Roll casting a dry fly beneath an overhang of tree limbs that push their leafy tips out to catch the light quickens an anglers heart. The melody of the burbling water sings as he waits for the dimple of a bright trout to take his offering. Such scenes and reminiscences might only belong to those that live within the easy reach of mountain brooks and rivers but more and more it is a feature of Kentuckys wealth of trout waters. Since 1983, biologists of the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources have inventoried and managed potential trout streams. Currently over 300 miles of trout fishing waters are available to Kentuckians in 70 different streams. Rating and averaging six characteristics essential for strong trout habitat and angling appeal, streams can earn a score of 1-excellent, 2 -good, 3 -fair, and 4 -poor. The essential elements include fish population structure, trout utilization, water quality, habitat, fishing access and aesthetics. The rating then yields a trout stream classification system based on management approach. Four classifications identify the goal and manage of the stream. Class I streams are exceptional trout streams that are rated excellent and are managed for wild trout fisheries. Class II streams are high-quality trout streams rated excellent or good. They are managed for put-grow-take trout fisheries or they have a carryover beyond one year, meaning that trout may survive more than a year, creating the possibility larger fish. Class III are general trout streams rated either excellent or good but managed only for put-and-take trout fisheries. Class IV are marginal trout streams rated fair but still can be managed successfully as a put-and-take trout fishery.Much of the Class 1, wild trout habitat streams are in the Eastern Mountain areas, primarily in the Daniel Boone National Forest. One of the largest Class II fisheries is within easy reach for Warren Countians Cumberland River. And it lakes from the dam to the Tennessee border. Nearly 75 miles of trout water hold both rainbow and brown trout with restocking on a regular schedule. The trout over-winter and grow from year to year with fish weighing into the double digits. Trammel Creek in Allen County has a rating of 1.8 making it fall in the good range. The trout management area runs about 4.5 miles, roughly centered on Concord Church bridge area. Trammel is stocked and managed as a put-grow and take stream for brown trout, while rainbow are put-and-take, meaning that most of the rainbow are expected to be taken during the year of their stocking. Keep in mind that there is a 12-inch statewide size limit on brown trout and a three-fish daily creel limit. Rainbow trout are keepable at the size that they are stocked. It is very necessary to be able to tell a brown from a rainbow. Nolin River Lake (Nolin River) in Edmonson County is managed as a Class III trout fishery with a rating of 2.4 (fair) and a range of about 1.5 miles below the Nolin Dam. Sulphur Spring Creek in Simpson County is a 2.6 rated stream with about 4 miles of fishery between mile demarcation 2.7 and 6.9. It is a rainbow put-and-take stream. For a complete listing of Kentucky trout waters, more information can be obtained from the KDFRW, 1 Game Farm Road, Frankfort.The fishing reports are starting to come in, but dont look for them to be red hot just yet. Steve MacAdams, guiding out of Paris Landing said theres a lot of current in through the dams as engineers pull the lakes back down to normal winter pool. Surface temperatures are still lingering in the 48 to 50 degree range, not quite warm enough to trigger a lot of action. On Kentucky and Barkley, crappie hit live minnows and jigs on main lake ledges at the 18 to 22 foot range. Scattered reports of fish beginning to move into bays, where crappie were taken in shallow brushpiles and stakebeds, gives a promise that that fishing will pick up soon. Strong winds and cool temperatures have pretty much halted action on black bass, through the smallmouth and Kentucky bass may be moving to the gravel banks off deep points. That is a good sign that fishing for these deeper spawners may be on its way. Barren River has given up some good crappie, though it has been tougher in the last week than the weeks before. The up and down temperatures, rains and high waters have kept anglers at bay enough to make it hard to determine the patterns of crappie and bass. Scattered catch of crappie at 12 to 18 feet on minnows dabbled over structure has yielded a few fish dinners.