KDFWR - Northeast Region

Last week, staff from Kentucky Fish and Wildlife (KDFWR) partnered with the USACE and Back Country Hunters and Anglers (BHA) to deploy 70 Reef Balls in Buckhorn Lake!

Aging reservoirs such as this one have lost most of their natural fish habitat due to degradation. These concrete structures will provide a permanent addition and will allow for annual renewal of natural wood structure from the Christmas tree recycling program for years to come.

KDFWR utilized specialized habitat equipment (tele-skid machines and habitat barges) to transport and sink these structures at designated sites around the lake.

Each site will be marked by coordinates on the lake’s fish habitat map, which will be available on our webpage in the next couple of weeks!

🔗 Lakes with Fish Attractors: https://fw.ky.gov/Fish/Pages/fish_attractor_lakes.aspx

A special thanks to the assistance of the Southeast Fisheries District, the staff at the Fisheries Habitat section, as well as the Perry County Judge Exec’s office, who also supported the project through funding and provided a catered meal for all workers.

These partnerships were the shining star of the event, bringing funding and resources together to make lasting improvements to benefit the fishery at Buckhorn Lake.

(This is the result of a grant the Army Corps successfully applied for!)

Our team has been out in Martin County working on the fishing pier at Milo Lake - the wooden pier is getting an upgrade!

Here are a couple of photos from the progress so far.

Stay tuned to our pages for further updates and to be the first to know when the project is complete!

Smallmouth bass have been stocked into Cave Run Lake!

Approximately 67,093 smallmouth bass, roughly 2-inch in size, made the journey from Minor Clark Fish Hatchery, across the dam, and into Cave Run Lake.

Our staff worked to get the fish out and away from the boat ramps and into some flooded cover to give these guys the best chance they have to survive.

To address a couple of questions:

Why small?
→ 2-inch fish were stocked because it gets them out of the most vulnerable stage and into their homes as quickly as possible. For this species, stocking smaller works out the best.

Why not “my” lake?
→ Stocking is determined by local fisheries biologists, and lakes are chosen based on which lakes give them the best option for survival to a size most anglers prefer.

Thanks to our hatchery staff for raising these fish for our anglers to enjoy!