Except in the Cumberland, most brown trout range from the size they are stocked to about 15 inches, with occasional trophies in the 18- to 20-inch range, Axon said. Brown trout over 15 inches are common on the Cumberland, and anglers sometimes land fish of double-digit weights. The Cumberland is managed as trophy brown trout waters, and only a single brown trout may be harvested in a day, with a minimum length of 20 inches.

Not surprisingly, Kentucky's state-record brown trout came from the Cumberland River. Thomas Malone caught the 21-pound giant in 2000. Most Cumberland River fishing veterans are certain that even bigger brown trout call the river home.

Brown trout are unlike other kinds of trout. They are known for being more cautious than their cousins and they favor slack areas, whether behind current breaks or in deep pools. Because adult fish become somewhat nocturnal, they feed far better on gray days than on sunny days, and serious brown trout fishermen -- like duck hunters -- favor miserably drizzly days.

Adult brown trout also convert to eating bigger meals overall as they reach larger sizes. While big browns do eat tiny insects, any fish of more than 13 inches is far more likely to eat a crawfish, a sculpin or a big hellgrammite.

Anglers who target brown trout need to keep the species' behavior in mind at all times. They need to watch for deep eddies, dark spots and tangles of timber, and fish those areas thoroughly. Often anglers need to risk losing flies or lures to even attempt putting offerings into the places where browns are most apt to be lurking.

Generally speaking, brown trout anglers also need to upsize their offerings from what they might throw for rainbows, although the size of the stream also makes a difference. For tailwaters, minnow-imitating plugs and baitfish-imitating streamer patterns are tough to beat. On smaller streams, Woolly Buggers often are very good choices.

Maybe the biggest adjustment an angler needs to make when he takes on the pursuit of brown trout is in his expectations. Browns can be tough customers, even when good fishermen fish good areas. Sometimes getting them to bite can be tough, especially if the day is bright.

That extra challenge, however, is a big part of what gives brown trout an extra intrigue for many veteran trout fishermen. And a large brown trout that has escaped harvest for two or three seasons is even more of a trophy. Let's look at some of the waters where Kentucky anglers can take on the challenge of brown trout fishing.

CUMBERLAND TAILWATER
The Cumberland River below Lake Cumberland constitutes a massive fishery, in terms of the amount of opportunity it provides to trout fishermen. The river is large, and trout waters extend 75 miles from the Wolf Creek Dam, which forms Lake Cumberland, to the Kentucky/Tennessee border. The KDFWR annually stocks the Cumberland with 60,000 brown trout, which is more than 10 times the combined number stocked into all of Kentucky's other brown trout rivers.

Six generators in Wolf Creek Dam and unpredictable generation schedules make the Cumberland a complicated river to fish. A huge range of possible river conditions affects both access and the way the river fishes. Along with the actual river level, anglers must consider whether the river is rising, falling or stable and how quickly.

While preferences vary by angler and by style of fishing, most brown trout fishermen like moderate flows -- neither rock bottom nor raging. When too many generators are running or it is surging up and down too dramatically, fishing can become impractical, if not impossible.