NymphbeginnerSoutheast & Carolinas
Cumberland River Sowbug
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Regional source directory
Murray's Fly Shop
Matched on Southeast & Carolinas, nymph flies, trout. Appalachian trout and smallmouth source with long-running regional fly catalog depth.
Davidson River Outfitters
Matched on Southeast & Carolinas, nymph flies, trout. Southern Appalachian trout shop lead tied to the Davidson River and regional freestones.
Fulling Mill Flies
Matched on nymph flies, trout, nymph. Large pattern house with broad freshwater and saltwater fly categories.
Big Y Fly Co.
Matched on nymph flies, trout, nymph. Broad by-type catalog useful for common benchmark patterns and inexpensive backups.
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Kentucky is bourbon country, and the same limestone that filters whiskey also produces the alkaline spring creeks and tailwaters that grow trout to impressive proportions. The Cumberland River below Wolf Creek Dam is one of the finest tailwater fisheries in the Southeast, and the sowbugs that carpet its rocky substrate are the daily bread of every brown and rainbow trout in residence. This flat-bodied pattern tumbles along the bottom with the aimless drift of something that has no idea it is about to be eaten, which is exactly the presentation these trout expect. Elkhorn Creek adds a freestone dimension -- wild trout water within an hour of Louisville that most Kentuckians do not know exists. The sowbugs there are smaller but equally important, and the trout eat them with the same quiet conviction.
Quick Facts
Where to Fish It
Cumberland River
KY · Tailwater
Elkhorn Creek
KY · Limestone Creek
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