"There may be a little less competition for food and space, which means bigger-sized fish show up sooner.

"In our trout, we're seeing over half-inch growth rates each month of the growing season, which adds up quickly."

Lastly, Dreves believes that the Cumberland River receives less fishing pressure than other high-quality trout waters in the region. He says there are days when you can do a five-mile float trip and not come across another angler. And though 95 percent of the fishing in the river is for trout, it's not a free-for-all -- other than right below the dam, where bank- and wade-fishing can be a little hectic on weekends.

To fish in the better stretches for big browns and rainbows, you'll need to put yourself in a stretch of river about 30 miles long between Helm's Landing and Burkesville.

In years of normal water flow, most of this has deeper pools and is deep enough for boating. Last year, when the water level was down, Dreves noted that it opened up several places to wade-fishing that weren't usually available. And at times, boaters had to be very careful navigating upstream or downstream.

"About the best place to encounter trophy fish is in the Rainbow Run area, which is about 11 miles downstream from the dam," said Dreves. This is the area where biologists conduct a lot of fish collection studies, and they've seen excellent numbers of high-quality browns and rainbows.

The section from Rainbow Run down to Big Willis or Crocus Creek has deeper habitat that browns like, and a lot of browns are stocked in or close to this section.

"A good day-long float trip," said Dreves, "is to carry in at the Rock House, which is about 10 miles or so downstream, and float to Winfrey's Landing.

"It's five or six miles of water. But if you don't have a second vehicle, you can walk back on the road from Winfrey's to the Rock House, and it's only about a mile or so."

This trip takes you through the Rainbow Run section, which is one of the honeyholes on the river. It starts just after the deep Rock House hole and runs a half-mile or so after the pebble rock island. The Rock House is located off state Route 379, along the Cumberland and Russell county lines.

Said Dreves, "I continue to expect great things for trophy trout fishermen this spring, despite the strange year last summer, particularly in that first 35 miles of the river.