What's better, though, is that Ft. Knox stocks a couple of spots on the reservation with more trout of its own -- better than 15,000 more trout. For a $10 fishing permit, you can access the creek through Ft. Knox and find some excellent bank- and wade-fishing in April. It is best to check with Ft. Knox Hunt Control before you go to ensure you know the areas where the creek runs are open. Sometimes portions are closed down for training, and fishing isn't permitted. You have to check in first when you do access Ft. Knox, before heading to the creek.

There are nearly 10 miles of Otter Creek where the seasonal catch-and-release management is in effect. This means from October through March, it's catch-and-release only and only artificial lures can be used. But starting in April for several months, anglers can keep trout if they want to, and some of those should be really nice sized following the protection period, and considering the fish Ft. Knox supplies in an April release.

PETER CREEK
Another good, middle-of-the-road quality trout spot is Peter Creek in Barren County. Peter Creek is one of a handful of trout-fishing opportunities closer to the western third of Kentucky. Because the landscape gradient is different, less mountain-type terrain is found in western Kentucky; hence, fewer waterways hold cold water and less trout habitat is available. However, in some cases, enough cold water is present from spring-fed creeks to make it possible to stock trout at least a portion of the year.

Peter Creek's fishing area, close to Austin in southern Barren County, is located downstream from SR 249. It provides about eight miles of fishing water and is stocked six times, once a month from April through September, with rainbows. Combined, 3,600 fish are placed in this creek to give anglers in the southwest a chance to experience what stream trout fishing is like.

There are no special regulations on trout in Peter Creek, so it falls under the statewide creel limits. Live bait and artificials will take trout in the deeper pools and below riffles, and there is room for both regular casting and fly-fishing in some spots where trees aren't overhanging the creek.

ROCK CREEK
For stream fishing, one of the best opportunities in Kentucky lies in Rock Creek in McCreary County. While the majority of streams on the trout-stocking circuit get fish three to five months a year, Rock Creek's habitat and suitable water to fish is stocked March through December, except in July and August. That's eight months all together, and that comes to a total of 17,600 trout in a calendar year.

Besides Hatchery Creek, Rock Creek is the most stocked stream in the Commonwealth. For the nearly 10 miles from the Bell Farm bridge upstream to the Tennessee border, there is a delayed-harvest season from October through March and artificial lures only are allowed during the catch-and-release period. This Kentucky Wild River is within the Daniel Boone National Forest off SR 1363 out of Yamacraw in southwest McCreary County.