Elkhorn Creek Fishing Guides and Conditions, Kentucky

About the Elkhorn Creek

Elkhorn Creek is the best smallmouth stream in central Kentucky and one of the most pleasant half-day floats anywhere in the state. The North and South forks drain the horse farms around Lexington and Georgetown and join near Great Crossing, and from there the main stem cuts a limestone gorge northwest to the Kentucky River at Frankfort. It is small enough to feel intimate and big enough to float in a canoe or kayak nearly year-round.

Smallmouth are the point. The creek runs riffle to pool over limestone ledges, and the fish sit exactly where you would expect them, on the seams and in the shade of the rock. Rock bass fill in the pockets, there are largemouth in the slower pools and musky in the lower reaches near the Kentucky River. Wade fishing is excellent at low water and float fishing is better when it comes up a little, and a fly rod with poppers and Clousers covers most of the year.

The gauge near Frankfort reads the main stem below the forks. Roughly 80 to 400 cfs is comfortable float and wade water; low summer readings under fifty mean walking the boat through the riffles, while a number in the thousands after a Bluegrass thunderstorm means muddy, pushy water that clears in a couple of days. This is a flashy limestone creek, so check it the morning of the trip.

Frankfort and Georgetown bracket the run, with Lexington twenty minutes away. Access is limited to a handful of public points and a couple of liveries, so most trips run one of the standard segments, and respecting the private land between them is what keeps those accesses open.

Access

Great Crossing and the forks near Georgetown: the top of the main stem.
Peaks Mill: the standard mid-creek access point.
Knights Bridge and Jones Road: bridge accesses on the middle creek.
Elkhorn Campground: private launch and shuttle service.
Frankfort and the Kentucky River confluence: lower access near the gauge.
Public access is limited and most banks are private; launch and take out at established points.

Seasons

March through May: high, cool water and prespawn smallmouth in the deeper pools.
June through August: the core season, topwater mornings, wade fishing at low flows.
September and October: the best smallmouth weeks of the year, clear water and light traffic.
November through February: cold and often high; occasional musky trips on the lower creek.