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Dr. Ronald P. Rogers CHIROPRACTOR Support for your body's natural healing capabilities 270-384-5554 Click here for details 
  
Columbia Gas Dept. GAS LEAK or GAS SMELL Contact Numbers 24 hrs/ 365 days 270-384-2006 or 9-1-1 Call before you dig 
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Kentucky Afield Outdoors: Blue Water Trails - Floyd's Fork The Parklands at Floyd's Park is a Series of Five Parks and 27 miles of floating water. Click on headline for complete column and photo(s) Next earlier KY Afield Outdoors column: KY Afield Outdoors: Leave young wildlife alone this time of year. Posted May 9, 2014. (This article is the twenty-sixth in the periodic Blue Water Trails series highlighting the floating, fishing and tourism opportunities on Kentucky's streams and rivers). By Lee McClellan Associate Editor, KY Afield Outdoors FRANKFORT, KY - Back in the time when Elvis swept through the nation like a prairie fire and cars had fins, the Watterson Expressway in Louisville was a two-lane bypass and possessed sidewalks. Floyd's Fork Creek seemed way out in the country then, surrounded by pasture lands with a working distillery along its banks. The ensuing decades saw suburban development creep ever outward toward the creek. By the time the Gene Snyder Freeway completed its loop around Louisville in the late 1980s, Floyd's Fork wasn't out in the country anymore. Visionarie of 21st Century Parks wanted to save unique beauty of Floyd's Fork Creek The visionaries behind the 21st Century Parks wanted to save the unique beauty and character of Floyd's Fork Creek. They raised private funds to acquire property along its flow and protect it for future Kentuckians to enjoy. Their creation is the Parklands of Floyd's Fork, a series of five parks encompassing roughly 4,000 acres that will open 27 miles of floating water when construction ends in 2015. Paddlers can enjoy about 11 miles of water through three different floats through the section of Floyd's Fork now open to public use. Stream rises in Henry County and flows through Jefferson and Bullitt Counties Floyd's Fork rises in Henry County and flows for 62 miles through Jefferson and Bullitt counties over a rocky bottom with small rapids, flowing shoals and long, deep pools, providing made-to-order habitat for all three black bass species in Kentucky: the smallmouth, largemouth and spotted (Kentucky) bass. From U.S. 60 downstream to U.S. 150, there is a one-fish daily creel limit and 15-inch minimum size limit for largemouth and smallmouth bass on the stream. The best floating levels for fishing and recreation are 35 cubic feet per second (cfs) up to 500 cfs. Higher levels are for experienced paddlers only. The Parklands of Floyd's Fork website shows the current flow level in the upper right corner of its homepage at www.theparklands.org. The first two-mile float begins at North Beckley Paddling Access in Beckley Creek Park, off U.S. 60 in Eastwood, and ends at Creekside Paddling Access. This float is perfect for a weekday float after work in summer. Each of the paddling accesses in the Parklands of Floyd's Fork possess lockable structures where boaters can lock a bike or boat while they retrieve their vehicle, allowing paddlers to self shuttle. This stretch flows small and intimate and holds good numbers of smallmouth, spotted and rock bass along with some largemouth bass. After launching, Floyd's Fork makes a long, gentle bend to the right. Downed timber in this section holds largemouth and spotted bass. The creek then bends hard right and almost back on itself again as the Fork flows around The Oxbow. The boulder-strewn left-hand bank holds smallmouth bass. A green-pumpkin tube bait rigged on a 1/8-ounce leadhead is a great summer choice for these fish. Chugger-style topwater baits work well on summer evenings just before dusk. Stay in the main current and avoid the small channel on the left while floating this bend. At The Oxbow, rumbling of I-64 can be heard As the creek leaves The Oxbow, the rumbling of I-64 hits the ears of paddlers and the first of the new "leaping deer" designed bridges on Beckley Creek Parkway comes into view. This bridge and the North Beckley Access are the two stocking spots for rainbow trout on Floyd's Fork. The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources stocks a total of 3,600 rainbow trout in October, March and April. These fish provide fishing opportunity and table fare until early summer, but are under seasonal catch and release regulations from Oct. 1 through March 31. All trout caught must be immediately released and only artificial baits may be used during this time. After flowing under the I-64 bridge, Floyd's Fork braids into a series of water willow-lined chutes and gravel bars that require some dragging in summer. At the end of these chutes, the creek plunges into deeper holes that hold smallmouth bass. At the end of the bend, the next of the new bridges comes into view. The take-out is on the right (looking downstream) just past the Gheens Foundation Lodge. Look for stairs made of large tan-colored stones that lead to the parking area. Another float begins at Creekside Paddling Access The next float begins at Creekside Paddling Access and ends about 4 This story was posted on 2014-05-16 06:44:42
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