This week on Kentucky Afield We're fishing Wolf Creek Dam for whatever will bite.

But we're hoping to see one of the state's most ancient species.

Next, With the deadline for the elk drawing being April 30th, we thought we'd take a look back at one of our favorite hunts.

Then, we're kayak fishing for hybrids on lake Linville.

It's all next on Kentucky Afield.

Hello and welcome to Kentucky Afield.

I'm your host, Chad Miles.

Join us as we journey the commonwealth in search of outdoor adventure.

If you fish the Cumberland River or some of its tributaries, you have an opportunity to catch a lake sturgeon.

And if you do catch one, you need to know how to handle it safely and get it back in the water as quickly as possible.

I almost feel like we're waiting for the moose to say park closed.

Usually there are a lot of people fishing in this area, isn't there?

Well, the flows have been up a little bit today, so it'll pick up once the flows go down later.

Right now we've got two generators running, preferably if you can get one.

That's really, really good.

Two is fishable anything over that's really hard to fish.

And where do you get that information?

There's a couple of different ways you can get it from the TVA website or you can get it from the Army Corps of Engineers.

Okay.

Well, I'll tell you what, what we've got our pick.

I think that the closer we can get down there to where the wall starts going up, where we've got some eddies is probably best.

Absolutely.

That's where we get a lot of people catching sturgeon off of that wall.

This is new to me because I will tell you that we are going to put some nightcrawlers out on some bottom rigs.

And today I'm kind of targeting whatever will bite.

If I do catch a sturgeon today, I will say it will be the very first one I've ever caught on a rod and reel.

You know what, it█s pretty cool We've got some biologists with us here that work on the Sturgeon project.

If we do catch one, maybe you guys can kind of show us what we're looking at and how to handle one.

Let's give it a shot.

All right.

Here we go.

What have we got here?

Oh, my gosh.

Look at that trout.

Oh, what, how did you get that that fast?

Now, now I got to make my way down here with him.

That█s why I wore rubber boots right here.

Nice fish.

All right, let me get my hands wet before I, before I grab him.

Oh, we got us a trout.

Probably in the 4lb range.

Something like that you think?

Yeah.

Something like that?

Caught it on the swim bait right there on that wall.

He broke that hook.

Look at that.

I would like to have seen that fish a little more, but he was heavy enough and flopping around that, I didn't drop the bait, he literally snapped the barb of that hook right off.

Swim bait for the win.

I was going to put it right back in anyway.

But he kept a souvenir.

That's right.

Just the very end of my hook come right off there, broke him.

Let's see who's next.

Let's try it, try it again.

See who█s next.

Hey, rip that down through there and see if you can hook one up.

I will.

All right.

I'm going to go get another hook.

Fish on.

You changed up lures, put a little green on there, didn█t take you long.

I did.

I did.

Alright, that is not a trout.

That is not a trout.

Too bad we're not catfishing, we would have the ultimate bait now wouldn█t we?

I know, wouldn█t we.

This is a very oily kind of fish that really puts out great scent for catfish.

Skipjack, right?

Yeah.

But it's got this beautiful color.

That's a pretty good size one, too.

Like I said, if we were coming out here for bait, we would be high fiving, we would be ready.

This guy gets to go free today.

He got lucky.

He's not bait today.

Nice.

Nice and oily.

Well congrats!

Thank you.

Tell you what, there are a lot of special places to fish here in the state of Kentucky.

But this has to be one of the most iconic.

We're here at the Wolf Creek Dam.

So many opportunities.

It's a great place to trout fish.

You know, you've got big species of fish like stripers, potentially catfish, lake sturgeon, smallmouth bass, walleye, sauger, literally a little bit of everything.

But actually, I'm out here with a couple other fisheries biologists and the ichthyologist They've been on this river for years studying all kinds of fish.

And right now what they're really paying attention to is the sturgeon.

This is one of the first spots that we stocked sturgeon.

So we've got a couple of rod and reels out here, taking a chance on catching a sturgeon.

But you don't come down here and just watch a rod reel in the water.

It's hard to not bring a pole and make some cast while you're here.

We may have a bite.

Got a little bit of a bounce going there on that top rod.

See what we got going on here.

I don't know if we█ve got something on here or not, we█ve got somthing on here or not, but there█s only one way to find out.

It's a fish.

We█ve got a fish on.

No idea what this is.

Just a nightcrawler out on the bottom.

Literally could be about anything.

It's a pretty good size fish.

I can see it.

It's a sturgeon.

Are you serious?

We got a sturgeon.

Look at this.

Look at that, baby.

What are the chances we come fishing with a couple of.

Of our biologists who happen to work on the Sturgeon project.

Oh, yeah.

And we hook a sturgeon.

Let's walk him over into this little shallow area.

All right.

What's your best guess on age class on that fish?

We determine age class by a marking technique which involves removing two of these scoots.

On the lateral side, we alternate left to right.

And in this case, it looks like this has had scoots removed.

That means it is one of our hatchery reared fish.

And it looks like it might be.

There's one two.

It looks like scoots left side three and four, which means this is probably at least a four year old fish.

And without going back to our database and checking.

I couldn't be more precise than that.

Now there is no legal harvest or take of these fish at this point in time.

Anything caught on rod and reel must be released.

Released, yeah.

And we asked to try to get them back into the water as quickly as possible after being caught.

You've been working on this project for quite some time.

Now, do you guys want to be notified every single time one of these are caught at this point in time?

Yeah.

And there is a number to call in the boating and fishing guide.

That's myself, Matt Thomas or email.

Actually, we probably prefer email with an attached photo.

It's easy to take a couple of pics and email us the pictures and your location, the date of capture, and that really helps us with our monitoring efforts.

It helps us track not only, you know, survival but their movements, their growth.

I'll tell you what, this has always been a place that I really enjoy coming, and now that sturgeon are being caught up here.

And we have a good enough population of sturgeon with both Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife fish, and TWRA, Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency stocking fish, it's become more common to stumble upon catching one of these.

First one for me.

We were up here throwing swim baits catching other species of fish and lo and behold, look up, had a rod tip bouncing a little bit, had six ounces of weight on it.

So I just happened to have the the sturgeon biologist and ichthyologist with me.

They█re down there now taking all their measurements.

Obviously if I was not here with them, this fish would have been immediately pictured and released.

They're going through and doing a video right now about safe capture and release of these Sturgeon, because you literally want to get this fish, keep it in water as much as you can, get a little bit of data, really good pictures of both left and right side and get it out and get it released.

And I hope that's about what they're getting ready to do, is release this fish.

There he goes.

One of the reasons they're in decline and we're trying to restore them is because their habitat has been fragmented by dams.

Yeah, they're adapted to free flowing, long stretches of river.

The dams have basically interrupted their natural migratory behavior.

Right now, the department's official stance on this is we're not trying to discourage catching them.

We just want you to handle them properly and immediately release them, correct?

Right.

Yes.

Yes.

That's what we ask.

It takes lake sturgeon over 20 years to reach reproductive maturity.

And the goal of our restoration project is to have a self-sustaining population, meaning that they're going to reproduce in the wild, they're going to spawn in the river.

We're still not to that point where we're starting to document natural reproduction.

Until then, we just have to be good stewards.

Yes.

Yeah.

I hope you guys had a good time doing it today.

I got to learn a little bit.

We had a good time.

Hopefully people understand that is an opportunity to come back and catch these sturgeon.

Hopefully they learn a little bit about how to handle them and safely get these fish back out there so that we can enjoy them for many years to come.

Many generations to come.

And many generations.

Yes.

Thank you, guys.

Are you hoping that 2023 is going to be your year to elk hunt here in Kentucky?

Well, you have until April the 30th to go online and put in for the elk draw.

So Don, this our first morning here in Kentucky.

And you're elk hunting this year.

Did you ever think you'd be elk hunting here in Kentucky?

This still seems like a dream.

I mean, I mean, it's it's incredible.

I never thought I'd be here.

The time is here.

We're about a week and a half before the season.

We█re familiarizing ourselves with this particular piece of property.

I think we're in a spot where we're going to hear some bulls, and we've got to find and set up on a good location.

I'm really excited about this.

I'll be here before you know it.

I'm looking forward to it.

Right there above that bush.

It█s a 5x5.

He█s small.

Just a little on the small side.

You know, a decent bull.

Plenty of table fair, but it doesn't have the headgear we're looking for.

We'll get an opportunity at a bigger one.

Just got to get the right one.

Let's get some lunch, get rested up, and we'll be back at it.

Sounds good.

Alright.

That█s a big bull.

let's make a move.

All right this bull█s bedded down right up here.

So we█re going to sneak up here.

Be ready he could stand up at any time.

Okay.

There he is.

There he is.

Get setup.

Get on him, get on him.

Got him.

Okay.

Ready?

Yeah.

Good shot.

Good shot.

He█s down.

Get ready.

Another one, get another one in him.

He's down.

That's a good bull.

That was a great shot man.

That was a good bull.

Thank you Jesus.

This is the deal right here.

Hop in here, pick this thing up.

Let me take your rifle.

Look at this bull.

You smell him?

You smell that bull?

Yeah.

Look there.

I tell you what.

This bull is very symmetrical.

I mean, I'm telling you, there's going to be very few deductions, not that the scores matter.

No.

I could care less if it had droptines and a bunch of junk.

But this thing is very symmetrical.

Real chocolate.

Little bitty white tips on the top.

Check that out.

He█s been fighting some, you see these?

Those are scarred up some.

Yeah.

If I was as big as him, I believe I could handle myself pretty good too.

You█ve got a really, really, really nice bull here.

You ready for a new freezer?

I'm ready.

Don, I know that you, we thought this would end up this way with a big bull in our hands.

But now that it's happened, does it feel a little bit surreal?

It's finally hitting me.

I mean, probably as hard as I hit that bull when he fell.

But, yeah, this has been a dream of mine.

You got yourself a trophy bull here.

Let's go ahead and get get the truck and get it up here and try to get this thing loaded up for it gets dark.

Congratulations again.

I'm so happy for you.

This bull has got to go Tennessee.

It's going to Byrdstown.

It's going to Byrdstown.

Well, congratulations.

Thank you.

Alright, I got your rifle.

All right.

Appreciate it.

Matt█s going to be green with envy, or whatever color you get.

I don█t know what color it is.

That color huh?

Yeah, he's going to be that color.

Well, Don, I can't believe this elk hunt is over.

It happened so fast.

There's a bull out there.

We run up.

It's bedded in a waller.

We don't even see the animal.

We're going in for it.

It stands up, and we got literally seconds to put a shot on.

Yeah, and I'll tell you what, the more you stand and look at it, the more impressive this animal gets.

Yeah, it's incredible.

This has been a dream of mine.

And today it unfolded, and I want to be sure and thank you, Chad and Jamison.

You've been great to hunt with.

I wish we could do it again.

And maybe we can.

And maybe we can.

It's been it really has been a lot of fun.

Yeah, Well, safe travels.

And I want to thank the Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Foundation.

That█s how you won this tag.

Yes, definitely.

That's who put us together to make this happen.

So thanks again and safe travels.

Thank you.

You guys have safe travels to.

All right.

Appreciate it.

There are many different ways to access waterbodies that have hybrid striped bass.

But one of the most exciting ways to do it is from a kayak.

We're out here today in Rock Castle County.

What a beautiful morning to be fishing here on Linville Lake Oh, yeah.

Gorgeous morning.

You know, you fish out of a kayak quite a bit.

And I was told that you catch hybrid striped bass here on Linville Lake out of your kayak.

I absolutely I've had a troll for em.

I've caught some of chicken livers, but recently I've been trolling for out to kayak, and I've had phenomenal days.

Hybrid can get really big and Linville even though a it's Small Lake has a good population of hybrid striped bass that are stocked.

So, I mean, this kayak is really set up for this.

Now, you you actually have a drive system on yours.

A troll motor.

Yeah.

Our power source is a little different today.

Mine's Gatorade and Snickers bars.

Your's is a lithium battery with a Minni Kota and I might need some Bengay before the day.

is over.

Mine is easy way out but you know, there's this going to be a lot of fun.

So we're going to ease up this bank Let's go see if we can't locate a fish and maybe get hooked up.

All right.

Yes, sir.

All right.

We'll follow you.

All right.

Maybe way behind you.

We'll we'll see.

All right.

We'll see.

Here we go.

Fish on.

Does it feel like a pretty good fish?

I don't think it's a giant Sometimes you never know about these fish.

I'll tell you what though?

He's got that rod bent over it.

A small one.

So that fish probably, what, eight inches?

Yeah, something like that.

Next year, about this time, it could be 14 inches.

Oh, yeah.

But you know what?

When you're trolling these fish still hit so hard, it had your rod bent over.

Yeah, well, that's a good start.

Yep.

Good start.

That's promising.

That is promising.

Look at them.

All the marks No, I believe I got one I believe, Got a fish.

Think so is that a little bass.

Yeah, it looks like a spotted bass.

Sure does.

Not exactly what you're after, but.

Hey, no, nothing wrong with an accidental catch, especially with kayak fishing.

Right?

It's always a plus in kayak aint it?

Oh, absolutely.

Yeah.

Pretty fish.

There you go.

It;s supposed to be 80 degrees today.

Yeah.

Are those hybrids that may be hybrids hitting top in the jumps?

Yeah, sure.

Is.

We may have to go over and try to hit those.

That's where we turn.

We'll go that way.

Here we go.

I'll tell you what.

This is not a very big hybrid, but there's still a tussle in a kayak.

Oh, yeah.

That's the fun part about it.

Oh, yeah, that's good.

Look there what's that about 14 inches?

Looks like a 14 incher right there.

Yeah, it sure is.

Yeah.

Now, the crazy thing about these is that that fish right there could be a year and a half old.

That's how fast they grow.

Yeah.

It's just amazing.

And that's why they're put in here.

They're pretty voracious eaters.

Yeah.

They have fast growth rates.

They're fun as they can be the catch, and they're really good.

Really good.

You want take couple of these home?

Yeah, I got a bait bag right there with ice in it.

All right.

And on the front.

And you know what?

They're put in here to eat because they're really, really good.

They serve a purpose and help in reducing your shad population.

And they're really, really good.

And they're really great to eat.

Now, pretty much down in there, Awesome.

Now they're coming up out here.

Now, this is we came down here planning on trolling, but we didn't realize they were going to be in a jumps, coming up in the jumps like this.

That's right.

Well, that's good fish there.

This is what it's about right here.

That is right there.

If I don't put a smile on your face, you don't like the fish.

You don't like the fish.

That's right.

That's a good fish.

Yeah.

That's what it's all about.

Now, the next best thing.

Taking it home and eating it.

There you go.

Yeah.

That's the resource.

He's got one.

Oh, yeah.

There you go.

There you go.

We saw some jumps.

Came out here and quickly caught a couple.

Looks like they've gone back down.

You think we should troll out here where we last saw the fish or go back to the bank?

I'm seeing some activity kind of up there a little bit.

All right, we just kind of troll round out in this deeper water and see what we get up because they are still here.

They're just went down a little bit, and that's typical when the sun gets up higher typically happens.

But that doesn't mean the fish are gone.

They're here, and they're probably still feeding.

They're just down deeper.

They're down deeper.

Yeah, well, I'll tell you what.

You start a path and I'll jump in right behind you.

Ok.

Here we go.

Fish on Man, he hit that bait and actually missed it and then came back and hit it again.

This is a much smaller fish.

Not even sure it's a hybrid.

But he's aggressive.

There we go.

Nice beautiful fish, and man.

He just inhaled that bait.

Literally.

It's gone.

We're out here in the middle.

We were trolling the banks we were throwing eight ounce bait.

Now, right here, deeper into fish and a little bit deeper.

So I moved up to a quarter ounce head.

So I'm getting a little bit deeper trolling.

A hair slower in the first hundred yards.

Picked one up.

So perfect.

Well, Bob, that sun's up now.

Oh, boy.

But, I'll tell you what.

I can't think of a better way to spend a summer morning.

I mean, to get out here.

We even saw fish in the jumps I caught a couple of trolling.

Yeah.

What other bodies of water have you had this kayak and tried this approach to catch hybrids?

I went to Dix River and been down in there, caught some hybrids out of Dix River.

Okay.

Anywhere where there's hybrid at, I would like to go and try this, you know?

Yeah.

Any.

That's that information, you know, just knowing where they're at.

Yeah, I would like to try that technique, because it just.

It's so much fun.

I'm sure this would work really good at Guist Creek and Harrington.

Yep.

Rough River.

Barren River Lake, you know, there's a lot of locations where hybrids are stock right here in the state of Kentucky that I'm sure.

I mean, a minnow looks like a minnow.

And they're voracious eaters.

I'm sure they'd eat it.

Oh, yeah.

I'll tell you what.

That is a nice, nice rig.

Thank you very much.

I absolutely had a good time out here with you guys.

I mean, I got a 21 foot bass boat, but I'll tell you, you've got live well and cooler.

Yeah.

Patrol motor and batteries, lights, electronics.

So you got more stuff on this than I got on my bass boat.

your net.

All your tackle all my tackle.

Comfortable seat.

that you.

I'll tell you what no one said ever said.

Kayak fishing had to be uncomfortable, right?

You know what?

Work around, play with your gear, see what works for you.

Yeah.

And you can you can start out as little as you want and work your way up just keep it as simple as you want to.

Yeah.

This has been fun time.

Great meeting you.

And, hey, we'll have to do this again some time.

Absolutely.

Thank you all.

Now let's check in and see who else has been out having fun in this week's Ones That Didn't Get away.

Check out this father and daughter combo with their double turkeys.

This is Liz and Ken Lewis.

This was also Liz's first turkey ever.

Congratulations.

Check out Caitlin Rhys with her first turkey that she got during the youth season in Campbell County.

Nice job.

Here's a beautiful picture of a nice smallmouth bass that was caught in Skinny Creek.

This fish was caught on top water in April.

Nice job.

Keaton Northcutt tagged out in Harrison County with this nice bird.

Nice job.

Here we have Robert Mason-Dixon with a nice Taylorsville lake blue catfish.

This fish was caught on cut bait, and it was released to be caught again.

Devin Adams caught this nice largemouth bass.

This is his personal best, and it is a nice fish.

Congratulations.

Here we have six year old John Stephenson.

This is his first turkey, and it was harvested in Boone County, Kentucky.

Here we have Levi Curtsinger with a nice little crappie that he caught out of a farm pond in Nelson County.

Nice job.

Check out this beautiful, nice black crop he caught by Jace Webster.

This fish was caught in a farm pond.

Congratulations.

Check out this giant 8lb 7oz bass caught by Kent Wrightner.

This fish was caught on a homemade spinner bait.

Nice job.

Check out this nice hybrid bass that was caught at the Meldal dam by Christina Chism.

Great fish.

Hopefully this spring you've had a chance to get out and pursue turkeys.

But if not, you still have time.

The general season stays open until May the seventh.

And remember, hunting and fishing on private property is a privilege.

Always ask permission and thank the landowner.

Until next week I'm your host Chad Miles, and I hope to see you in the woods or on the water.