Photo by Lynn Burkhead

Kentucky trout anglers always find a lot of different fishing opportunities in the waterways of the Bluegrass State. After all, the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources (KDFWR) Fisheries Division has purposefully orchestrated the state's trout-fishing program that way.

Not everyone is satisfied with a fishing setting that essentially provides the harvesting of 8- to 9-inch rainbows right after they're stocked.

Some guys want more of a challenge, and want to tangle with a quarry a little heftier than the garden-variety size. These anglers like to get off the beaten path, away from those who prefer to fish right where the trout are released -- on the same day those trout are released.

To meet that type of fishing demand, almost 75 miles of streams in Kentucky have been placed under a special management approach that gives anglers a better chance to catch bigger rainbows and browns in smaller waterway environments. Remember, not all waters that support trout fisheries can handle both species. A smattering of the seasonal catch-and-release streams we'll highlight do get a bonus release of brown trout each year, but most are strictly rainbow waters.

Not as many browns are produced each year as rainbows. Browns need deeper water habitat, which not all streams that run cold enough to hold trout contain. The idea of seasonal catch-and-release streams is that for at least for half the year, October through March, you can catch trout, but have to turn them loose. During this period, only artificial lures can be used, to allow released fish a better survival rate.

Starting this month, April, harvest is permitted, and trout can be creeled through September if you want to keep some for the table. Regulations allow a creel limit of eight fish. Part of the daily take can include no more than three browns of at least 12 inches.

The delayed-harvest regulation gives a portion of the trout that elude capture during the primary fishing months a chance to increase in size. By the next harvest season, they are available to provide a higher-quality catch. Most of the streams on the list receive stockings during spring and summer, which means those fish are subject to harvest right after being put in. But several of these streams also get a shot of fish in October, after the harvest season closes. These fish remain completely protected for at least six months or so, on top of those that make it through from previous "harvest-allowed period" releases.

This approach helps provide a pretty good number of fish with chances to grow for a while, before winding up on the end of a line, or being lost to natural mortality factors, as in all other fisheries.