Daniel Boone was just trying to define an easier trail from Virginia across the rugged Appalachian Mountains in 1775 when he battled his way through thick brush, timber and boulders to what is now known as Kentucky.

Little did he know what was to become of the land the native Cherokee and Shawnee Indians called Kaintuck (dark and bloody hunting ground). Indians had been on the Kentucky land for many centuries, dating back to when giant Mastadons roamed the "great meadows of the land of tomorrow".

His efforts helped establish a trail, later called The Wilderness Road, through Cumberland Gap and allowed thousands of settlers to move into the Bluegrass State, and subsequently the midwest.

Dan'l was a reknown outdoorsman, hunting and fishing with the best of the early pioneers (there still exists today a tree near Cumberland Gap on which he carved the message "Dan'l Boone kilt a bear here"). While Boone did not discover the Cumberland Gap, he (along with some other woodsmen) did mark the trail (Boone's Trace) that led to hundreds of thousands of settlers being able to cross the rugged mountain peaks. The first white men to discover the gap were Gabriel Arthur in 1674 and Thomas Walker in 1750.

Today, Southern and Eastern Kentucky, formerly primarily noted for its plethora of country music stars (including Loretta Lynn of "Coal Miner's Daughter" fame) and Hatfields and McCoys aura, has learned to capitalize on the beauty of its outdoors, becoming a premier locale for hunting, fishing and golfing.

The area's numerous lakes _ sitting like watery opals surrounded by lushly forested hillsides _ give up tons of bass, crappie, stripers, catfish, walleye, muskie, etc., each year to visitors from all across America.

And the region has also capitalized on the golf craze in America, creating more than a dozen courses that intrigue thousands of duffers each year through their unique design.

Once ravaged by the impact of strip mining of coal, Southern and Southeast Kentucky has moved away from what was once its stereotyped hillbilly image. Today, modern roads connect pristine small cities and towns. Hundreds of hotels/motels and several beautifully-situated state park lodges provide accomodations for tourists. Hundreds of restaurants provide all types of food, including specialty regional dishes.

Those who like to throw out a fishing line will find the area waterways a finny mecca.

Only Alaska has more navigable miles of water than Kentucky.

Lake Cumberland alone is more than a mile long, with 1,225 miles of shoreline. The blue-green lake is especially known for its big striper bass (reaching lengths of more than 40 inches and weights exceeding 40 pounds), large and smallmouth bass, bluegill, walleye, crappie, catfish, etc. The lake depth exceeds 100 feet in many areas and the relatively mild climate allows year-around fishing. State statistics show the average striper caught at Lake Cumberland weighs 15 pounds and the average catch rate is six per day. The state stocks the lake with about 360,000 striper fingerlings each year.

One guide for one of the many fishing guide services available at Lake Cumberland described striper bass as having the swiftness of salmon, the strength of a tarpon and the collective feeding habits of a piranha (the fish average eating their weight each day, mostly feeding on shad).

Practically all the fishing guide services provide modern electronically-equipped boats, fishing gear and bait. All you have to do is reel in the lunkers. Some of the many marinas providing access to Lake Cumberland include Lee's Ford, Lake Cumberland State Resort Park at Somerset, Indian Hills Resort/Alligator II Marina near Russell Springs, Beaver Creek Resort near Monticello, Grider Hill Dock at Albany and many others. My Lake Cumberland guide, Walt Walters, led me to a spot where I landed a 41-inch striper, weighing about 31 pounds (and soon to adorn my den wall).

While Lake Cumberland is the big daddy of Kentucky lakes (it even has nesting bald eagles), many other Kentucky lakes and streams also provide wonderful fishing opportunities.

Laurel River Lake near London is the rainbow trout Xanadu of the Bluegrass, with about 40 per cent of the fish caught there being rainbow trout. Four to six pound rainbows are not uncommon (especially in cold months). The lake also gives up a lot of smallmouth bass. The Cumberland River, which flows about a hundred miles through the state, also is well-known for its rainbow population downstream from the lake's dam.

Among the many other larger Southern and Southeast Kentucky lakes which have proven popular with anglers include Dale Hollow Lake near Burkesville, Cave Run Lake near Morehead, Herrington Lake near Manchester, Barren River Lake near Glasgow, Green River Lake near Campbellsville (where in addition to big stripers and bass, you can even catch a big muskie out of the Emerald Isle Resort and Marina or Green River Marina if you're lucky), Paintsville Lake, Dewey Lake near Prestonsburg, Fishtrap Lake near Pikeville, Buckhorn Lake near Hazard-Hyden (where you can catch a muskie even if you're not lucky). And there are more than a dozen other smaller lakes and rivers in the region, all abundant with fish.

If you like your fishing and sleeping on a deluxe houseboat, the Waterways Adventures firm (800-844-8862) can fix you up on Lake Cumberland or you can find relatively luxurious houseboat accomodations at the Lake Burnside Marina, Beaver Creek, Conley Bottom, State Dock, Jamestown or Grider Hill. Various fishing lodges such as Timber Pointe and Lakepoint, are also available

Dozens of fishing guide services can be found at the various lakes, with some of the bigger ones including Nancy Guide Service at Lake Cumberland (606-871-9555), Bates Guide Service at Lake Cumberland (270-866-8703), Buckhorn Guide Service (606-436-6501), Rainbow Guide Service on the Cumberland River (270-864-2248), Eck's Guide Service on Dale Hollow Lake (931-243-2142) and Bill Jarboe, musky guide on Green River Lake (270-465-3788).

While fishing is booming in Southern and Southeast Kentucky, golf is starting to play a large role in the region's tourism.

Where coal dust and slag heaps once prevailed, lush fairways, beautiful ponds and immaculate greens now are common.

The region has seen its golf course numbers more than double over the past 10 years. Now, practically every other county has some kind of golf facility.

Two of the most unique and distinctive courses are the Stonecrest Golf Course near Prestonsburg and the Wasioto Winds Golf Course at Pine Mountain State Resort Park at Pineville.

Stonecrest is an amazing facility, built on the mountaintops where strip mining leveled hundreds of acres. Now, Stonecrest looks much like a Scottish Highlands links course, with few trees, lots of undulating fairways, many sand bunkers, incredible drop-offs and near-perfect (and speedy) often-tiered greens. Stonecrest has a beautiful clubhouse, great putting greens, driving range, etc. The views from the mountaintop fairways are oftentimes spectacular.

Wasioto Winds, surrounded by the beautiful Cumberland Mountains, is a relatively-new (three years old) immaculate layout with several distinctive holes, including some which necessitate testy shots over wide hollows.

Other regional courses well worth playing include the Crooked Creek Golf Club at London, Eagle's Nest Country Club at Somerset and the Woodson Bend Resort Golf Course at Bronston on Lake Cumberland.

Other notable area golf courses include the Paintsville Country Club (where you are twice required to hit lengthy shots across the Big Sandy River) and the Middlesboro Country Club (America's oldest most continuously-operated golf course).

The state parks in the region are all eye-pleasing, relaxing and provide very nice accommodations and good food at relatively low cost, in addition to various recreational possibilities. Cabins and cottages and golf packages are also available.

Pine Mountain State Park at Pineville, Jenny Wiley State Park at Prestonsburg and General Burnside State Park near London all provide golf and fishing. Jenny Wiley also has such entertainment venues as a Sky Lift (chairlift to the top of the mountain for scenic viewing) and summer professional theater.

On the Internet and phones:

Southern and Eastern Kentucky Tourism: www.tourseky.com (phone 877-TOUR-SEKY)
Paintsville: 800-542-5790
Prestonsburg: [email protected] (email). Phone: 606-886-1341.
Bell Co: www.bellcountyworks.com Phone: 800-988-1075
London-Laurel Co.: www.Laureltourism.com Phone: 800-348-0095
Somerset-Pulaski Co.: www.lakecumberlandtourism.com Phone: 800-642-6287
Jenny Wiley State Park: www.kystateparks.com. Phone: 606-886-2711
Pine Mountain State Park: www.kystateparks.com. Phone: 800-814-8002
Woodson Bend Resort: www.woodsonbendresort.com. Phone: 800-872-9825
Waterway Adventures Burnside Marina: www.burnsidemarina.com. Phone: 800-844-8862.
Paintsville Country Club: Phone: 606-789-4234.
Stonecrest Golf: Phone: 606-886-6777.
Wasioto Winds Golf: www.kystateparks.com. Phone: 800-814-8002.
Middlesboro Country Club: www.middlesborocountryclub.net. Phone 606-248-3831.
Crooked Creek Golf Club: www.crookedcreekgolfclub.net. Phone: 606-877-1993.
Eagle's Nest Country Club: Phone: 606-679-7754.
General Burnside Island State Park: www.kystateparks.com. Phone: 606-561-4104.

This story was published on 01 Aug 2002.