Hello and welcome to Kentucky Afield.

I'm your host, Chad Miles.

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

And this week's adventure has a little bit of something for everyone.

Whether you like the deer hunt, small game hunt, or like in our first segment, Chase stripers on the Cumberland River.

There you go.

That's what's on the menu today.

That█s it.

So we got Gizzard Shad right?

Gizzard Shad yup.

It's always easy to tell a Gizzard Shad, you got that dot you see that painted on so many artificial lures.

And we're just nose hooking them here.

With a circle hook is the number two you say?

2/O circle hook, Yeah.

Dawn, on the Cumberland River.

It doesn't get any prettier in this, does it?

No it don█t.

I'm down here with Alan Turner we're just dropping gizzard shad down trying to hook a big striper, aren't we?

Yes we are.

we're dropping some probably six eight inch gizzard shad on some, two ounce egg sinkers with circle hooks.

this is actually a pretty good time of year to try to target these is.

And I mean, earlier in the year, better than the summer Yeah.

Usually the fish kind of start moving out, around the last week of August.

It's a beautiful day.

The scenery don't get any better than this, that█s right.

Well.

Let's go.

Let's see what happens.

Uh oh!

Oh!

Wrote it up right on a fish.

That hurt.

Yeah.

I might have jumped the gun on him a little bit.

He█s grabbing at it right now.

Real, real.

Oh, he got off?

Dang it!

Put you another bait on.

That fish come off, and then I started reeling, Then it popped it again.

There█s a fish on.

Oh, reel.

Oh.

What the heck?

I don't know, this ain't jiving with me.

30 something feet.

Yeah.

There's the school of striper right there.

Yeah.

There at 22ft.

get up here and get pretty close to these rocks and just pitch to the side of them anywhere they might be hiding.

Literally, like, flipping and pitching for bass.

Yeah.

You got it.

There.

Let me get out of your way.

Let me grab the net here.

Oh, shoot.

There we go.

Bam!

Nice job.

You actually saw that fish hit didn█t you?

There, right there.

That was pretty good.

That was pretty awesome, actually.

You actually go.

Well, there's a fish after my bait right now.

Yeah, set the hook.

That was perfect.

Now, that was awesome.

Cool.

a fluorocarbon line is so good that I can't even see it.

So, started out this morning.

We had some down rods out fishing, some deeper water, and, we had a couple bites, but we never did get hooked up.

Allen said, I tell you what.

“ I think these fish might be shallow, but if we go up in there, we won't really use the down rods, we█ll just have to cast to them.” So, sure enough, about five minutes into into that, into trying this technique.

Started casting right to these fish.

Got hooked up really, really quickly.

let's get it back in the water.

There we go.

Oh, That fish took off flying with that.

I'm gonna move this.

You█re good.

Nice.

Very nice.

I'll tell you what.

When you told me we were going to be on the river today, and you expected that we would be using live bait on down rods, I was like, okay, it's going to be a fun day.

Yeah.

He told me, hey, we're going to transition over.

We're going to start catching these fish by holding a rod, flipping to them with a live scope.

I said, okay, this just went from a solid eight or 9 to 10.

Yeah, absolutely.

It's a lot of fun.

That's killer.

Tell you what.

And then the river up here.

You said you caught 30 pounders.

Yeah.

I can't imagine what that 30 pounder gonna feel like When we can get a even a 10 or 15 pounder.

This is about what, three?

Yeah, probably about a three or four pounder.

Three or four pounder.

Lot of fun.

Yeah, normally shad don't like to come out of the water.

No.

For no reason.

see your bait.

Here we go, bait.

Here come a fish up, Oh oh.

That was awesome.

You're like, there is fish down there below it.

And all of a sudden, you just is just, like, watching it on television.

So cool.

And that circle hook is doing it█s job.

Right on the nose.

Look at that.

So much fun.

bait, I casted my bait out that time.

It, it moved a few, a few times, and then all of a sudden, it started to sink down.

I could see some fish, and then my bait come all the way up out of the water.

And we knew there was a there was a fish in there after it.

Soon as it sunk back down, we sit there and watch that fish come up and just smoke it.

This is not how I've seen the day going, but I'm fine with it.

Oh.

Me too.

I think you're down below me, oh.

I'm coming up.

Is that mine?

Yeah.

You're right.

Yeah.

The water looks so calm, peaceful.

Nothing going on.

And then all of a sudden of violence of a big striper coming up.

Double, you hooked up?

Yeah.

Oh, There we go.

What do you think about this?

You good?

You need the net?

No.

I'm good.

What do you think about that?

Sit there and watch both of them get eaten at about the exact same time.

I think we created a feeding frenzy over here.

What a cool situation.

Where you're sitting there watching your bait slowly work your way down.

And the fish just shoot up.

Oh, it's awesome, it's awesome.

All right.

Your's is getting ready to get hit.

I'm getting out of the way.

You got it?

Yeah.

That is so cool.

It's like.

All right, I've got to get that rod out, because, I mean, I saw the fish coming up.

I didn█t expect him pull back that hard.

You need a net?

No.

I was not expecting that fish to pull that hard against me when I set the hook.

it was almost bad.

You know, I tell you what.

This was not the game plan today.

And say, what you want about a live scope.

It's not the way that I fish all the time.

But there's something about watching a big fish come up and just destroy your bait before you can even feel it.

And honestly, I think I'd rather do this way.

Yeah, There's nothing better than rod in hand when that fish hits.

Right.

Cumberland River, not only is it scenic and beautiful, it's a great place to go put a little bit of fish on the plate.

Absolutely.

Or, just do what we did today and just catch and release.

Absolutely.

Located in Meade County, adjacent to Fort Knox is Otter Creek Outdoor Recreation Area.

This area is nearly 2300 acres of steep to rolling terrain, with bluffs overlooking the Ohio River and Otter Creek, and it offers a variety of outdoor activities.

With a daily entry pass or an annual permit you can enjoy hunting, fishing, hiking, birdwatching, disc golf, and wildlife viewing.

Children under 12 are admitted for free.

A special activity daily pass or a special activity annual permit is required for high impact activities like horseback riding, mountain biking and practicing your aim at the archery, rifle and pistol shooting ranges.

Shooting multiple projectile shells is not permitted on the rifle tube range, and the club ranges are off limits unless you're part of an authorized event.

If you're planning to stay longer, consider primitive or RV camping at the Otter Creek Campground.

Deer hunting with archery and crossbow equipment is open under statewide regulations.

Muzzleloader and youth gun seasons are closed, while modern gun hunting is limited to quota hunts only, while small game and turkey hunting are allowed.

All activities on the property are halted during the quota hunts for deer.

Fishing enthusiasts will love the opportunities here.

With over two miles of access to the Ohio River and five miles of Otter Creek available for catching smallmouth bass and rainbow trout.

Be sure to check the trail and fishing status hotline for any closures or special events.

Whether you're hunting, fishing, or just enjoying nature.

Otter Creek Outdoor Recreation Area has something for everyone.

Remember that Otter Creek area users must abide by the Kentucky Hunting, trapping, and Fishing regulations.

Also, keep in mind the regulations on Otter Creek area differ from statewide regulations, so be sure to review the hunting guide or website for more information about Otter Creek ORA, or the latest regulations and restrictions that pertain to it.

Visit our website at fw.ky.gov, or or call 1-800-858-1549.

Are you one of those hunters that like to be one of the very first people in the woods with a gun?

Well, if so, you need to mark your calendar for October the 19th and 20th.

That's Kentucky's early muzzleloader weekend.

Well i█m out here for the afternoon hunt for the opening day of the early muzzleloader season.

We've been seeing a lot of deer.

Was able to move a stand and get set up down in a corner of this field where the deer have been using it a ton.

There's bedding areas on both sides.

Got in here this morning, got set up and ended up seeing quite a few deer, had many deer in range, but I didn't see that buck that I've been waiting for.

I did see a pretty good buck right in that area where I placed this stand.

But I was bow hunting and I was three or 400 yards away.

Now I'm right in the zone.

Today I hunted until 11:00 this morning and I had does in range literally when I got down out of the stand.

I didn't want to shoot a doe in this bedding area because the area where they're going in there, I don't want to go in there to get a doe out.

Now, if I get in there this afternoon and a doe comes out early and gives me a chance to get a shot out in the field, I'll probably take that shot and then go back and buck hunt until dark.

I know the bucks are in there, but a shot early in the hunt I don't think will mess with that too much.

You know, I did have a coyote come through this morning.

I thought about trying to get a shot at that coyote but I really didn't want the smell of that coyote right there laying by my stand the whole time.

So pretty cool seeing.

I've been seeing tons of wildlife out of this location.

It's a pretty easy walk in, but I got to go through a little bedding area to get there.

I got to slip through real quiet, get up in this field edge and literally with a muzzle loader.

I am about 180 yards to the property boundary.

It's a pretty big open area for a muzzleloader hunt.

It's absolutely perfect.

I haven't muzzleloader hunted last few seasons, I haven't been taking advantage of it.

And I'm excited to be out here today.

Well we're up here ready to start this hunt.

I tell you what, I'm about as confident in today's hunt as I have ever been.

Just because of how many times I've hunted the other end of this field, four hundred yards away.

I've never hunted down there without seeing deer right here.

So hopefully get one out here early, get a shot, take it doe and buck hunt the rest of the way out.

That would be ideal.

Oh deer right over here to the left, 40 yards.

Look like there█s four.

Here they come.

This doe in the front she looks to be probably the biggest one.

Okay here she comes she█s going to move to our left.

I was surprised to see that deer run off, but a big smoke cloud came up.

I really don't know what happened.

Hopefully we've got dinner on the ground, so now we can just hunt for some antlers.

I'll tell you what, this buck hunt is about over.

We got a few minutes of daylight left, and I got to unload this gun.

I can't hunt tomorrow.

If I get a chance to take this big doe here I'll probably take it.

If I█m going to process one, might as well process two.

Well, I tell you what, usually we eat about four or five deer a year.

This puts me in a good situation where I know from here on out I'm buck hunting and buck hunting only.

Hopefully get to use that buck tag, but this was a great opportunity to do that today.

Just didn█t show up.

I ran out of light.

Well found my two does.

They actually ran on the same trail within 20 yards of each other, so I pulled them together here.

My trophy buck never showed up.

We did see a couple of small bucks, nothing that I was that interested in.

And I was sitting there thinking, You know what?

I can't hunt tomorrow.

Muzzleloader season is only two days.

I thought, you know what this is a great opportunity for me to unload my muzzleloader, go ahead and fill the freezer, top it off.

And now I can focus the rest of the season on some antlers.

Kentucky's rabbit season is right around the corner.

And every year I try to plan a trip to Western Kentucky where I can chase both cottontails and swamp rabbits.

Well we're here in Graves County getting ready to do a rabbit hunt.

So I'm here with Paul.

Tell me a little about the dogs you brought today.

I got a big male tri-colored, his name█s smoke, and I got him as a pup.

And then I got a little tri-colored female.

Her name is Tess.

And then I got a blue tick male in here named Trump.

He's only ten months old, but he's doing really good this year.

How many days a week do you usually run these dogs?

If it's real hot two times a week, but mainly 2 to 4 times a week.

Every week.

It don't matter.

July or August, year around.

This part of the state a lot of times you can find both cottontails and swamp rabbits.

This piece of property we█re on, what do we expect to find here?

Mainly swamp rabbits.

Okay.

You got a buddy that came with you that also brought some dogs, right?

Yeah.

Let's go get those dogs out as well.

All right.

So, Troy, how many dogs you bring todoy?

I brought four today.

This is Echo.

This is Jeannie.

This is Festus.

And this is Leon.

Just a fast footed strong dog that's got all day hunt, you know.

I look forward to seeing how he's going to finish.

He's doing a really good job.

We've put in a lot of time to get him ready for a hunt like this.

I'm excited to get out here.

Hopefully these dogs get a rabbit up pretty quick.

All right.

Here we go.

They're all take it off to that one dog that just opened.

Oh, they just saw it run over there.

Let's get a move on.

Here he comes right to you Brian.

Shoot him.

Shoot him Cody.

Good shot.

And it looks like they may have one down.

Now, this is not a big swamper.

This is a smaller size swamp rabbit.

This could very easily be confused for a cottontail.

But this what we're going to be seeing a lot of today.

Hopefully some bigger ones.

You know what?

They get too much bigger.

Four of them turned into a load.

Well, nice job.

Nice shot.

I believe you could have shot that one off the porch.

Almost did.

Looks like there's a bunch scat on this log.

This is a sure sign that you got swamp rabbits, isn█t it?

This is a good sign that they're swamp rabbits.

Sometimes you catch a big hill rabbit, jump on a stump or something and do this.

But nine times out of a ten, this is what a swamp rabbit will do.

You know, he tries to get up out of the water and use the bathroom.

Another thing that you can look at, the rabbits will eat the bottom of the trees, the bark off the trees.

This is a good sign that this place has got a lot of swamp rabbits in it.

They're working it back.

They went almost 600 yards and they're working their way back.

Pretty big running swamper.

Here comes.

Coming straight to you.

There it goes.

There we go.

There we go.

Good job Tim.

Did you get it?

Bout time.

I was about ready to start yellin “the British are coming”.

That rabbit had a lot of heat right off the bat.

You know, he was getting sight chased hard.

Oh, yeah.

Golly what a rabbit.

Now there's a swamper.

Well, they're finishing the track up.

He killed the rabbit.

We like to let him finish the track.

Show them it█s dead, before we go on to another rabbit.

How far out are they Paul?

310.

310.

They're out of hearing distance but, they'll be bringing him back here in a little bit.

People who either don't use electronics or they really not paying attention to how far the dogs running, on a normal cottontail, and you call them hill rabbits, right?

Yeah.

About 200 is kind of normal wouldn█t you say?

200 on a cottontail.

Yeah.

If you get a hill rabbit that goes around 300, you really start thinking, you know, what's going on.

We█re at 375.

Swamp rabbits they got a lot of different advantages over a dog or a human.

The cypress trees, they're hollowed out at the bottom and they crawl up in there and you can't get them out.

Rather than go into a hole which might get full the water, they'll just go into a tree, just anything to get a dog or coyote or bobcat off of it.

Now they're coming back.

That's what I like most about it.

Whenever they pick him back up and they just start hammering.

That's the best part.

If you see it, shoot it.

There it goes.

There you go.

That's his first swamper.

That's your first one?

Yeah, first swamper.

Fantastic, man.

There it is.

There it goes.

Oh.

That one dog almost caught it.

Here he comes.

Here he comes Cody.

Here he comes.

We're going to let him run.

Y'all better be ready.

Here he comes.

Just got me a little cottontail rabbit.

Shot over him a little bit the first time.

Man, what a great race.

That dog ran that rabbit a long way didn█t it?

Yeah, probably a good three or 400 yards.

Yeah, for a cottontail that was a pretty good race.

But now, we've kind of come out of some real thick, swampy areas over here in more fields.

Over here we're going to get into more of these style rabbits.

Okay.

Hey, nice shot.

Thank you, man.

Hey, we got a lot of good looking area right here to hunt.

I think we're getting ready to get into it.

Find him, find him, find him.

That rabbit knows that this is field all the way around.

But this is a little peninsula that comes out.

So he's looking for a hole to get in there, and those dogs are trying to push it.

There it is.

Coming at you.

Too far away.

They had this rabbit in here and that rabbit came out, but he was out of range.

But I've been carrying this gun all day, and it was time to shoot.

There he goes, get him.

Oh.

There he rolls.

Hey there's two.

There's two.

So I think they just got that rabbit.

Someone yelled, “there's two”.

Good shot.

So I think they've got that second rabbit.

It looks like they just took it.

So that was great, man.

I tell you what, for the dogs to get in that log jam.

That's probably the safest place in this county.

They got down here in a very, very bottom and bumped that rabbit out, and lo and behold, jumped a second rabbit.

Looks like we got shot at both of them.

Man, that is some great dog work right there.

Well I'll tell you what, this was a great experience because we got to come down here today and hunt two completely different terrains that held different species of rabbits.

You guys are very passionate about your dog work, and today was a lot of fun watching these dogs run a lot of distance.

We had a great time.

Thank you, guys.

Thank you.

Appreciate it.

Check out this beautiful muskie that was caught at Cave Run Lake by Mike Talon.

Great fish.

15 year old Wyatt Perkins took this beautiful eight point buck in Mason County, Kentucky.

Wow, what a trophy.

Check out this beautiful buck that was taken by Cammie Cloyd in Harrison County.

This buck was taken with a crossbow.

Congratulations.

Christopher Smoot took this beautiful bull elk.

in Bell County said it took him over 14 years to get drawn.

Looks like it was well worth the wait.

I love this picture here.

Check out this retriever.

And she looks proud.

This is Sadie Mae with the limit of teal.

That was taken on the Ohio River in Lagrange, Kentucky.

Nice job.

Check out the smile on nine year old Jackson Hoskins face.

He got this nice hybrid fish in rough River Lake.

Congratulations.

To all the deer hunters out there that will be hitting the woods this weekend for youth season.

Good luck and stay safe.

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.

If you hold a Kentucky hunting or fishing license, then you have helped make possible Kentucky's wildlife management areas.

Places to hunt, fish, birdwatch, or just let your mind wander.

With nearly 100 dotting, the Commonwealth put wildlife management areas in your sights and see more of what makes Kentucky's outdoors outstanding.

Get all the info online at fw.ky.gov.