One of my big goals this year was to fish new areas across Kentucky and basically throwing a dart at the map, I chose Rockcastle River this July weekend as the next stop.
Bee Rock Campground caught my eye in how it is situated on the river below The Narrows and looked to be a perfect spot for getting on the water. And it was, but better suited to kayaking as the river is wide, the banks steep and the depth a little much for wading.
The campground itself is a treasure. The campsites were extremely well kept and the camping pad, if tent camping, is secluded and up away from the road. You self-pay at a stand at the entrance. There are several elevated camps on the south side of the river, but if you cross the bridge, there is another section of the campground with nice views looking across the water and it’s own pay stand.
Decide which side is for you and pay on that side, but don’t do what I did and arrive in the middle of the night and take the first spot you see without even realizing there were more scenic options. I still had a great campsite and one of the best night’s sleep I’ve had in a while though. In the morning, I made breakfast on the Primus, had coffee and strapped on my hiking boots to tackle Bee Rock trail.
It’s a strenuous hike up to an impressive overlook that takes in the Rockcastle river and several bridges. The hike itself winds through some impressive geology and I was enjoying myself regardless of all the sweat. Massive vertical rock faces, tall trees and mossy overhangs are the norm all the way up to the top.
After stopping to photograph dozens of fungi, I finally made it to the cliffside landing. The horizon was lush and green as it’s been a very wet summer. As I looked out across the valley, I could see an American bald eagle winging its way downriver and couldn’t believe my luck. That marks my 4th bald eagle sighting this year. I flew the drone here for a bit and then headed back to the truck to finally do some fishing.
Before the hike, I chatted with a local in the parking lot who gave me a tip on where to possibly get into some 20” smallmouth, and now that I’d taken in the view, I was headed to a piece of water called Buck Creek that runs all through this area on his recommendation.
There’s no cell service at camp so after heading up out of the holler, I got on ONX and finally found some possible spots to access what turns out is actually a really cool karst creek. I found a bridge that had several pickup trucks parked in the roadside strip of gravel and a large sign stating this was a public access point. It’s a nice spot but full of swimmers and random people. The water was running fast and muddy on this day which was unfortunate but not surprising. I fished a while up and down the bank with no luck before heading back to the truck. I will definitely have to come back soon and fish other sections of this promising creek.