Trout Lovers
When the tanker truck pulls up to a stream or lake with a load of fish to put in the water, chances are there’s an anxious angler nearby with a fishing pole ready.
Gerry Buynak, assistant director of fisheries for the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources, says trout are popular because they’re easy to catch. “Trout appeal to a variety of skill levels,” he says. “A beginner can go out there and catch one with a worm, just like the guy with the $500 fly rod and all the expensive fishing gear.”
Kentucky is expanding its trout fishing opportunities this year due to the popularity of this species. Cedar Creek Lake in Lincoln County is being stocked with trout for the first time this fall. Louisville-area anglers also have a chance to catch trout from publicly accessible lands around Floyds Fork Creek.
In nearby Meade County, the department is stocking 9,500 trout in Otter Creek, more than four times the number put in the creek in 2010. Stockings will occur monthly from March through October instead of the old schedule of twice a year.
More trout are going into Otter Creek due to its accessibility to the public. The final section flows through Otter Creek Outdoor Recreation Area, which is operated by Kentucky Fish and Wildlife. Miles of the creek also run through the Fort Knox military base, which is open to anglers with a base permit during nontraining days.
Floyds Fork Creek will offer superb access for anglers. The waterway flows through The Parklands of Floyds Fork, a $113 million project being developed by 21st Century Parks. (To read the July 2011 feature about this project, go to www.KentuckyLiving.com and search for “The Parklands.”) “This area will include about a 19-mile stretch of creek, with good access for the public,” says Dane Balsman, coordinator of the department’s Fishing in Neighborhoods program. “We think it has the potential to get a ton of use.”
Floyds Fork received rainbow trout in March and April. Another stocking will occur in October. Each stocking will consist of 600 rainbow trout put in the creek near William F. Miles Lakes, and 600 fish placed in the water near the Interstate 64 bridge.
Cedar Creek Lake in Lincoln County will receive 7,000 trout near the dam this fall. “This is a new fishing opportunity during the cooler months of the year at a lake that we’ve developed specifically as a fishing lake,” says fisheries research biologist Dave Dreves. “Trout are something that will bite when fishing for other species slows.”
One major population area of the state still remains without trout, however: Fayette County. Buynak says negotiations are under way to potentially add a 46-acre lake at Lexington’s Jacobson Park to the department’s trout stocking program.
INSIDER TIPS
Plan your next trip with the 2012 Kentucky Fishing Forecast and Tips. This free publication is available online at www.fw.ky.gov (search for “2012 fishing forecast” to locate the link) or by calling (800) 858-1549.
