Cumberland River Fly Fishing Report - July 15 2026
Current River Conditions (Burkesville, Kentucky)
Lake elevation is holding at 708.9, feet above sea level. Last week’s weather was not terrible. There was one pretty heavy downpour that dirtied up the middle section down river for a day or so but due to the way they are running the generation schedule you could have fished the upper river that day. As a bonus, the longer three-generator releases are keeping the river fairly clean from Crocus Creek to the Wolf Creek Dam. The lower river should be fishable by this weekend if it is not already.
Water temperatures are staying steady with lows in the high 40’s and highs in the low 50’s in the middle section of the river. As stated above, there was one afternoon that Burkesville saw another isolated system that dumped about an inch of rain in the span of about two hours. And of course it was the day prior to a fly fishing day. The next day I took my trip up to the dam and the water clarity was absolutely superb. The USACE gave us a really nice four hour window of one generation. It was a lot of fun. That may honestly be one of my favorite flows on the Cumberland. It doesn’t matter where you get it but if you can get one generator for three or four hours or more it sure makes the river fish great.
Speaking of fly fishing. My Monday was spent with two great fellows. Mike and Jamie. Mike is one of those guys that fishes with me several times a year and has for a long time now. He is beyond awesome and his capabilities with a fly rod are just about boundless at this point. Jamie on the other hand, is an accomplished salt water angler and spends most of his time chasing fish that eat, well, other fish. We laughed after we released his first Trout on a fly rod for the day and he stated that he uses bait bigger than that. Jamie admitted he hadn’t fly fished in a really long time so it was a lot of fun watching he and Mike laugh and cut up as fish were missed and casts sometimes ended up looking like canned silly string landing on the water. That has always been one of the greatest things about fly fishing. It will teach you to not take things too seriously. Good at it, or not, the fun is being right where you are with the people you are wanting to spend time with. That is really what fly fishing trips are all about. Catching fish is always the goal but catching the most or the biggest is just a bonus.
Strategy: Catching Trout Three Ways
- What is the best way to catch a Trout on the Cumberland River Right Now?
- As a Fly Fishing Guide, I like to catch fish, but there is always the desire to show people there are several ways to do just that. I have touched on this in the past and some of the folks I fish only want to focus on what they are comfortable with. Most of the time this may mean they just want to feed some fish a nymph under an indicator. Of which is completely fine. The Cumberland River is a great fishery and it provides a lot of different types of water that gives rise to a lot of different methods of fly fishing.
- What is “nymph” fishing?
- I use the term “Nymph Fishing” to describe a method of using a fly rod with a strike indicator to present beaded and non beaded flies the resemble the nymphal stage of an aquatic insect. Sometimes its a big bug like a Pat’s Rubber Legs, other times it may be a midge larvae. Most of the time it is two nymphs of different types fished together separated by 18 – 24 inches of tippet material.
- Is “Hopper Dropper” fishing a good way to catch Trout on the Cumberland?
- When I meet folks for the first time I make sure to have six rods rigged up and ready to fly fish. One is always a Hopper Dropper Rod. This simply means there is a large, or sometimes smaller, Attractor Dry Fly such as a Chubby Chernobyl or an Amy’s Ant attached to the leader. I then attach a length of tippet to that fly and fish one nymph below it. I use a lot of jig style nymph patterns for this that can resemble anything from a mayfly to a Caddis or even a Midge. This way we are covering two different parts of the water column giving us more opportunities at the catching part.
- Is Streamer fishing The Cumberland River worth the effort?
- It takes a special person to just streamer fish all day and I am guilty of being that guy. Streamer fishing does not have to be that “Macho Bro” guy thing though. It just means you are using a single fly that looks like a baitfish or maybe a crayfish or a tadpole and imparting action on that fly with the way you retrieve it. Using strips of the line or twitches of the rod tip in hopes of attracting a Trout to eat is a really fun way to try to catch the quality Trout of the Cumberland River.
Top Fly Patterns this Week - Cumberland River
Dry Flies
Sulphur Breadline (Sizes 16–18)
Sulphur Parachute (Sizes 16–18)
- Chubby Chernobyl (Sizes 6-12)
- Amy’s Ant (Sizes 8-10)
Nymphs
Tungsten Bead Head Pheasant Tail (Sizes 16–18)
Tungsten Beaded Frenchies (Sizes 16–18)
- Pats Rubber Legs (Sizes 8-10)
Streamers
Woolly Bugger — Olive, Gold, Black (Sizes 4–6)
- Gallup’s Peanut Envy Olive, Black (Sizes 4-6)
Pro Tip: Life's short, let Fly Fishing make life Grand!
I have spent a lot of time on the water with a lot of spectacular people. I cannot say that enough. We have fished in blazing heat, rain, snow and I was even hailed on a couple of times. Those are the days when the fishing can be tough. Those are also the days that I think I have laughed harder at myself than at any other time. Not every day is going to be sixty degrees and sunny. Not every day is going to be a non stop catching fish catching day like we all hoped it would be. These are great times to try a new technique. Throw a streamer or fish a deep double nymph rig even though you are a dry fly purist. You just might learn a new technique or catch a fish you might not would have. Finally, the next time you are on the river, just stop for a second and look at where you are at. Watch the birds work the rising insects or the Raccoon walking the banks looking for lunch. Sometimes that really is the point of being there.
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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