"Counties to the north (Crittenden and Livingston) that border the Ohio River always seem to produce, and Christian and Trigg have a lot of good territory for deer where the habitat can support and produce some very good deer and antler development," Yancy said.

In that awesome 2003 season, Carlisle and Graves counties in the Purchase Region also yielded trophy bucks, but before we add them to the county map, let's see how they develop next season and watch their track record a little longer. There are many counties throughout Kentucky, not just in the Purchase Region, where trophies have come from. The ones we recommend have to be ongoing producers over several years.

NORTHEAST REGION
Not in this decade has Lewis County failed to put a trophy buck in the book, until last season. Fluke? Probably. Lewis County is on and at the top of about every kind of trophy buck list of Bluegrass State whitetails out there, not matter what year you check.

The expectation for 2005, despite a year's absence, remains very high for Lewis County, the best trophy producer in the Northeast Region for five years or more.

"It just escaped the hunters' eyes in 2004, I imagine," Yancy said. "This county has too good a track record, and nothing major in population, pressure or management approach has changed up there to alter the makeup of the herd or reduce hunter opportunity."

KENTUCKY'S TOP BUCKS TAKEN IN 2004
Non-Typicals
Rank	Hunter	County	Method	Score
1.	Chris Crawford	Henry	Found	270 5/8
2.	Roger Broyles	Livingston	Gun	252 4/8
3.	Bobby Edington	Grayson	Gun	215 2/8
4.	Dale Pancher	Barren	Gun	207 5/8
5.	Steve Goins	Owen	Gun	194 1/8
6.	Randall Bentley	Hart	Gun	191 4/8
7.	Mark L. Simmons	Ohio	Gun	1901/8
Typicals
1.	Mark Mulliniks	Butler	Gun	180 6/8
2.	Curtis Patton	Hardin	Gun	178 1/8
2.	Floyd Carpenter	Crittenden	Bow	178 1/8
3.	Fred M. Luttrell	Christian	Gun	175 7/8
4.	Michael Cooper	Casey	Gun	175 0/8
5.	Joey England	Grayson	Gun	173 0/8
6.	Mike Moseley	Ohio	Gun	172 7/8
7.	Tim Wallace	Pulaski	Gun	171 2/8
8.	Jay R. Lee	Christian	Gun	170 7/8
9.	Louis Officer	Estill	Mzldr.	169 7/8
10.	Christopher C. Parrott	Jefferson	Gun	168 3/8
11.	Tommy Scott	Grant	Gun	168 1/8
12.	Jason Massey	Edmonson	Gun	168 0/8
13.	James Bayer Jr.	Trigg	Gun	167 5/8
14.	Donnie Belcher	Casey	Gun	167 1/8
15.	John Clemmons	Breckinridge	Gun	167 0/8
16.	Jared L. Belt	Crittenden	Gun	166 6/8
17.	Michael Pendley	Muhlenberg	Gun	166 0/8
18.	Mike E. Thomas	Trigg	Mzldr.	165 4/8
18.	Philip Kidwell	Madison	Gun	165 4/8
19.	Dale Nash	Butler	Gun	164 2/8
20.	Denny Baxter	Grayson	Bow	164 2/8
21.	Glenn Helton Jr.	Harlan	Mzldr.	163 6/8
22.	Kelly N. Smith	Hopkins	Gun	163 1/8

You can safely say this, however. While a smattering of trophy-class bucks have come out of Northeast Region counties, when you get much past Lewis and a couple of others along the Ohio River corridor, the possibilities drop off, according to historical production. Bracken and Mason counties aren't bad, and Nicholas and Pike counties had 2003 trophy deer on the list, but finding many high-quality bucks is more of a challenge here than in any other region.

One great thing about Kentucky deer hunting, proven time and again, is that under the statewide herd management plan, quality bucks may be found just about everywhere. The general improvement in seeing better bucks on average is being experienced throughout the state. Ask hunters, and most will say they have seen more 8- and 10-pointers over the last few years. Most hunters are very happy about that.

"There's a very good chance that more cream-of-the-crop bucks will start showing up in the Northeast in spots besides Lewis County or on the river," Yancy said.

"All the other regions don't have extremely isolated areas producing big deer, and I wouldn't think the Northeast would be like that either.

"I believe those trophies are out there, and with deer hunting interest remaining strong, hunters having more and more information, equipment and ways to learn how to improve their skills, that we'll see more B&C-class animals taken in the Northeast as time goes on," the biologist said. "We'll just have to see what the future holds," he concluded.

THE FINAL WRAPUP
Remember the three keys to trophy buck production are age, genetics and quality habitat. Most any spot where all of these components occur can mean a trophy buck lives there. Don't assume that if you've never seen a trophy buck in your area that one doesn't exist there. The reason any buck gets big is because he avoids you and other hunters.

Look for the signs, rubs on big trees, areas where smaller bucks are consistently passed up, spots with high-quality food sources and places where other hunters won't make the effort to get to. These tips will improve your chances on a year-to-year basis of finding a buck of a lifetime.

In Kentucky, that scenario could exist just about anywhere.