Putting Your new Fishing Licence to use

Kentucky has many outdoor opportunities ranging from hiking at the gorge, to fishing at Kentucky Lake. Today Kentucky Lake is one of the most productive bass fishery in the United States. It has been a primary lake for the Bassmaster tournament for many years. Also the show "Ultimate Match Fishing" is shot on Kentucky Lake every year. But if you are like me Kentucky Lake is too far for a one day trip and cost allot to just get their. Kentucky has many lakes and streams running threw it, so their is no reason for you to drive to the other side of Kentucky just to fish. I'm going to recommend places to fish with in fifty miles of Lexington.

My first place to recommend is Elkhorn Creek. Elkhorn Creek is the watershed of Lexington. It flows into the Kentucky River just north of Frankfort and is unlike any creek in Kentucky. It is a swift moving creek with a flat rock bottom that can get range from one to fifteen feet. Their has been many articles written about Elkhorn Creek and all rate it in the top ten small mouth fisheries in the east. It also has good size large mouth bass in it as well. From Frankfort the creek breaks down into two arms North Elkhorn and South Elkhorn. North runs from Georgetown and has several dams on it for Georgetown to get their water from. Great Crossing is a good place to fish. Their are picnic area and a boat ramp and a trail that follows the creek. South Elkhorn runs south toward Nicholasville. This is where Lexington's waste treatment plant is but don't let that discharge you from fishing it. Their are not a lot of places for people to fish but if you ask permission you can fish some place that have never seen a artificially bait. This is my personal favorite part of the creek to fish. I start at I-64 and float down six miles to the Midway Road Bridge.

Next I would recommend Harrington Lake. Although you need a boat to fish it, you will not regret it. It lays in the Dix River basin and is the deepest lake in Kentucky. Only thirty minutes from Lexington Harrington Lake is close to home. The big thing about Harrington is the selection of fish to pursue. Large mouth bass are fished more than any other but Harrington has Hybrid Striped Bass, Flathead Catfish, Bluegill and Crappie. Their is a size limit on the Large mouth of 12in. and this encourages local fishing tournaments on Harrington. Hybrid Bass are stocked by Kentucky Fish and Wildlife and can be found in the lower region of Harrington. This fish can get up to 30 pounds and are stocked in the hundreds of thousands. Flatheads where originally in Harrington and have a great population. Bluegill and Crappie are great to fish for in the summer but gets tougher as winter comes due to the depth of the water.