Cumberland River Fly Fishing Report - September 23 2026
The Hopper Bite is still awesome on the Cumberland River in Burkesville Kentucky
Big attractor dry flies are fishing great on the Cumberland River in Burkesville, Kentucky right now, with hoppers, beetles and other terrestrials driving the bite while streamers and deep nymphs stay productive. If you like watching big fish smash big dries, late summer and early fall is the time to fish the Cumberland with me. Tan Chubby Chernobyls and Amy’s Ants are still producing good numbers of sizeable brown and rainbow trout on a consistent basis. The Timothy grass is high, which is pushing all kinds of hoppers and beetles onto the water, and the occasional summer cicada has finally started hitting the surface. The fish are looking up, and believe me, they are hungry.
Cumberland River Right Now: September 23, 2026. Big attractor dry fly fishing is awesome, streamer and nymph fishing are still productive, and water conditions are good from Wolf Creek Dam to Burkesville, Kentucky, with lower flows expected over the next five to six days.
Current River Conditions (Burkesville, Kentucky)
- Lake Cumberland is at an elevation of 698.39 feet, down over a foot from last week.
- Water temperatures are fluctuating between 50 and 60 degrees F.
- Flows: Daily averages of 4,400 CFS are predicted through Friday, dropping slightly to an average of 3,100 CFS over the weekend.
- Dissolved oxygen is running between 4 and 11 parts per million during the week, and between 3 and 9 parts per million on Saturday, Sunday and Monday.
- The USACE is predicting lower flow rates over the next five to six days. Running a sluice gate or two is helping raise DO levels at the dam, which should help keep levels higher downstream as the water mixes.
Fly fishing is really good in Burkesville. Not to sound like a broken record, but we are still catching fish all three ways: big attractor dries, nymphs fished deep, and streamers. The bugs haven’t changed much. We’re still seeing some Sulphur adults late in the afternoon, but the real stars are beetles, hoppers and any other terrestrial that finds itself thirsty or swimming. There’s a push on to get the hay fields cut. I can’t explain why, but from Wolf Creek Dam to Burkesville it seems like every tractor is cutting and every baler is spitting out round bales as fast as it can. Boat traffic keeps thinning out. I’m seeing mostly guide boats during the week and a few more personal boats on the weekends, but overall it’s not terrible. I’m hopeful for fewer and fewer boats as the travel guides head back to their home rivers and the morning boat rides get a little chilly.
Current Fly Fishing Outlook
Today was the first day we’ve seen it cool down to the low 60’s in a while, and I’m excited about the change. I’m tired of feeling like bacon at the end of the day, though it won’t be long before we wish for 90 degree days again. For the next couple of weeks I expect more of the same: fish keying on big attractor dries and aggressively chasing streamers, with deep nymphing still producing. As the temps begin to reduce, I do expect to see a slow in Terrestrial eats. How long will this take I do not know. Based on last year, it was the second to third week of October. If we stay warm it may last longer. Until then, keep fishing the big three methods and you’ll keep catching fish.
Top Fly Patterns - Cumberland River
- Dry Flies
- Chubby Chernobyls Tan, Yellow, Black (Sizes 6-12)
- Amy’s Ant Olive, Black (Size 6)
- Sweetgrass Hopper Tan (Sizes 8-12)
- Fathead Beetle Black (Sizes 12, 14)
- Standard Sulphur Dry (Size 14, 16)
- Nymphs
- Tungsten Bead Head Pheasant Tail (Sizes 16–18)
- Tungsten Beaded Frenchies (Sizes 16–18)
- Pats Rubber Legs (Sizes 6-8)
- Streamers
- Woolly Bugger Olive, Gold, Black (Sizes 4–6)
- Drunk & Disorderly Tan, Black, Olive (Size 6)
Strategy
Target the Grass Lines near Hay Fields
- With the farmers cutting high Timothy grass and baling hay right now, terrestrial action is still your best bet early in the day. Focus your drifts tight to the grassy banks where hoppers and beetles are getting knocked or blown into the water. A Tan or Yellow Chubby Chernobyl fished right along the edges will draw explosive strikes.
Capitalize on Lower Flows & Structure
- The lower flow window over the next five to six days means the fish are holding in predictable water. Target gravel bar seams, tailouts, and any submerged timber or rock outcroppings. Because flows are stable and lower, trout will line up on these current seams to ambush passing nymphs and terrestrials without having to fight heavy water.
Strip Your Streamers Faster
- If the topwater action slows down midday when the sun gets high, switch to an olive or black Woolly Bugger or a Drunk & Disorderly on a light sinking line. Don’t just dead drift them, strip them fast. Try a cadence of short, fast strips punctuated by a sharp twitch to trigger reaction strikes from larger brown and rainbow trout holding deeper in structure.
On The Water This Week
This was another great week of fly fishing on the Cumberland River. The highlight was a 22″ brown caught by Paul, and yes, it was caught on a big attractor dry. It was one of the most explosive eats I’ve seen all season. There was no slow head rise, just an explosion, like a largemouth eating a mouse on a grass mat. That was the most fun I’ve had watching a fish eat in a long time. The Cumberland is providing quality fish again, and I’m already looking forward to next year’s terrestrial season.
Pro Tip
- Don’t skip the slow water. Big trout are moving in large back eddies and slower runs right now, so keep an eye out for dimples and rings everywhere and put a hopper over them before you move on.
The Cumberland River is a massive, world-class fishery, and because of its incredible reputation for trophy trout, prime hatch dates and peak weekends fill up months in advance. Whether you want to witness the explosive spring caddis hatch, cast grasshoppers against the summer banks, or hunt a personal-best Brown trout on heavy streamers, securing your dates early is essential.
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