down but across the creek, there is a steep incline that yields to a more gradual incline that is relatively open. A great place to hunt.

The creeks in this area are gorgeous with long sections of smooth stone and many cascades. I plan to head back soon and walk the length of it to where it feeds into the lake. It’s huntable the whole way and would a be a fun walk with the rifle. I doubt I’ll do that though, as non-resident small game fees are almost $200. A fishing license is almost $80!

Perfect weather this year for the Dayton Ohio Toyota Off-Road Enthusiast’s annual Fall ride. I barely made it in time but I did make it. Was lucky enough to be in an excellent group of Tacomas, FJ’s, Landcruisers and 4Runners. Toward the middle of the ride, after lunch, we broke into two groups. One group doing Light/Medium route and the other group that I chose to go with doing Old Fincastle.

Fincastle is a rough road with many large, loose rocks and a couple VERY large buried rocks that must be navigated. My truck did okay. Had some issues that I wasn’t sure why were happening. Engine stalling, locker wouldn’t engage. Turns out, I destroyed my driver-side CV axle and had no idea. Drove all the way home doing 90 and drove all week with no clue that differential fluid was pouring from my front differential. Strong smell and white smoke when the fluid made contact with my exhaust were my only clues. The thing drove fine with no vibration and no noise. Truck’s currently in the shop having extensive surgery and I anxiously await its return.

All in all, well worth the pain and headache but wish it could have been avoided. Considering I’ve been wheeling that truck since it had temporary tags on it, this isn’t too bad as it is my first “real” repair. Don’t know if I’ll go out riding for “fun” anymore but I will definitely still take the truck places others wouldn’t because trout love remote, beautiful places and so do I.

I even won one of the raffles this year. I never win anything and this was a huge shock for me. The prizes were incredible and included several pieces of gear that I’ve been wanting to pick up. Forever grateful to DOTORE and its leadership. Their rides are incredible and everyone I’ve met is a humble, knowledgeable person that loves to help.

This year was surprisingly different in the number of new species I started catching. Last year was consistently smallmouth and that is what I am specifically targeting when I fish. This year was no different for technique and intent, but the variety of fish species somehow increased. Bluegill, Long-eared, Pumpkin Seeds, Green Sunfish all in quantity and some of decent size. I fished a lot of new water this year, pushing deeper into Southern Ohio with regular visits to Halls Creek and Caesar Creek. I also saw an increase in largemouth and sauger hookups. I rarely catch either but caught them all summer this year. Spring flooding dispersed the smallmouth brood, in my opinion and left room for other species to build up. I plan to catch a few trout before year’s end but easy summer bass are gone at this point. I’m hoping for a banner year next year for smallies but we’ll have to wait and see. All in all, 43 fish this year, and something like 50 last year, so right on for numbers, just a jump in variety of species. Fine by me.

Once again, I packed up the truck and did the 8th annual Kentucky Toyota Trail Ride. The ride left early morning and conditions were wet and muddy with fresh storms pushing through and humidity in the triple digits. We knew we’d be getting messy. 100 miles and 7 hours later, I even managed to squeeze in some creek time before passing out in front of the Ecoflow-powered box fan.

First Half Map

Second Half Map

Green River has been on my list of places to travel to and fish and when an invitation came to camp on private land and float the river with a group, I was quick to say yes. Sadly, conditions were flooded so we opted to hit Russell Creek, another famous bass stream here in Kentucky. The creek was running more like a river and the water was cloudy as creamed coffee. I still managed to pull a few fish out while enduring the sweltering solstice sun.

This was also the first real use of my complete camp kitchen. Bacon, burgers, steak. Nothing was off the menu and having ready access to a cooking surface was very convenient. Truck camping at its best.

I had new lures and big hopes for this trip and one of the better producers was an orange and black crawfish. I used a mushroom head Ned jig and the floating craw stood up straight in the water just like you want. A largemouth and a spotted bass were pulled from the same hole under a log where a feeder creek fed into the Russell. I think these fish were starving in this muddy water for months to hit as hard and as often as they did. Each cast was peppered with soft strikes as the lure sank until finally catching the hook edge and winning a free tour of my net.

The spider pictured is a ‘dark fisherman’ spider.He was on the back of a bobcat pelt hanging on the bunkhouse wall. The bobcat was shot on the same property where we camped. They grow them big down here in the jungles of Kentucky. The cats AND the spiders.

Hiking and fishing the Red River up from the Menifee County bridge is something I’ve been wanting to do for a few years. Late May was maybe a bit early as the water was still very cold and running high. No fish in the net but I did hook a beautiful golden smallmouth of decent size. I caught a glimpse just as he came to the surface to spit my hook at me.

Stopping at a spot I’ve overnighted at before, I hung the hammock and contemplated the overhead foliage before taking a long nap. Waking to raindrops, I decided not to overnight, but instead head back home and not spend the weekend hunkered under a tarp.

Fishing this section of river and overnighting is still on my list, but it’ll have to wait until later this year. This has been the wettest Spring I can remember. The river was running clear but was up and faster than ideal.

The spillway under the dam is always a good bet for hooking up on fish. Anything is possible here as a variety of species hide out in this section of deep water constantly releasing from Lake Harsha.

After hiking down, across and back to the best spot, my first cast produced a white bass. It flashed white in the water under the hot sun as I reeled it in past several spotted gar who didn’t seem to enjoy the interruption. Quick to follow was a bluegill and then a young largemouth. I moved up shore as a group of kids came in to swim but still managed to pull out 4 sauger that were hiding in the shadow of a large tree.

Caught a bit of sunburn for the first time this year. Next trip, I’m brining the bucket hat and sun shirt. The season is finally heating up.

Spring is waning, the water is warming but the rain keeps coming. Catching a break in the weather and flooding, I headed down for a quick overnight fishing trip to the Red River Gorge. I camped on Indian Creek and then fished the shallow pools and found an amazing section containing multiple rainbows laid up in the current. Fishing for fish you can see and then catching the fish you didn’t see is such a blast. In some of the GoPro footage you can actually hear my heart thumping in my chest. What a perfect weekend. Not too hot, not too cold. No rain. Just sun and cool water. After playing with the trout for hours more than I had intended, I left road 9B and headed over to the Gladie Visitor Center. I know a few spots along the Red River there that have always delivered bass and I wasn’t let down on this visit. Smallmouth, Rock Bass and Bluegill were on the bite. Hoping for more and larger smallmouth on the next visit. I’m hoping to hike the Red River upstream this summer and see what I can get into. Next month, I’m headed to the Green River, so stay tuned.

A cancelled trip to Western North Carolina left me with a day off and a warm weekend with no place to fish. The trout we stocked last month have never left my mind so I headed down, once again, to the Red River Gorge.

2 days spent hopping from hollow to hollow to see what the watershed at the bottoms held was hard work but well worth the labor. Spring is in the air and the signs were all around me as I trudged up and down from ridgeline to runoff and back. Wildflowers and budding trees stretched toward the sun as warm winds whipped the bare canopy overhead.

I came to chase trout but Swift Camp, where we had dumped 500 fish a few weeks ago held nothing as far as I could tell. Not even chub or crawfish. I did see several spawning pairs of brook lamprey. A first for me and a bit creepy not having ever seen them before or even realizing they existed. Apparently filter-feeding scavengers and not parasitic, they are native and common.

Parched Corn is another stocked creek, one that holds brown trout, I’m told. Deep in the bottom of a hollow, the creek was overgrown and shallow if not scenic and secluded. I found a nice pool sheltered under a large rock that appeared empty and I stopped for lunch. Munching a PB&J and prepping my rod, I peered into the water through polarized lenses and saw no movement or signs of life until I tossed a small piece of bread onto the surface. The bottom of the pool instantly erupted with dozens of chub that savagely attacked the crumb until it was devoured. I smiled as I tied on a small egg fly and cast onto the surface to see a repeat performance. Only the largest of the little fish was able to swallow the fly and eventually I snagged what appeared to be the biggest chub in the waters. Fun enough, but I was looking for trout so I trudged back out to see what Chimney Top Creek held.

I moved downstream on Chimney Top after making the long, muddy descent to the valley floor. Small creek chub darted in every shallow pool as I worked any rocks or logs that might hold a waiting trout. No luck on that front, but I did draw out a monster chub from under a rock. My first time catching one of this size and coloration on a tenkara rod. Such a beautiful little fish. The video shows my catch and release. Catching it was the highlight of my trip.

The Red River was running decently and I worked the riffles for a while but never even got a nibble. I’ve not had much luck in the stretch of river along the road but it looks so perfect that I always stop to try. Maybe when it warms, I’ll snag a smallmouth. But today, it was just soul rinsing and no fish for the net. Enough for me on any day, though a fish would be nice.

After doing chores around the house on a beautiful Saturday, I headed down to Gunpowder Creek to test my waders. The parking lot had one spot left and I slid into it with no delay before suiting up and heading to the creek. Lots of dogwalkers but nobody else fishing that I could see. Pity, but more for me. I started at the honey hole and after an hour or so of teasing the riffles, I finally pulled out a nice little rainbow. I used the net and executed my least traumatic catch and release to date. I try my best but sometimes these little guys get more abuse than I mean to give them. Today though, this one swam away and was just a little late for whatever he’d been doing before I interrupted. Next weekend is the big North Carolina meetup and I think I’m ready. I learn a little more every time I go out and today I feel like I’m getting better at the hook set. Trout are nibblers and it’s sometimes hard to secure that connection. A lot of finesse and focus pays off.

I took the day off of work to drive down to the Daniel Boone National Forest to volunteer with Bluegrass Trout Unlimited and stock trout from Wolf Creek National Fish Hatchery. We shared stories and laughs waiting for the stock truck to arrive and I am grateful to have met such good people. Once the fish were netted and put into bags, we carried 500 trout in backpacks to release into Swift Camp Creek as freezing rain and high winds whipped through the area.

The group left for lunch at Miquel’s Pizza but I stayed to look for an arch that I had just learned was in the area. I’ve been fishing this creek for a few years but had no idea Castle Arch was just up the hillside across the creek. When I say up, I really mean UP. It’s been said this is the hardest .4 mile uphill hike in Clifty Wilderness and I tend to agree. With screenshot notes from Kentucky Hiker Project saved to my camera roll, I set off to find this hidden gem.

Crossing the stream wasn’t too hard in my waterproof boots and I found the first landmark which is a camp just across the water. Straight up the hill and through the rhododendron until I hit the rock face which I then skirted until finding the spot where some climbing is required. I wasn’t absolutely sure this was the correct point of ascent but after a few minutes of gut checking, I pressed on and was rewarded with a view of a truly impressive rock arch. The wind was incredible as it rushed through the arch so I crossed over to the other side of the ridge and continued up to the top where there is a small camp and an expansive view of the valley.

The weather continued to worsen so I didn’t stay long and made my way back to the truck thinking how lucky I am to have my health and the ability to still scramble through this rugged countryside. Once back to the truck I drove to a roadside pullout that has a waterfall and boiled up some lunch and coffee as the sleet and wind howled around me. Spring is surely coming soon and I can’t wait for the next adventure. If you have the desire and the ability to volunteer, please do. Public lands need the help and the organizations dedicated to protecting them can’t do it without our support.

Made it out this weekend for another trip down to the closed gravel roads in the Daniel Boone National Forest. My plan was to take the drone out to Chimney Top and get some footage of the rock structures in that area. Being that the road is closed, I figured I’d have the place to myself, and I did. One problem though, I forgot a critical piece of equipment that my drone needs to fly. I carted that backpack all the way down there for no reason. At least the skies were blue, the air was warm and the sun was shining. Also, I brought my tenkara rod and a small box of flies, so the day was not a total loss. I rode the bike back to the truck and made my way down to Swift Camp Creek. I’m volunteering next week to stock trout at that same trailhead, so I thought I’d scout upriver a little to see if there were any good deep pools with cover for the little guys. This same trail goes to Castle Arch Overlook, and along the way I saw amazing ice formations both on the trail and in the creek. There is a bend in the stream there that had massive columns of ice along the rock overhang but I wasn’t able to get back close enough for photos. There is almost no shoreline and the water had a fragile layer of ice on it that I in no way trusted. I will definitely be back in a pair of waders both for trout and then later for smallmouth. I had no idea the water looked so fishable in this area. I can only imagine that further upstream, it’s more of the same.

I saw snow in the forecast so I headed to East Fork for a wintery visit to the spillway. I did not expect to get so much snow so quickly and had to head out before really doing much at all. I’m glad they didn’t close the gate on the hill while I was there. The spillway was up, but not as much as I thought it would be with all the rain and melt we have going on right now. Kentucky has declared a flood emergency and many people have lost everything today. Keep them in your prayers and if you can help, please do.

Getting down to Indian Creek and looking for good spots to fish for trout has been on my list of things to do this winter. I fear I may have missed my window as spring rains and snow melt are already flushing the entire valley.

The service roads used to access this area are closed to motor vehicles for the season but foot and bike travel are welcome. I took the bike down and had a lot of fun cruising the gravel roads and bridges. I had the entire valley to myself. Though, on the hilltops, I was surprised and saddened to notice two new large homes overlooking the valley. Hard to pretend you’re in the backcountry when there are townhomes on the horizon. As grey and bleak as it was, the time I spent was memorable and I’m glad I got out. Maybe next time, I’ll even get to fish.

January has been bitter cold with a lot of snow making it hard to travel far from home so another trip to Gunpowder is my best option for close-to-home trout. I took the 13’ tenkara set up and remembered to bring the ‘good’ fly box this time.

After fishing the honey hole pretty hard for an hour, I started looking for a place to take the drone up. I didn’t wear waders today, so I moved downstream to find a place to cross in just my muck boots. The water was moving fast but was shallow enough to cross over and explore the middle area of the park. Spider ice on the side creeks was a sight to see. Also interesting was finding evidence of the hunt and stalk of a now-devoured robin. Possibly by a bobcat.

Much of the recent snow is now crystal clear melt water running fast through this area with chunky ice slabs laying in piles along the shoreline. In this lower wash the amount of slab ice is incredible to see as it is literal tonnage. The hard freeze turns this entire valley into a sheet of solid ice that breaks up and collects in the flood bottoms as the water recedes.

Not much evidence of spring out there though. Should see the beginning of shoots soon.

First trip of the year was every cold and totally winter. My line froze so fishing didn’t last long. My hands turned pink as the blistering cold wind blew in an unexpected squall and buried everything in a fresh new layer of white.