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Post by Press Release on Nov 1, 2013 13:30:44 GMT -5
Kentucky Afield Outdoors: Lake Cumberland striped bass fishing improving Kentucky Department of Fish & Wildlife News Release
The striped bass in Lake Cumberland haven't had the best of times since repair work began on Wolf Creek Dam several years ago. The rehabilitation work caused the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to drop Lake Cumberland 40 feet to relieve pressure on the ailing dam. At normal water levels, striped bass had acres and acres of cool, oxygenated water to inhabit. The drawdown reduced that wide open pasture of water in which stripers could feed down to a small paddock. By late summer and early fall, the available cool, oxygenated water diminished greatly. This stressed the striped bass in the lake, leading to poor growth and the death of some large stripers. The major repair work concluded this past March and the dire situation is easing. "We had a wet year this year and that extra water in the lake really helped the striped bass," said John Williams, southeastern fisheries district biologist for the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. "They made it through the rough part of the year with much less stress. I think we are over the hump." Williams, who oversees the fisheries management of Lake Cumberland, said the body condition and growth rates of the striped bass improved greatly since last year. As a testament to the improved water quality, the fisheries division stocked 686,759 fingerling striped bass in 2013. "Things are looking up," he said. "The fishing has been good for keeper-sized fish up to 30 inchers." Lake Cumberland has a 22-inch minimum size limit with a two fish daily creel limit on striped bass. Anglers on Lake Cumberland caught stripers up to 15 pounds bottom fishing with live shad in 30 to 65 feet of water earlier this week. "They are schooled up tight," said Benjy Kinman, deputy commissioner of Kentucky Fish and Wildlife. "Most have been catching them downrigging doll flies with a 4- to 5-inch curly-tailed grubs for trailers or bottom fishing on steeper banks." Doll flies are an old school term for a hair jig with a ball-shaped head. The originals were dressed in polar bear hair, but now manufacturers use craft or deer hair. Kinman, who conducted striped bass research on the lake for many years, prefers white doll flies over all others. "I like a chartreuse grub for my trailer with a white doll fly," he said. "I also like a pearl trailer." Creek channels in the major creek arms in the lower lake such as Beaver, Otter and Indian creeks are good places to troll doll flies right now. Areas where the creek channel swings close to the bank or a point are the most productive spots. Water temperatures are in the high 60s right now, but when the longer, colder nights cool the water a few more degrees, the striped bass move shallower. Casting a 1/2-ounce doll fly or hair jig on points and channel banks produces strikes during this time. "I always throw a white doll fly, sometimes with a little red thread mixed in with it," Kinman said. "The most important thing is getting the lure in front of their nose." Just like earlier this weeek, bottom fishing live shad, alewives or large shiners on points and on channel banks is highly productive in fall and early winter for Lake Cumberland stripers. "I use a slip-sinker rig for my bottom fishing," said Ryan Oster, assistant director of fisheries for Kentucky Fish and Wildlife. "I use a lighter leader than most, usually 14- or 17-pound monofilament line. You want your bait off the bottom. Monofilament floats compared to fluorocarbon line and works better in this situation." Oster also said jump fishing, when striped bass herd schools of shad to the surface and rip through them, will improve with cooler water temperatures. "The water is still a little warm for those bigger stripers to pin the shad against the surface," he said. "There is some jump activity going on now, but it will get better." A chrome casting sthingy is a great choice to cast into the boils of feeding striped bass because you can cast them a long distance. White or chrome salthingyer-sized chugger topwater baits work for jump fishing as well. The striped bass fishery in Lake Cumberland is healing up. The high numbers of medium-sized fish portends excellent fishing in the coming years. "You'll catch a lot of fish right now and it is just going to get better," Williams said. Lake Cumberland will return to historic levels in the spring of 2014. Author Lee McClellan is an award-winning associate editor for Kentucky Afield magazine, the official publication of the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. He is a life-long hunter and angler, with a passion for smallmouth bass fishing.
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Post by Press Release on Nov 6, 2013 12:31:26 GMT -5
Salato Wildlife Center closes for the winter Nov. 27; will re-open March 1 Commonwealth News Center press release
Visitors have until 5 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 27, to visit the Salato Wildlife Education Center in Frankfort until the facility closes for the winter. The center will reopen March 1. The seasonal closure allows the staff to conduct needed maintenance and upgrade existing exhibits, assuring a quality experience for the center’s 75,000 yearly visitors. The center features a variety of native animals, including a black bear, an eagle, a bobcat, elk, deer, bison, snakes and fish. The center has numerous indoor exhibits and miles of hiking trails open to the public. The Salato Center is operated by the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. The center is located off U.S. 60, approximately 1 ½ miles west of the U.S. 127 intersection. Look for the bronze deer statue at the entrance of the main Kentucky Fish and Wildlife campus. Hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday. Salato is closed on Sunday, Monday and state holidays. Admission is $4 for adults and $2 for youth 5 to 18. Children under 5 are admitted free. The center also offers annual memberships for individuals and families.
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Post by Press Release on Nov 9, 2013 9:57:15 GMT -5
Deer season is here: It’s time to fish small lakes for largemouth bass Kentucky Department of Fish & Wildlife News Release
Many anglers think the first cool winds of early fall spur largemouth bass to move from their deep summer haunts and shove their noses practically on the bank. They fish too shallow too early and wind up frustrated. Those bright, glistening days of early fall that send people to the lake by the droves are actually some of the toughest days of the year to catch largemouth bass. Now, with nightfall coming just after work, is the best time of autumn to chase largemouth bass, especially on our smaller, state owned lakes. The first of November through early December is a highly productive and misunderstood time for largemouth bass fishing. “Right now, largemouth bass are following baitfish into the back ends of coves and against the bank and feeding heavily,” said Gerry Buynak, assistant director of fisheries for the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. “Female largemouth bass in fall already have about three percent of their body weight in eggs for the spawn next spring.” The lakes in Kentucky smaller than 1,000 acres are easier to manage angling-wise. They receive considerable fishing pressure during the warm months. November is a different story. The opening of modern gun deer season this coming weekend should leave these lakes devoid of anglers. You don’t need an expensive boat to fish these waters, either. They are perfect for johnboats, canoes, kayaks, personal pontoon boats and bank fishing. Workers with Kentucky Fish and Wildlife placed stake beds in 317-acre Guist Creek Lake in Shelby County this past summer. They dropped these beds along the channel in the Guist Creek arm, up lake of the Benson Pike Bridge (KY 1779). They should hold largemouth bass this fall. “We sampled the lake this past Tuesday,” said Jeff Crosby, central fisheries district biologist for Kentucky Fish and Wildlife. “We saw quite a few dandy largemouth bass, up to 6 pounds. The bass are spread out all over the lake.” Lincoln County’s Cedar Creek Lake, the only lake in the state with trophy largemouth bass regulations of a 1-fish daily creel limit and 20-inch minimum size limit, is extremely popular with bass anglers. Consequently, Cedar Creek receives a lot of fishing pressure on its 784 acres in the warmer months. In November, the lake is relatively abandoned. Try fishing ¼-ounce jigs in green pumpkin mixed with shades of brown and orange in the abundant woody cover near deep water on Cedar Creek. Burning lipless crankbaits or spinnerbaits across the flats near the submerged railway in the upper lake also works well in November. Population sampling conducted by biologists on Cedar Creek shows an increasing amount of fish longer than the 20-inch minimum size limit. Elmer Davis Lake spreads across 149 acres in Owen County and has excellent numbers of largemouth bass over 12 inches with increasing numbers over 15 inches. Pearl-colored jerkbaits fished slowly over the remaining weed beds produce largemouths in fall. The largemouth bass fishery is rapidly improving in 158-acre Beaver Lake after a rehabilitation project completed in 2011. Beaver Lake now holds many 12- to 18-inchers. Jerkbaits draw strikes there as well in November. Bullock Pen Lake in Grant County is just 134 acres, but has many 3- to 5-pound largemouth bass. Target the woody structure in the lake with black and chartreuse or brown and orange jigs. Although Lake Barkley and Kentucky Lake receive the lion’s share of attention concerning bass fishing in western Kentucky, 760-acre Lake Beshear in Caldwell and Christian counties may have the best largemouth bass population of the three. “Lake Beshear is hot right now,” Buynak said. “It has lots of big bass with many from 12 to 18 inches and longer.” Fish 3/16-ounce peanut butter and jelly colored jigs on rocky points in the lower lake for Lake Beshear largemouths in fall. Two lakes with the name of Mill Creek offer productive largemouth bass fishing in fall. One is located in southern Kentucky’s Monroe County and holds an expanding population of 18-inch and longer largemouth bass in its 109 acres. The other is 41 acres in Powell and Wolfe counties surrounded by Natural Bridge State Resort Park. This clear lake holds excellent numbers of fat largemouth bass longer than 20-inches. Target the flooded timber in the upper lake with 4-inch black finesse worms rigged on 1/8-ounce heads fished on 6-pound fluorocarbon line. November is a productive month on clear mountain lakes such as Mill Creek. Deer season is here. It’s time to fish small lakes for largemouth bass.
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Post by Press Release on Nov 10, 2013 16:33:22 GMT -5
Kentucky Afield Outdoors Calendar Kentucky Department of Fish & Wildlife News Release
Orders are now being taken for one of the most anticipated publications offered by the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources: the new Kentucky Afield Outdoor Calendar. In addition to its outstanding photography, the calendar has all kinds of information for the outdoor enthusiast: Proposed hunting season dates for 2014, what’s happening in nature each month, scheduled stockings of the Fishing in Neighborhoods (FINs) lakes, hunting and fishing tips, moon phases, meteor showers and more. “Deer hunters especially are going to love this issue,” said Kentucky Afield Editor Dave Baker. “Instead of just doing a statewide top 100 deer list, we’ve broken it down into individual counties. Now hunters can determine if they’ve taken the biggest trophy in their area. We were surprised to see a couple of Kentucky’s 120 counties still haven’t registered a trophy buck.” Outdoor calendars are included with each subscription to Kentucky Afield, the official publication of the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. To receive the 2014 calendar as part of a subscription, a person must subscribe by Nov. 18. Subscriptions received after this deadline might receive the 2015 calendar in December 2014 instead. Subscribe online at www.fw.ky.gov, the Kentucky Fish and Wildlife website. Rates are $10 for one year or $18 for two years. Individual copies of the calendar also are available for $7.50 apiece by ordering online. Calendars will be mailed in December and remain on sale while supplies last. “Magazine subscriptions or calendars make great Christmas presents for the hunter or angler who has everything,” Baker said. “Grandparents stumped for what to get their grandkids for Christmas find this an easy and inexpensive solution.”
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Post by Press Release on Nov 14, 2013 21:54:12 GMT -5
Survey concerning horsepower restrictions on state-owned lakes released Kentucky Department of Fish & Wildlife News Release
The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources is seeking input by means of an online survey regarding horsepower restrictions on several state-owned lakes. “This survey is open for anyone to take,” said Jeff Ross, assistant director of fisheries for Kentucky Fish and Wildlife. “We want feedback from the public about changes to the boat motor restrictions.” Currently, the following eight lakes have a 10 horsepower restriction on boat motors: Beaver Lake in Anderson County; Boltz Lake and Bullock Pen lakes in Grant County; Elmer Davis Lake in Owen County; Kincaid Lake in Pendleton County; Shanty Hollow Lake in Warren and Edmonson counties and Swan Lake in Ballard County. The information gleaned from the survey will help Kentucky Fish and Wildlife determine if these restrictions could be amended by allowing boats with motors larger than 10 horsepower to operate on some or all of these lakes at idle speed only. The fisheries division mailed 2,000 of surveys to random fishing license holders a few weeks ago. The online survey will close at midnight on Dec. 30. To take this survey, visit the Kentucky Fish and Wildlife webpage at fw.ky.gov and click on the “Proposed Small-Lake Boat Motor Regulation Changes, Take the Survey” tab on the rotating banner in the middle of the page. The survey should take less than 10 minutes to complete.
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Post by Press Release on Nov 14, 2013 22:23:24 GMT -5
Applications being taken Nov. 15-30 for sandhill crane hunt Kentucky Department of Fish & Wildlife News Release
Applications for Kentucky’s sandhill crane hunting season will be accepted online at www.fw.ky.gov from Nov. 15-30. The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources will issue permits to 400 hunters this year through a randomized computer drawing. Applicants drawn for a hunt must pass an online identification test before they can receive a permit. Applicants must have a valid Kentucky hunting license or be license exempt when they apply. Kentucky Fish and Wildlife charges a $3 fee for each application. Applications can only be made online at the Kentucky Fish and Wildlife website. Kentucky Fish and Wildlife will conduct the drawing by Dec. 5, with results made available to applicants online. Drawn hunters must complete the permit requirements, including the identification test, by Dec.10 to receive their permit and tags by opening day of the season. Sandhill crane season opens Dec. 14, 2013 and closes Jan. 12, 2014. The daily and season bag limit for each hunter is two birds. Hunters must telecheck their game the same day it is taken. The season will close earlier if hunters reach the quota limit of 400 birds. To remain eligible for the 2014-15 season, hunters participating in this season’s hunt must complete a post-season survey by Jan. 25, 2014. Kentucky’s season is statewide. However, sandhill cranes may not be hunted in the Beaver Creek, Skaggs Creek and Peters Creek embayments of Barren River Lake Wildlife Management Area.
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Post by Press Release on Dec 3, 2013 13:28:24 GMT -5
Inaugural archery/crossbow bear season ends Kentucky Department of Fish & Wildlife News Release
Hunters met their quota of 10 bears during Kentucky’s inaugural archery/crossbow season for black bears, which ended over the weekend. The season opened Nov. 23 and was limited to nine days or until the quota of 10 bears or five females was filled. “I consider it a success because hunters met the quota and because bears were taken outside of our traditional four-county bear zone,” said Steven Dobey, bear program coordinator for the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. “Prior to 2013, our bear zone included Harlan, Letcher, Pike and Bell counties. This year’s expansion to a 16-county region resulted in bears taken from four counties outside of that traditional area. That was exciting to see.” Kentucky’s bear zone includes Bell, Clay, Floyd, Harlan, Knott, Knox, Laurel, Leslie, Letcher, Martin, McCreary, Perry, Pike, Pulaski, Wayne and Whitley counties. Hunters took four bears in Letcher County, two bears in Perry County and one bear each in Harlan, Pike, Leslie and Wayne counties. The largest bear harvested was a 375-pound male taken with a crossbow in Wayne County on opening weekend. “Quite a few hunters were afield for this first archery/crossbow bear season,” said Wildlife Division Director Karen Waldrop. Four of the 10 bears taken this season were females; six were harvested with a crossbow. Each of the bears was taken on private land. A poor acorn crop in eastern Kentucky helped hunters’ odds this year. “That’s the primary food source for bears as they are putting on weight before they enter dens, which the females usually do around the last week of November,” Dobey said. “When the key food source is absent then they tend to remain active. They’re wandering more try to pack on those last few pounds before denning for the winter months. As a byproduct of increased movements bears increase their likelihood of encountering hunters.” The archery/crossbow season isn’t the only opportunity for bears in Kentucky. The modern firearm season is up next, and it runs Dec. 14-16.
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Post by Press Release on Dec 5, 2013 10:56:56 GMT -5
Officials seek public input on deer numbers in Redbird Wildlife Management Area Kentucky Department of Fish & Wildlife News Release
Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources staff want to hear what residents have to say about deer numbers in the Redbird Wildlife Management Area (WMA) in Clay and Leslie counties. Kentucky Fish and Wildlife personnel will join state Rep. Tim Couch, R-Hyden, and representatives from the U.S. Forest Service for the listening session. The meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 11. It is being held in the Tim Lee Carter Building, located at 178 Wendover Road in Hyden. Redbird WMA consists of 24,000 acres located within the Daniel Boone National Forest. Although owned by the U.S. Forest Service, it is managed by Kentucky Fish and Wildlife. Redbird WMA is 95 percent forested with approximately 100 acres of openings. Clay and Leslie counties are located in Zone 4, the most harvest-restricted statewide designation in Kentucky. In response to previous hunter concerns about low deer numbers, the department this season made Redbird WMA a bow-only hunting area for deer. Kentucky Fish and Wildlife will provide a brief overview of deer management in the area to open the meeting to public comments.
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Post by Press Release on Dec 6, 2013 16:13:12 GMT -5
Kentucky Afield Outdoors: Sauger bite during the holiday season Kentucky Department of Fish & Wildlife News Release
Sauger hover just above bottom right now downstream of dams, waiting for a stunned shad to tumble into their orbit. Their numbers will grow in proportion to the downward slide of the thermometer. The peak concentration of sauger below dams coincides with the coldest weather of the year. Sauger readily bite in water temperatures below 40 degrees, the most reliable winter fish of all. With many Kentuckians getting some days off during the holiday season, sauger provide a cast-starved angler a chance to get away from the bustle surrounding the holidays and put some fish in hand. “I think we are still a little early, the water is still a little warm for this time of year for sauger,” said Ryan Oster, federal aid coordinator for the fisheries division of the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. Oster usually starts his sauger fishing on the opening weekend of modern gun deer season as fish begin congregating below dams on the Kentucky and Ohio rivers. They also arrive in large numbers in the tailwater areas below Kentucky Lake, Lake Barkley and Lake Cumberland at roughly the same time. “December is the start of the really good sauger fishing with the peak coming in February,” he said. “The fishing lasts until late March when they spawn and disperse downstream.” Oster recently caught sauger up to 18 inches long on a mid-November trip below a lock and dam on the Kentucky River in central Kentucky. “I caught them vertically jigging a blade bait,” he said. “It was an overcast day, so I used a gold blade bait. On clear days, I like silver and blue blade baits. They mimic the shad and shiners sauger eat.” Sauger also strike 3- to 4-inch pearl, orange and black, chartreuse, orange and lime green curly-tailed grubs rigged on leadheads ranging from ¼ - to ¾-ounce. The weight of the leadhead depends on current. Oster will go up to a 1-ounce weight if needed to get the offering on the bottom. Lures that don’t strike bottom regularly don’t generate many sauger strikes. “I also fish a 4-inch pearl soft-plastic jerkbait on a ½-ounce leadhead when they are eating larger shad,” Oster said. “The jerkbait seems to draw larger fish, but fewer bites. I also use a pearl 4-inch ringworm in the same situation.” He prefers blade baits and curly-tailed grubs for numbers of sauger. Presentation is critical for catching sauger consistently. “You have two options for boat anglers in tailrace areas,” Oster explained. “If you have good flow, fish vertically and jig your lures off the bottom. At normal to low flows, hold your position with a trolling motor and scoot your lure across the bottom.” Bank anglers below dams should work current seams with grubs rigged on leadheads heavy enough to occasionally strike bottom, but not so heavy they hang up on every cast. Anglers fishing from the bank also catch many sauger fishing live crappie minnows on the bottom in these areas. The Cumberland River just below Wolf Creek Dam offers excellent bank fishing for winter sauger. The fishing platforms and bank access below Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley also make highly productive bank fishing spots for these fish. The public recreation areas immediately downstream of Green River, Barren River and Taylorsville lakes offer excellent bank access. These spots will provide increasingly better sauger fishing in the years to come, due to a stocking effort begun in 2010. “We saw sauger up to 17 inches in the Green River tailwater and up to 18 inches in the Salt River below Taylorsville Lake in our population sampling this past year,” said David Baker, stream fisheries biologist for Kentucky Fish and Wildlife. “You can catch a combination of walleye and sauger in the Green River. Anglers are beginning to catch sauger up to 15 inches in the Barren River.” The Green River received 310,000 fingerling sauger while Barren River got 92,000 since 2010. The fisheries division stocked 60,000 sauger in the Salt River below Taylorsville Lake in that time. The stocking effort runs until 2016. If screaming children, complaining relatives and overeating are giving you the holiday blues, lift your spirits by catching some tasty sauger.
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Post by Press Release on Dec 10, 2013 13:40:05 GMT -5
2014-2015 deer season dates and modifications for deer hunting on select WMAs Kentucky Department of Fish & Wildlife News Release
The Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Commission at its quarterly meeting Dec. 6 proposed the dates of the 2014-2015 deer seasons. Commission members also voted to modify deer hunting regulations on select wildlife management areas (WMAs) along with changes to the furbearer trapping season. The commission recommends all hunting, fishing and boating regulations for approval by the General Assembly and approves all expenditures by the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. All recommendations must be approved by legislators before they become law. 2014-2015 deer season dates All zones: Archery: Sept. 6, 2014 – Jan. 19, 2015, either sex Crossbow: Oct. 1 – Oct. 19; Nov. 8 – Dec. 31, 2014, either sex Early Youth Weekend: Oct. 11 – 12, 2014, either sex Early Muzzleloader: Oct. 18 – 19, 2014, either sex Modern Firearms: Zones 1 and 2: Nov. 8 – Nov. 23, 2014, either sex Zones 3 and 4: Nov. 8 – Nov. 17, 2014, either sex Late Muzzleloader: statewide: Dec. 13 – Dec. 21, 2014 Zone 4: Dec. 13 – Dec. 18, 2014, antlered only Dec. 19 – Dec. 21, 2014, either sex Late Youth Weekend: Dec. 27 – 28, 2014, either sex Bag limits remain the same as last season. In other deer-related business, the commission recommended changing Menifee County from Zone 3 to Zone 4. They also proposed several changes to deer hunting on select wildlife management areas (WMAs). These changes will not affect the current hunting seasons, but will be effective for the 2014-2015 deer seasons: · Open J.C. Williams WMA in Nelson County and Lloyd WMA in Grant County under statewide regulations for youth firearms season. · Institute a quota firearms hunt for the first weekend in December on Dewey Lake WMA in Floyd County. · The 15-inch outside spread antler restriction will be removed from Yellowbank WMA in Breckinridge County. · On Beaver Creek WMA in McCreary and Pulaski counties, the modern gun quota hunt will be for antlered deer. · On Paul Van Booven WMA in Breathitt County, the 15-inch outside spread antler restriction will be removed along with modern gun hunting. The area will remain open under statewide regulations for archery and crossbow hunting, but is closed to all firearms hunting for deer. · Move the quota hunt to the first weekend in November on Big Rivers WMA in Union and Crittenden counties. In furbearer-related business, the commission recommended prohibiting night hunting of coyotes on all lands managed by the U.S. Forest Service and the National Park Service, including Kentucky Fish and Wildlife-managed WMAs contained within the boundaries of these properties. In fisheries-related business, anglers fishing on a sport fishing license may keep one blue and flathead catfish more than 35 inches long and one channel catfish more than 28 inches long on the Ohio River with no daily creel limit on fish under those limits. Anglers fishing on a sport fishing license may give Asian carp to commercial anglers to sell, but sport fishing anglers may not accept payment for the fish. The next Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Commission meeting will be held at 8:30 a.m. (Eastern), Friday, March 7, 2014, at 1 Sportsman’s Lane off U.S. 60 in Frankfort. Persons interested in addressing the commission must notify the Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Commissioner’s office in writing at least 30 days in advance of the committee meetings Feb. 1, 2014 to be considered for placement on the commission meeting agenda. People who are hearing-impaired and plan to attend the meeting should contact Kentucky Fish and Wildlife at least 10 days in advance and the agency will provide a translator. To request to address the commission, write to Kentucky Fish and Wildlife, 1 Sportsman’s Lane, Frankfort, Kentucky, 40601.
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Post by Press Release on Dec 13, 2013 20:14:50 GMT -5
Kentucky Afield Outdoors: Improve your waterfowl shooting with a few helpful hints Kentucky Department of Fish & Wildlife News Release
It happens to even the most seasoned waterfowl hunter. At dawn on a mid-winter day, a gaggle of Canada geese comes honking into your decoys on a farm pond. They look like flying watermelons with wings, a long neck and a black and white head. You pop up from your homemade blind and excitedly shoot three times at one seemingly close goose. Expecting to hear the thump that follows a successful shot, the big goose flies away instead. You can’t believe you missed something so big that seemed so close. “It is easy to misjudge the distance of a goose because they are so big, they look closer than they actually are,” said Maj. Shane Carrier, assistant director of law enforcement for the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. “Also, again, because of their size, they seem like they are flying slower than they really are.” Carrier, who often hunts Canada geese on farm ponds in Shelby County, said the culprit is an anxious hunter who stops their swing. “If you get excited and just point and shoot,” he said, “you will miss them every time.” Failing to continue the swing of the gun is one of the common mistakes waterfowl hunters make during the adrenaline rush caused from incoming birds. Stopping the swing causes a miss behind the bird. “When I swing through and cover the bird, pull the trigger and keep swinging, they crumple and fall down most of the time,” said Rocky Pritchert, migratory bird coordinator for Kentucky Fish and Wildlife. “It is my belief if you put the pellets in the pilot house, they come down. If you hit them in the rear, they keep going.” When a hunter shoots a shotgun at a moving target, the load doesn’t come out of the gun in the shape of pie pan, like on older cartoons. The swing of the gun’s barrel makes a shot string that is thin on the ends with a bulge in the middle, like a snake that just ate a mouse. Using too tight a choke restricts this shot string, especially when using steel shot. “Steel shot is harder than lead and tends to hold tighter patterns,” Pritchert said. “If you use too tight a choke, it is like throwing a spear or shooting an arrow at the bird. It overly constricts the shot string.” Pritchert employs an improved cylinder choke tube for the vast majority of his waterfowl hunting for both ducks and geese. “I shoot improved cylinder 95 percent of the time,” he said. “Using an improved cylinder choke covers up a lot of mistakes. I’ve knocked down some tall birds using improved cylinder.” Pritchert uses a modified choke for longer shots over 30 yards. The extended choke tubes that protrude beyond the barrel of the shotgun are growing in popularity. The extra length of these choke tubes allows a little more room for the shot to find its place before exiting the barrel, resulting in tighter, denser shot strings with fewer stray pellets, or fliers. “I noticed a difference when I switched to them,” Carrier said. “I can get a denser pattern with a lighter load, but they are expensive.” The belief that comes with using an extended choke tube may be more important than the actual performance benefits. “Anything that gives a person more confidence will improve their shooting,” Pritchert said. “The most important thing is patterning the choke tube with the load you plan to use. Your load may have holes in it. This gives opportunity for birds to slip through those holes.” Even with the expensive extended choke tubes, there can be considerable variance in performance in shotshells from a different manufacturer within the same shot size or even different-sized shot from the same manufacturer. To quickly and cheaply pattern your load, take several pieces of 36-inch by 36-inch cardboard and draw a 30-inch diameter circle in it. Shoot the load at 40 yards and look for holes. “You can refine this by drawing a duck-sized outline in the middle of the circle and see how many hits it has,” Pritchert said. The recent cold snap froze the surface of many smaller waters in Kentucky. “Once this cold snap breaks, it will loosen up the water,” Pritchert said. “Birds will start looking for new food sources and that will improve hunting.” When this happens, you will bag more ducks and geese by keeping your gun swinging, using a looser choke and patterning your load.
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Post by Kentucky News on Dec 17, 2013 14:28:51 GMT -5
Department of Fish and Wildlife website debuts new look, features Kentucky Department of Fish & Wildlife News Release
The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources invites visitors to explore its newly-redesigned website at: fw.ky.govThe website features new applications that enhance navigation and functionality without sacrificing any of the valuable information users of the site have grown accustomed to having at their fingertips. “We strived to create a more focused site that would be user-friendly and would allow hunters and anglers to find the information they were looking for quickly,” said Donna Covington, information technology systems consultant with the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. “We developed it using a responsive web design so that no matter what platform they were viewing it on, whether it be a desktop computer, laptop, tablet or smartphone, it would be easy to read and navigate.” For the first time, visitors to the department’s website have the ability to access their Kentucky Fish and Wildlife transactions, including license and permit history and telecheck information, through the “Find My Information” page. The database goes back to 1996. Looking to get in touch with a conservation officer, conservation education program leader, fisheries biologist or wildlife biologist in a specific county? That information is just a few clicks away using the “Find My County Contact” feature. Search results are sorted by type and include the name, phone number and email address for each county contact. Kentucky Fish and Wildlife staff partnered with contractor Kentucky Interactive to develop the new site, which is best viewed using the latest versions of web browsers like Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox and Safari. The department’s website has logged approximately 18 million web hits this year, Covington said. As major search engines like Google, Bing and Yahoo index pages from the new website in the coming weeks, the search function will become fully functional. Bookmarks to pages on the previous website no longer will work. Improvements to the new website will be ongoing, Covington said. Plans include the development of a more substantial online presence for public hunting areas by merging wildlife management information with public hunting information, giving visitors the ability to view that information in one place.
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Post by Press Release on Dec 19, 2013 22:40:30 GMT -5
Kentucky Afield Outdoors: No time like the present for rifle and muzzleloader maintenance Kentucky Department of Fish & Wildlife News Release
The modern gun deer season in Kentucky ended weeks ago and the late muzzleloader season closes this weekend. The holidays are a good time to check one item off your to-do list: ensuring your rifle is clean and in tip-top shape for the next hunting season. “If you want your rifle to last longer, the best way to do that is to keep it from getting rusty,” said Bill Balda, an expert marksman and the Hunter Education Supervisor for the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. “The best way to keep it from getting rusty is to clean and lubricate it. As a result, you get to know your rifle better and you know it’s in safe working condition.” A well-maintained rifle can last generations and will perform better over time. Neglecting routine maintenance can lead to a buildup of gunpowder residue and metal fouling. “The simplest way to unload a muzzleloader is to fire it into a safe backstop. But the residue from burnt black powder and even its substitutes is extremely corrosive,” said Mark Marraccini, Kentucky Fish and Wildlife spokesman and a muzzleloader craftsman. “If you leave that inside the barrel for very long it would be just like dipping any piece of steel into corrosive acid or salt. It’s going to start etching its way into the steel immediately.” Marraccini warns against creating pits in the barrel. “They will affect accuracy later and could make your muzzleloader unsafe,” he said. Before undertaking any cleaning routine, first make sure the rifle is not loaded. For centerfire rifles, Balda suggests cleaning the barrel with patches wet with gun cleaner first, then, a wet brush for five to 10 passes. After the initial cleaning, continue to use dry patches until they come out clean. A light coat of oil then can be applied in the bore. “If you want to remove copper buildup after shooting 500 to 1,000 rounds, there are chemical cleaners that can be used. I use a bore paste, which is like a jeweler’s paste. It has grit in it that is harder than copper but not hard enough to score the steel of the barrel,” Balda said. “Most liquid cleaners have ammonia in them. When you run that patch through and take it out and it has blue on it that means you have copper in the barrel. I would first brush it out and then go ahead and patch it dry. Then, put bore paste on another patch and scrub it in there. You can go back and forth, particularly at the throat, seven or eight times.” Balda recommends placing a piece of wood on the end of the barrel to prevent the cleaning rod from coming out. “When you pull that out, that paste is going to look black no matter what,” he said. “Then check it with a wet patch. If the wet patch is blue, there still is copper present. Then, you have to keep doing it. Even if you only get half the copper out of it, it will still shoot better.” While you’re at it, check the bedding screws. Wood stocks tend to shrink and swell with changing environmental conditions and that can loosen those screws. For pesky screws that refuse to stay tight, Balda suggests securing them with blue Loctite. If your rifle is a bolt action, Balda suggests removing the bolt and cleaning the bolt face and the receiver inside the action with a toothbrush-style cleaning brush. Then, wipe with a light coat of oil. Wipe down the outside of the rifle and clean the lenses on the scope. For muzzleloaders, hot soapy water effectively cuts through black powder residue and the heat from the water helps dry remaining moisture inside of the barrel after running a dry patch through it, Marraccini explained. If you can remove the barrel, set the base of it in the water and work the cleaning rod similar to a plunger. “When you can run a dry patch down it and it comes out entirely clean, then I like to put some natural greases on; Bore Butter is one brand of it. There are other brands out there, too,” Marraccini said. “You put it on a patch and run it down there until you’re satisfied that you’ve got a coating on the inside of the barrel.” Treat the exterior of a muzzleloader the same as you would any rifle: wipe it dry and remove any fingerprints. “Hunters know what kind of weather they were out in,” Marraccini said. “That water finds ways to get in all the cracks that you can’t see. As much as you’re comfortable disassembling it and cleaning it, it’s good for the gun. It makes good sense to clean it and take care of it.” With flintlock muzzleloaders, he advises cleaning the area around the lock. On a percussion cap muzzleloader, a nipple pick and a nipple wrench help clean hard-to-reach areas. “Even if you cleaned the barrel really good, on some of those, if you don’t clean the residue out of the nipple channel, that will corrode and when you go to load it next year it won’t fire,” Marraccini said. Once clean, it’s ready to be stored in a gun safe. “Put a big bag of desiccant or a dehumidifier in there,” Balda said. “If you put a wet gun in a gun safe without any desiccant or a dehumidifying rod, the other guns are going to get rusted. You don’t want that.”
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Post by Kentucky News on Dec 26, 2013 18:51:01 GMT -5
Record deer harvest among Kentucky Fish and Wildlife highlights for 2013 Kentucky Department of Fish & Wildlife News Release
Earlier this year, Outdoor Life magazine picked Kentucky as the nation’s top spot for trophy white-tailed deer. The state produced 42 reported entries into the Boone and Crockett Club record book in 2012. “We’ve got more hunting opportunities now than we’ve ever had,” said Karen Waldrop, wildlife director for the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. “And we’re nationally recognized as a deer destination.” While it won’t be known until later if hunters in Kentucky have topped that trophy mark this year, they have certainly enjoyed another record deer harvest. Kentucky Fish and Wildlife’s website (fw.ky.gov) reported 139,228 deer telechecked as of Dec. 26, up almost 6 percent from last year’s overall harvest record. That total could climb some more. An unprecedented deer season stands as one of the department’s highlights in 2013. The ongoing efforts by Kentucky Fish and Wildlife to restore the state’s bobwhite quail population and the expansion of Big Rivers Wildlife Management Area (WMA) and State Forest in western Kentucky as well as new regulations permitting night coyote hunting are all accomplishments of the wildlife division. In addition, wildlife biologists continued their work with University of Kentucky graduate students on separate research projects focused on the state’s restored elk herd. “We want to sustain the herd to where we have a huntable population, allow the maximum opportunity for hunters and still have a healthy herd that behaves and acts like an elk herd should,” said Gabe Jenkins, wildlife biologist for Kentucky Fish and Wildlife. Fieldwork for a four-year research project focused on assessing lifespan, identifying causes of death and tracking movement just wrapped up. The study also identified elk habitat use and food sources. A cow elk study, started last winter when 40 adult cow elk received radio collars and ear tags, is looking not only at the lifespan of cows but also at the social structure of the herd, reproductive success and mortality factors. “As an agency, we’re going to continue to try to keep this up for a while,” Jenkins said. “So even when the students are finished with their work, we have some things that we want to look at and address. We’re going to continue to deploy collars and try to keep up with that sample size for a while at least.” This past year also saw opportunities for bear hunting expand in Kentucky. The bear zone now encompasses a 16-county region, a separate archery/crossbow season was established and the first bear quota hunt with dogs was initiated. Hunters met their quota of 10 bears during the inaugural archery/crossbow season, with the largest a 375-pound male taken with a crossbow in Wayne County. Fisheries Division Director Ron Brooks noted the continued efforts to blunt the advancement of Asian carp as one of the division’s key areas of focus in 2013. Commercial anglers netted almost 83,000 pounds of Asian carp over a two-day tournament held in March on Kentucky and Barkley lakes. Bighead and silver carp reproduce quickly and gorge on plankton that forms the base of the aquatic food chain. The department also worked to stem the Asian carp’s migration up the Ohio River. “We contracted fishermen to fish in the Greenup and Meldahl pools primarily,” Brooks said. “We learned a lot about the numbers of Asian carp in those pools and what we need to do moving forward on that leading edge project.” Trophy catfish in the Ohio River attracted attention this year. Kentucky Fish and Wildlife engaged in a project with agencies from Indiana and Illinois and two out-of-state universities to determine the population status of blue, flathead and channel catfish in the Ohio River and whether trophy-sized catfish were being overharvested. “The trophy fishermen, the folks that like to go to the tournaments have all been saying for several years that the number of big fish is going down,” Brooks said. “The pay lake industry, coincidentally, has been going up in terms of interest for having commercial fishermen bring them trophy-sized fish. They’ve got a trophy component at pay lakes now. “We got a bit concerned that the data we had prior to last year was maybe insufficient to look at size. So we put together a project and it showed us that there were some potential issues in the upper portion of the river.” Earlier this month, the Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Commission voted in favor of new restrictions to limit the number of trophy catfish that can be taken daily by commercial fisherman and sportfish anglers. Legislative approval is needed before the restrictions become law. If passed, anglers fishing on a sport fishing license would be allowed to keep one blue and flathead catfish more than 35 inches long and one channel catfish more than 28 inches long on the Ohio River with no daily creel limit on fish under those limits. The past year brought some good news about Lake Cumberland. The Army Corps of Engineers dropped the water level in the lake in 2007 to ease pressure on Wolf Creek Dam because it was at risk of failing. With repairs to the dam nearing completion, the Corps raised the lake to 705 feet above sea level this past spring and could return it to its normal 723 feet above sea level next year. “The water level has increased to about half of what we lost in 2007. They did that earlier than was planned,” Brooks said. “That helped the striped bass fishery and probably helped the trout fishery below in the tailwater as well.” The Fishing In Neighborhoods (FINs) program expanded this year and now includes 39 lakes, he noted. Also of note was the expansion and renovation of the Pfeiffer Fish Hatchery, one of two hatcheries owned and operated by Kentucky Fish and Wildlife. “We added eight more acres of ponds and a pretty large, intensive rearing building as well,” Brooks said. “That will help us. Our goal is to increase production out of that hatchery by 20 percent.” These important 2013 accomplishments will bring better hunting and fishing in the future. They also will improve overall fish and wildlife populations for the enjoyment of all Kentuckians.
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Post by Kentucky News on Jan 2, 2014 16:21:44 GMT -5
Ky Fish and Wildlife News: Lake improvements, wildlife research to highlight 2014 efforts Kentucky Department of Fish & Wildlife News Release
The new year already is shaping up to be a busy one at the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. The department’s Fisheries Division is working to jumpstart fish populations in Lake Cumberland and its tailwater in anticipation of the lake returning to its normal level in 2014, following a dam repair project which began in 2007. The division also is investing significant resources to add more fish cover to the state’s best muskie lake. At the Wildlife Division, a new deer study launches this year along with continued research to bolster the state’s bobwhite populations. Here’s a look at what’s ahead for 2014. Deer study
Department biologists are partnering with two University of Kentucky graduate students to determine why the deer population lags in parts of southeastern Kentucky. “We’re pretty excited about it,” said Tina Brunjes, deer and elk program coordinator with Kentucky Fish and Wildlife. “This is the first deer research we’ve done in the eight years I’ve been here.” Researchers will fit 60 female deer in Clay County with radio transmitters then release the does back to the woods. The transmitters will enable researchers to track each deer’s movement and determine if it has given birth. Fawns produced by the does will be caught this spring and receive their own radio tracking collars. Researchers will monitor their movement for up to a year. In previous years, Kentucky Fish and Wildlife has reduced the number of deer that hunters can take in southeastern Kentucky in an effort to grow the herd. “What we’re trying to do is figure out why these deer herds are not responding to reduced harvests,” Brunjes said. “Right now the very popular thing to blame is coyotes. Another big one is poaching. Biologists tend to look at habitat issues: is there enough food? Is there enough cover? Do they have everything they need? We’re not sure which one of these elements or what combination of elements is causing these deer herds to remain very low and stressed.” Lake Cumberland anticipation builds
The department is stocking more and bigger fish in Lake Cumberland and the tailwater below Wolf Creek Dam in anticipation of the lake returning to normal levels this year. The prolonged drawdown was prompted by emergency dam repair work that started in 2007. While the lake remained low to help reduce stress on Wolf Creek Dam, bushes and trees that grew along its banks will provide good fish cover once it is flooded by the lake’s rising water. “It will be almost like a new lake effect for the next several years,” said Fisheries Division Director Ron Brooks. A project to improve and reroute Hatchery Creek downstream of the dam should get underway this year. Contractors will build a new one-mile channel featuring numerous pools and riffles extending to the Cumberland River. Peabody quail project
A research project at Peabody Wildlife Management Area in western Kentucky is leading the way on the northern bobwhite quail restoration front. The first four years of the project focused on habitat improvements and its effectiveness, said Small Game Program Coordinator John Morgan. “The last two years are focusing more on harvest management,” he said. “We’ve really just started to see in the last year where we’ve really had a boom in the quail population. We had these incremental gains, but 2013 was the year where we finally got a nice boom in the population. Unfortunately, on one of spots where we didn’t do any work, they had a huge boom, too. That’s the nature of research in our profession.” Cave Run Lake fish habitat project
The Fisheries Division this year will launch a major fish habitat project at Cave Run Lake. “We’ve been doing habitat work for years in a lot of our lakes, but this is going to be the largest we’ve attempted,” Brooks said. “We’re talking about mile-long reaches – and about a half of a dozen of them.” Submerged trees and brush being added to the lake will attract plants, microscopic life and forage fish. It also will offer haven for young fish. The department plans to add fish habitat to Scott Creek, the Shallow Flats Bank Fishing Area, Stoney Cove, Adams Point, Ramey’s Creek, Warix Run, Buck Creek and Poppin Rock. If successful, the project could be a model for similar efforts in the future at other lakes around the state, Brooks said.
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Post by Press Release on Jan 10, 2014 14:49:40 GMT -5
Kentucky Afield Outdoors: Expansion of bear zone and new archery/crossbow season highlights of 2013 bear season Kentucky Department of Fish & Wildlife News Release
Kentucky hunters took 20 bears during the 2013 bear season that concluded this past December. This season introduced an expanded bear hunting zone as well as an archery and crossbow season. Both the firearm and archery/crossbow bear seasons received a 10-bear quota for the 2013 seasons for a total of 20 bears. Hunters can now hunt bears in 16 Kentucky counties, up from four counties in 2012. “We are very excited that hunters met the 10 bear quota both during the new archery and crossbow season as well as the firearm season,” said Steven Dobey, bear biologist for the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. “It was gratifying to see our hunters get out there and be productive.” Hunters harvested eight male and two female bears during the firearms bear season. They took six males and four females during the archery and crossbow bear season. No hunters harvested a bear during the bear quota hunt with dogs that ran for five days in late December after the conclusion of the firearm and archery and crossbow bear seasons. “We had bears harvested in six counties; three of those were outside the original bear zone,” Dobey explained. Letcher County accounted for seven bears harvested, the most of any county in the 16-county bear zone. Hunters took three bears each in Harlan, Leslie and Perry counties and two bears in both Pike and Wayne counties. All bears were taken on private land. Kentucky’s bear zone includes Bell, Clay, Floyd, Harlan, Knott, Knox, Laurel, Leslie, Letcher, Martin, McCreary, Perry, Pike, Pulaski, Wayne and Whitley counties. Kentucky’s highest bear population densities are along Pine Mountain, which stretches from Breaks Canyon on the Russell Fork of Big Sandy River in Pike County through Letcher and Harlan counties. “Outside the Harlan and Letcher corridor, the next highest concentration of bears in Kentucky is in McCreary and Wayne counties,” Dobey said. “They have been there for at least 15 years.” These bears are distinct from those in the Harlan and Letcher county areas. “They are genetically more similar to bears from the Smokey Mountains than bears from the Pine Mountain region,” Dobey said. “They descend from 14 female bears released in the Tennessee portion of the Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area for a study in the mid-1990s.” Bear hunting in modern times in Kentucky began in December of 2009. Doug Adkins of Jenkins, Kentucky, set the state record in 2012 with a black bear that weighed 410 pounds field dressed.
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Post by Press Release on Jan 24, 2014 8:27:58 GMT -5
Kentucky Afield Outdoors: Collecting broodstock key to excellent muskellunge, walleye and other fisheries Kentucky Department of Fish & Wildlife News Release
Crews from the fisheries division of the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources will be spreading out across the state in a few weeks to collect broodstock for the Minor Clark Hatchery in Morehead and the Pfeiffer Fish Hatchery near Frankfort. “We hoped to get out there by the first of February, but we are held by up the current cold temperatures and the hatchery ponds being frozen over,” said David Baker, stream biologist for Kentucky Fish and Wildlife. “It will be a little later than we would like to do it.” Breeding a proven stallion with a regally bred broodmare is often the recipe for making Kentucky Derby winners. The mating of female and male fish collected from the wild and breeding them at the hatchery is what makes state record muskellunge in Cave Run Lake, 10-pound walleye from Laurel River Lake and rod bending hybrid striped bass in Barren River Lake. Some citizens get upset or worry when they see fisheries personnel collecting broodfish from their favorite fishing waters. “Without collecting broodstock from the wild, we wouldn’t have these great walleye, muskellunge or hybrid striped bass fisheries,” said Gerry Buynak, assistant director of fisheries for Kentucky Fish and Wildlife. Buynak explained there is little natural reproduction of walleye or muskellunge in Kentucky. The productive fishing found in our state for these species is almost completely supported by stocking. “Without collecting broodstock below Cave Run Lake Dam, we wouldn’t have the world class muskellunge fisheries in Cave Run, Green River and Buckhorn lakes or many muskie in our native muskellunge streams and rivers,” he said. “We breed the native strain Kentucky muskellunge.” Fisheries biologists must routinely change the broodfish at the hatchery to sustain the genetic diversity of the resulting fry. “Hatcheries try to mimic what happens in the wild,” Buynak said. “The quality of eggs from wild stocks is much better than reusing hatchery broodstock over several years.” Workers will collect 70 female and 75 male Erie strain walleye from the Green River Lake tailwater, Lake Cumberland, Carr Creek Lake and Laurel River Lake to make 1.6 million fingerlings. The fisheries division will stock these fingerlings into Green River Lake, Laurel River Lake, Lake Cumberland, Carr Creek, Nolin River Lake, Paintsville Lake and the Russell Fork of Big Sandy River. Fisheries biologists and technicians will also collect broodstock of the river strain walleye native to Kentucky before the construction of the large reservoirs in the decades following World War II. The native strain walleye mainly inhabited the Green River and Cumberland River systems. These native fish grew to monstrous size in the early years of Lake Cumberland, culminating in the 21-pound, 8-ounce state record walleye, caught in 1958. Then, the bottom fell out of the fishery as the native river fish didn’t reproduce well in the new lake environment. The fisheries division began in the early 1970s to stock the Lake Erie strain, which better survived in reservoirs. Biologists thought the native strain of walleye was likely gone from Kentucky until a discovery of an isolated population in the upper Rockcastle River in the 1990s. “We want to continue restoring the population of native walleye into areas where they once were and expand fishing opportunity as well,” Buynak said. Fisheries research biologist Dave Dreves and crew will collect 10 to 15 female and 16 male native walleye from the Big South Fork of Cumberland River and from the Barren River system. These fish will produce 150,000 fingerlings to stock in the Levisa Fork of Big Sandy River, Martins Fork Reservoir, the upper Barren River and in the Cumberland River above the Falls. “Some of the Erie strain walleye females will also be used to breed with male sauger for the new saugeye stockings,” Buynak said. Guist Creek Lake in Shelby County, Bullock Pen Lake in Grant County and A.J. Jolly Lake in Campbell County all received saugeye stockings last year and will again this year. Boltz Lake in Grant County will get saugeye this year. These stockings provide a new fishery for Kentucky anglers to enjoy in the next year or so. The fisheries division also plans to collect sauger broodstock from the Ohio River and lower Kentucky River to continue the stocking program in the Kentucky River, Salt River, Green River and upper Barren River. “We are going to get five to eight female striped bass from Lake Cumberland to produce the original cross for making hybrid striped bass,” Buynak said. The original hybrid striped bass cross used male white bass and female striped bass to make hybrid striped bass. Female striped bass proved difficult to use and didn’t respond well to human handling, so the fisheries division switched to the reciprocal cross, using female white bass and male striped bass, in the mid 1990s. “The reciprocal cross is easier to produce at the hatchery, but it seems they run smaller,” Buynak said. “We are trying to produce a bigger hybrid striped bass.” If anglers see fisheries technicians and biologists collecting broodstock over the next two months, they shouldn’t grow alarmed. “Anglers must know we are removing these fish to improve these fisheries,” Baker explained. “We plan to put them right back from where they came after we spawn them at our hatcheries.”
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Post by Press Release on Jan 24, 2014 8:33:21 GMT -5
Registration underway for popular Becoming an Outdoors-Woman workshop in spring Kentucky Department of Fish & Wildlife News Release
The popular Becoming an Outdoors-Woman program returns April 5 for a special one-day session in Grayson, Ky. Women interested in learning basic outdoor skills in a comfortable, friendly environment can register online at fw.ky.gov or call the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources at 1-800-858-1549 for more information. Becoming an Outdoors-Woman, or BOW to those who participate, is a nationally recognized program designed for beginners seeking a relaxed, non-competitive environment to learn various skills from seasoned professionals. The Beyond BOW workshop scheduled for the first Saturday in April offers a variety of topics including tree identification, hunting, fishing, bird identification, wild game cooking, edible plants, archery, shooting and more. The $50 registration fee covers two class sessions, lunch, equipment and materials. For an additional $25, participants may stay the night before classes start at Kentucky Fish and Wildlife’s Camp Robert Webb, located on the shores of Grayson Lake in Carter County. The lodging fee includes a continental breakfast the next morning. Courses are taught at Camp Webb. Classes fill on a first-come, first-served basis. The deadline to apply is March 14.
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Post by Press Release on Jan 25, 2014 11:38:02 GMT -5
Hunters post another record deer harvest in Kentucky Kentucky Department of Fish & Wildlife News Release
A year after establishing an overall deer harvest record, Kentucky hunters did it again. The 2013-14 deer season in Kentucky ended Jan. 20 with a total harvest of 144,404 animals. That represents a gain of more than 9 percent over the previous record set during the 2012-13 season. “This year we were ahead of the curve,” said David Yancy, deer biologist with the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. “Hunters harvested more deer in September than they ever had, the October youth weekend was the best it had been since 2008, there was a slightly better than average muzzleloader season and then modern gun season was way better than it normally is. It sort of held throughout.” A spotty crop of acorns and other hard mast across Kentucky had deer on the move, and made them more vulnerable to hunters. An increase of about 9,000 deer permits sold – about one third of those coming through youth sportsman’s licenses – also meant there were more hunters in the field. “The poor acorn crop was a major factor in getting those deer out into the open and into the harvested corn fields and the food plots,” said Tina Brunjes, deer program coordinator with Kentucky Fish and Wildlife. “The weather during the modern gun season and during the muzzleloader season was not as wonderful as it was last season, but we didn’t have any epic ice storms or some sort of huge flood. Hunters were able to get out.” Harvest totals for firearms, archery, muzzleloading and crossbow were up across the board. A record 104,619 deer were taken by firearms hunters. Archery hunters harvested 20,833 whitetails while muzzleloader hunters bagged 15,641 deer and crossbow hunters reported taking 3,311 deer. Male deer accounted for nearly 54 percent of the deer harvested. Out of the 77,719 male deer taken, 9,962 were antlerless, according to telecheck data. Three of the top five counties in terms of estimated deer densities produced the top harvest totals. Hunters in Owen County took 4,069 whitetails to lead the state followed by Pendleton County with 3,464 and Crittenden County with 3,033. Kentucky’s deer herd was estimated at approximately 900,000 prior to the season. Herd estimates are derived through computer modeling that takes into account harvest and age structure data. Brunjes tempered her expectations for this past season, thinking it might be average compared to the record harvest of 131,395 deer posted in 2012-13. “We ended up with a huge, record-breaking year,” she said. After a second record harvest in as many seasons, deer are looking at a landscape that has more to offer, Brunjes said. “The potential is there for the does that make it through this cold winter to have really high fawning success, and those bucks that make it through this cold winter, they’re going to be the best of the best,” she said. “If we can get a good spring, we might not see the numbers next year, but we’ll see a lot of quality deer out there.”
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Post by Press Release on Jan 30, 2014 19:01:04 GMT -5
Winter surveys to monitor the spread of white-nose syndrome in bats Kentucky Department of Fish & Wildlife News Release
Winter surveys to assess bat populations and monitor the spread of white-nose syndrome are underway in Kentucky and will continue for the next several weeks. “This is a busy time of the year,” said Brooke Hines, bat ecologist with the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. “Our goal is to get close to 100 caves done. If it’s as cold as it’s been, we will be able to do some counts into April.” There are thousands of caves in Kentucky and roughly half of the 15 species of bats found in the state find them hospitable for hibernating. The hibernation period ranges from late November through March, when bats are most susceptible to becoming infected with the fungus that causes white-nose syndrome. “If we have a cave that we know has maybe 50 or more total bats in it we try to do a count to determine the status of the species and to also determine if it’s white-nose positive,” Hines said. “The only way we can do it right now is just to see it actively growing. Researchers believe that when you start to see visible infection it’s probably been in the cave at least the winter before or was introduced to that cave at the beginning of that winter.” Named for the white fungus that develops on the muzzles, ears, wings and tails of affected bats, white-nose syndrome has been linked to the deaths of millions of bats of varying species. The fungus has spread to 23 states and five Canadian provinces since it was first discovered in New York in 2007, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Kentucky joined the list in 2011 after a little brown bat from a cave in Trigg County tested positive. To date, white-nose syndrome has been detected at more than 30 sites in 16 counties across the state, Hines said. New sites have been found this year in counties already documented to have white-nose syndrome, she said. “We have disease issues in other species groups,” said Sunni Carr, Wildlife Diversity Branch manager with Kentucky Fish and Wildlife. “But in my career this is biologically the most devastating and significant thing that we’re going to work on. No doubt about it.” Kentucky was the first state to develop a response plan for white-nose syndrome, and did so before its arrival. Kentucky Fish and Wildlife works closely with U.S. Fish and Wildlife and other agencies on local surveillance and monitoring. Local caving clubs assist by notifying the agencies of potentially infected sites and providing their expertise. “As soon as we found out it was significant, we have been on board on both a regional and national level,” Carr said. “We are supporting research within the state. A lot of the folks that have the capacity to do the high-tech research don’t have the field resource. They’ll call us and say, ‘We’re interested in being able to swab this cave or get these samples or take these hair samples or blood samples from these animals. Can you help us get the materials so that we can do the work?’ That’s where we come in. We can help them facilitate their projects.” The fungus takes hold during hibernation and can linger on cave walls and sediment. A bat suppresses its immune system while in winter torpor, and the fungus thrives until the extreme irritation rouses it to groom. Affected bats may then move closer to the cave entrance in an attempt to cool their body temperatures and induce torpor again, Hines said. “When they start rousing more, they start burning through more fat reserves,” she said. “Then, they start arousing in January or February instead of March and April. They come out into the landscape and they’re either dying of exposure or starvation.” White-nose syndrome presents no threat to people, pets or livestock but a bat die-off could have a significant and noticeable impact. Bats play a unique role ecologically. They can eat their weight of insects in a single night and also pollinate plants. Their loss would be felt by farmers and consumers alike, Hines said. Three federally-endangered bat species call Kentucky home: the Indiana, gray and Virginia big-eared. The little brown, northern long-ear and tri-colored bats could be listed in the next few years, Hines said. Virginia big-eared and gray bats have shown resistance to white-nose syndrome in studies, Hines said. “They’re starting to look at what makes those bats so much different,” she said. “Is it just because those bats are bigger or is there something on their skin that doesn’t allow this fungus to become as irritable to them as others?” Bat movement is considered the leading cause of the spread of white-nose syndrome, but there is evidence to suggest people may be contributing by accidentally spreading the fungal spores. U.S. Fish and Wildlife advises avoiding contact with potentially affected sites, equipment or bats and cleaning and disinfecting caving gear. More information about decontamination protocols and white-nose syndrome can be found online at www.whitenosesyndrome.org. “Once something blips off the radar, this is not Jurassic Park, you can’t get it back,” Carr said. “When you’re in biology, we’re the last group to give up hope. We’ve got to figure something out.”
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Post by Kentucky News on Jan 31, 2014 22:30:16 GMT -5
Hunting season for coyotes at night opens February 1 Kentucky Department of Fish & Wildlife News Release
A new regulation allows hunters to use lights to hunt coyotes at night in Kentucky from Feb. 1 through May 31 in permissible areas. Hunters may take coyotes either during the day or at night year-round in Kentucky. However, lights may only be used at night during the upcoming season. Hunters should be aware of the different regulations which apply to coyote hunting during the day or the night. During the day, coyote hunters may use shotguns, rifles, bows, crossbows or air guns with a minimum size of .22 caliber. At night, however, the only firearm a hunter may use is a shotgun. Night hunters must use shells which contain more than one projectile. Several federal areas are closed to night coyote hunting. These include Land Between The Lakes in western Kentucky; Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area in southeastern Kentucky; and the Daniel Boone National Forest in eastern Kentucky. The Boone forest closure includes certain properties owned by the federal government but managed by the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. These include Beaver Creek, Cane Creek, Redbird, Mill Creek and Pioneer Weapons wildlife management areas (WMAs). Other federal areas closed to night coyote hunting include Clark’s River National Wildlife Refuge in Marshall, McCracken and Graves counties; Jefferson National Forest in Letcher and Pike counties; and Reelfoot National Wildlife Refuge in Fulton County. Hunters should verify with landowners any property they wish to hunt coyotes at night. State-owned WMAs are open for night coyote hunting. Night hunting of coyotes is allowed on private and other properties with the permission of the landowner, as long as there are no local ordinances prohibiting the discharge of firearms in the area. Hunters may not spotlight and shoot coyotes from a vehicle. People may not use a vehicle’s headlights or a light plugged into a vehicle for hunting. Lights that are used for hunting may be any color. Regulations allow hunters to use decoys, mouth calls and electronic calls to lure coyotes. Unless license exempt, hunters must have a valid hunting license to take coyotes.
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Post by Press Release on Feb 14, 2014 6:52:05 GMT -5
Kentucky Afield Outdoors: Eating local as easy as filleting your day’s catch Kentucky Department of Fish & Wildlife News Release
Local food sources and sustainable food options are of increasing importance to today’s health-conscious consumers. Kentucky offers anglers an abundance of fishable water with some of the best tasting fish nature has to offer, and a good day can provide a bounty for the dinner table and freezer for far less than you’re likely to pay in a supermarket or restaurant. “Back in the 1970s and ‘80s the majority of people went fishing and ate what they caught,” said Ryan Oster, fisheries program coordinator with the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. “We’ve swung so far to the opposite end of the pendulum nowadays that there are some fisheries out there that could probably benefit from people starting to harvest more of the fish that they’re catching.” A low-fat source of protein rich in beneficial omega-3 fatty acids, fresh fish tastes even better when you are the one who caught, filleted and cooked it. But, the prospect of cleaning that catch can be intimidating for novice and experienced anglers alike. Learning how to properly fillet a fish requires following a few simple steps that apply to most species of game fish in Kentucky. With some practice, and a little patience, perfect fillets can be had in no time, every time. The process starts with proper care of the fish immediately after it’s been landed. “If you’re going to keep fish to eat, really the best thing to do with a fish once you catch it is not put it on a stringer and let it dangle in the water,” Oster said. “Put it on ice right off the bat to help preserve the quality of the meat immediately. “When you put fish on a stringer, that’s a real stressful event for a fish, and when you stress a fish you can really start to deteriorate the quality of the meat.” Once you’re ready to fillet the fish, give it a quick rinse to remove excess slime and any dirt. Donning rubber gloves will improve your grip on the fish and cut down on the fish smell left on your hands. A sharp-bladed fillet knife is a must, but it doesn’t have to cost a small fortune. A good one can be had for around $15 from catalog outfitters. “A lot of people that I show how to fillet fish their first comment is, ‘Give me a dull knife because I don’t want to cut my finger off,’” Oster said. “That’s actually the worst knife you could have. A sharp knife makes the entire process of filleting a quick and easy process. With a really sharp knife all you have to do is put gentle pressure on it and the blade should cut through bone like butter.” A 3-1/2 inch blade works well on bluegill, crappie and redear while larger blades in the 6-7 inch range are good for catfish, bass and walleye, Oster said. To begin the filleting process, place the fish on its side on a firm, flat surface. Wood boards work well. Securing the head with your free hand, make a cut behind the gill plate and pectoral fin from the top of the fish to the belly. People who consider themselves a novice should always remember to keep the knife blade pointed away from their body during the entire filleting process. Never turn the blade so that it is facing you. This helps ensure safety during the entire process. Continue cutting into the flesh until the knife blade touches the backbone. Once it does, turn the knife 90 degrees so that the blade lies flat against the fish’s backbone, facing toward the fish’s tail. Cut through the ribs using the backbone as a guide but don’t cut all the way through to the tail. Leave 1-inch or so intact. Next, flip the fillet over skin side down and work the blade into the fillet near the tail until the blade is between the fillet and the skin. Separate the skin from the meat by sliding the knife forward. Remove the rib cage from the skinless fillet and you’re done. Repeat the process on the other side of the fish and discard the carcass and skin. Rinse the fillets in cold, clean water and keep the meat cool until ready to prepare. If you’re not going to cook the fish until the following day, Oster recommends storing the fillets in a plastic bag with water and a little salt added to it. It’s best to freeze any fish that isn’t going to be used in two or three days. Some recommend quick freezing the fish by placing it uncovered on a sheet of aluminum foil in the freezer. Or you can simply place the fillets in a plastic freezer bag, fill it with water, seal and freeze to protect the meat from freezer burn. A freezer full of fish means fresh never goes out of season. Remember, your 2013 fishing license expires at the end of this month, so buy your 2014 fishing license soon.
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Post by Kentucky News on Feb 21, 2014 16:22:41 GMT -5
Spring Fishing Frenzy: Counter challenging water conditions by trying smaller lakes, tailwaters Kentucky Department of Fish & Wildlife News Release
Warming temperatures and longer days trigger an angler’s instinct to reacquaint oneself with a favorite lake, and try new techniques and equipment picked up over the winter. A break in the weather this week stirred hopes that spring is not far away. Some of the best fishing of the year will be had in the coming weeks, but early spring conditions also can be downright challenging at times. A smaller lake or farm pond - once iced out - and tailwaters shouldn’t be overlooked by anglers as potential options when water elsewhere is too high, too muddy and too cold to fish. “The water levels in smaller ponds and lakes typically don’t fluctuate as much as larger lakes and these small water bodies are the first to warm up in the spring,” said Dane Balsman, urban fishery biologist with the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. “It’s a good option when you’re looking for something early in the spring when water temperatures are still pretty cool.” The Fishing in Neighborhoods (FINs) lakes provide families and anglers of all ages and experience levels good opportunities to catch a variety of fish. Because of their smaller size and location, FINs lakes typically aren’t as prone to becoming muddy when it rains. The program includes 39 lakes found near cities across the state. Kentucky Fish and Wildlife stocks each with catfish and rainbow trout. The bass and bluegill populations are closely monitored and supplemental stockings are done as needed. “If you’re wanting to go to a lake, spring is a great time to hit the FINs lakes because we are stocking them so often,” Balsman said. The current license year ends Feb. 28, so anglers planning to fish after March 1 will need to buy a new fishing license. Those anglers who intend to keep trout also must purchase a trout permit. The Department stocks 142,500 trout in FINs lakes during the winter and plans to stock 111,200 catfish this year. Around 60,000 hybrid sunfish, which is a cross between a green sunfish and a bluegill, will be stocked in late May through early June. The extreme winter weather has delayed some FINs stockings. Trout stockings will occur over the next few weeks. More than 30,000 catfish are due to be stocked in March. Stocking schedules are posted online at fw.ky.gov. “We’ll probably have higher concentrations of fish than normal because people haven’t been able to get out and fish for winter trout,” Balsman said. “There’s going to be a lot of holdover from the October-November stockings. That should sustain for several weeks, even up to a month or month and a half, after it ices out.” Tailwaters offer another good option. Not only will fish congregate below a dam, but the impact of heavy spring rains might not be felt immediately. “A lot of times the flood-control reservoirs are holding water the first few days after a rain,” said Dave Dreves, fisheries research biologist with Kentucky Fish and Wildlife. “Once the downstream streams and rivers start to recede from the tributaries’ flow slowing down, then they’ll let the water go from the lake. Of course it all depends what the situation is at the time, but as a general rule they’re a good option during a rain event or in those immediate periods after a rain event.” The Cumberland River tailwater below Lake Cumberland offers year-round opportunities. In late winter, sauger and walleye can be found below Wolf Creek Dam. The 75-mile section from the dam to the state line comprises the state’s premier trout fishery. Anglers should always check with the appropriate U.S. Army Corps of Engineers website for the water release and generation schedules for the tailwater they’re planning to fish. “Tailwaters are always good if the flow is right because they tend to concentrate a lot of fish,” Dreves said. “Many of our reservoirs are on rivers that have walleye and or sauger that will run up and congregate in the tailwaters this time of year. The fish that tend to make spawning runs can be really good below dams where the dams are stopping their migration. White bass and hybrids will tend to run up streams and rivers in the spring and stack up below dams as well, especially in March and early April.” Another shot of cold weather seems inevitable given the way this winter has played out. Now is a perfect time to get equipment and game plans ready for a fishing season that’s almost here and can’t come soon enough.
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Post by Kentucky News on Feb 28, 2014 19:43:37 GMT -5
Ky Afield Outdoors: Spring Fishing Frenzy: Walleye and sauger fishing from the bank Commonwealth News Center press release
The cold, muddy water coursing through many rivers in Kentucky right now brings another round of dread in anglers. This situation seems depressing, but for anglers with level 10 cabin fever after this long, dark winter, it is good news. When the rivers clear and stabilize, the sauger and walleye fishing will take off downstream of Green River Lake, Lake Cumberland, Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley. “I think the fish are there right now,” said Ryan Oster, fisheries program coordinator for Kentucky Fish and Wildlife. “It is just a question of flow now. When the tailwaters come down to a fishable level, the fish are there and will bite.” The Cumberland River below Wolf Creek Dam is one of the hottest places to fish for walleye and sauger in late winter and early spring, especially for those anglers who don’t own boats. “There is good bank access down there and we’ve seen some really large walleye just below the dam,” said Marcy Anderson, southeastern fisheries district biologist for Kentucky Fish and Wildlife. “We see nice sauger down there as well.” The state record sauger came from the Cumberland River below Wolf Creek Dam, a 7-pound, 7-ounce brute caught by Rastie Andrews in 1983. The extreme cold snaps producing below zero temperatures this winter severely stressed baitfish such as threadfin shad and alewives in Lake Cumberland. “The winter-stressed alewives and shad are coming through Wolf Creek Dam right now,” Oster said. “The walleye are waylaying those shad and alewives and so are big brown and rainbow trout.” Oster recommends a medium-sized minnow-shaped jerkbait that suspends in the water column. “Work the jerkbait forcefully and you can make them hit it,” he said. “I like natural colors that imitate shad or alewives such as silver and black, but if they don’t hit them, I go with the most outlandish color I have such as fire-tiger or the clown color. Let the fish tell you.” The Green River Tailwater Recreation Area just downstream of Green River Lake is another excellent bank angling destination for sauger and walleye during late winter and early spring. “That thing is loaded with fish,” said David Baker, stream fisheries biologist for Kentucky Fish and Wildlife. “With high releases from Green River Lake, they are pulling a lot of fish through the dam. It is putting a lot of additional walleye in the tailwater adding to those that will migrate upstream from the river. It is a perfect storm for great spring fishing.” During population sampling in late January, Baker saw hundreds of walleye with some trophy-sized fish observed. The river also has sauger in fair numbers up to 15 inches long. “It is probably the single best bank walleye fishery in the state,” Oster said. "In the Green and in the Cumberland River as well, a curly-tailed grub rigged on a leadhead works well for walleye and will catch sauger, too. I like orange, chartreuse and green for my grub colors.” Rig the grub with a light leadhead for walleye in both of these tailwaters, as they are shallow. “Find a change in water depth,” Baker said. “In the Green, that means water that drops from two feet deep to six feet deep.” Periods of low light are best for sauger and walleye fishing. “Walleye and sauger are sensitive to light,” Oster said. “Early morning, dusk and night are good times to fish. Overcast days are much better than bright, bluebird days.” The best bank opportunities for sauger are in the Tennessee River downstream of Kentucky Lake and in the Cumberland River below Lake Barkley. “They are both phenomenal bank fisheries for sauger,” Oster said. “The only lure I would throw would be an orange or chartreuse curly-tailed grub if I were fishing from the bank.” Anglers should use a leadhead heavy enough to occasionally touch bottom in the current. Start with a ¼-ounce leadhead and move up to ½-ounce or heavier, depending on the flow. You can cast a leadhead and grub combination much further than live bait or most other lures. Plus, grubs are much easier to free when they get hung on the bottom. “With modern soft plastic baits impregnated with salt and scent, you don’t need live bait anymore,” Oster said. You can check the flow rate of these rivers by checking the Kentucky page of the U.S. Geological Survey’s statewide streamflow table at waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/rt. You don’t need an expensive boat to catch walleye and sauger over the next few weeks. Hit these tailwaters for bank fishing as good as from any boat. Remember to buy your fishing license as they expire Feb. 28.
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Post by Kentucky News on Mar 7, 2014 12:36:16 GMT -5
Kentucky Afield Outdoors: Spring Fishing Frenzy: March begins new license year in Kentucky Commonwealth News Center press release
As the latest winter storm took aim at Kentucky this past weekend, a brief break in the weather ahead of its arrival sent many anglers out in search of fishable water. One trout angler at a Fishing in Neighborhoods (FINs) lake in Boone County kindly reminded his shoreline acquaintances about the significance of the date before they cast a line into the icy water. March 1 ushered in the new license year in Kentucky. A fishing license unlocks a myriad angling opportunities across the state and buying one now maximizes its value. “When you think about what that gives you – all these bodies of water, all these different species that we provide for people - it’s a tremendous value,” said Ron Brooks, director of the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources’ fisheries division. “We have limits on what anglers can take sometimes. Even with those limits they can feed their family a lot throughout the year just by going out on some public water and catching fish, not to mention all the recreational aspects.” Individuals and families on a budget will appreciate the value of what amounts to a season-long pass to the great outdoors. An annual fishing license runs $20 for Kentucky residents. “You can’t take your family out to eat for $20 and you can barely go out and eat yourself for that amount,” Brooks said. New this year is a three-year fishing license for residents. It is $55 and available online only at fw.ky.gov. Other options include the resident $30 combination hunting and fishing license, a savings of $10 if purchased separately. The joint husband and wife fishing license costs just $36. Children 15 and younger can fish without a license. The sportsman’s license is available to residents only and at $95 represents an exceptional value. It bundles a combination hunting and fishing license, statewide deer permit, spring and fall turkey permits, a migratory bird and waterfowl permit along with a trout permit. Buying each separately would cost $150. Unless license exempt, anglers intending to keep trout must have a trout permit. All licensed anglers fishing the Cumberland River from Wolf Creek Dam to the Tennessee state line, its tributaries up to the first riffle and all of Hatchery Creek must possess a trout permit. For those who may only get out to fish once or twice a year, a one-day license at $7 is a good option. Residents and non-residents can fish any Kentucky waters without a license during Kentucky’s free fishing days June 7-8. Kentucky Fish and Wildlife has documented a slight rise in angler participation over the past two years. “That’s probably due to a combination of the outstanding resources we have, our heightened efforts to promote the opportunities we have in Kentucky and an increase among adults and people in general in locally grown and organic foods,” said Brian Clark, assistant director of Kentucky Fish and Wildlife’s public affairs division. Kentucky Fish and Wildlife receives no tax dollars from Kentucky’s general fund. Instead it relies on the sale of hunting and fishing licenses, boat registration fees and federal programs for funding. “Fishing and hunting licenses are extremely important to us,” Brooks said. “It really is what makes this whole department run.” Licenses are sold through a variety of outlets. Vendor locations are available on the department’s website at fw.ky.gov. Licenses and permits also can be purchased online or by calling (877) 598-2401. The Kentucky Fishing and Boating Guide provides complete licensing information and is available online and wherever licenses are sold. It can be debated that March belongs in the discussion of the best sports month of the year. For many anglers, it is unparalleled. Deciding where to go and which species to target can be difficult with so many options available. The 2014 Fishing Forecast, produced annually by Kentucky Fish and Wildlife and posted on the department’s website, contains a wealth of information about Kentucky’s major fisheries. Whether you’re after crappie at Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley or white bass at Nolin River Lake, largemouth bass at Cedar Creek Lake, muskellunge at Cave Run, Green River or Buckhorn lakes, hybrid striped bass at Fishtrap Lake or the 39 FINs lakes across the state brimming with recently-stocked rainbow trout, spring is an excellent time to put a new fishing license to use.
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Post by Press Release on Apr 4, 2014 21:47:36 GMT -5
Kentucky Afield OutdoorsThe white bass runs are finally here Commonwealth News Center press release
It is now the first of April. If you asked most Kentuckians what it feels like weather wise, they would say it is the first of March. The warm winds finally began to blow from the South earlier this week and brought the white bass upstream with them. The spawning runs are finally here. “Last week, in Nolin River Lake, they were up to the Cane Run arm of the lake and should be between Bacon Creek Ramp and Broad Ford by now,” said Rob Rold, northwestern fisheries district biologist for the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. “We’ve had a lot of warmer, sunny days lately and the water temperature at Wax Marina was 54 degrees on Tuesday.” Water temperatures breaking the 50 degree mark combined with rainfall signal to white bass that it is time to move upstream to reproduce. They need a gently rising river along with sun-warmed water to begin migrating from the main lake into the headwaters of reservoirs such as Nolin River Lake, Taylorsville Lake, Cave Run Lake, Herrington Lake and Lake Barkley. Nolin River Lake has arguably the best white bass population of any Kentucky reservoir. The really good fishing occurs from Lick Run all the way upstream to Wheeler’s Mill. Bank anglers have good access to both sides of Nolin River at the Nolin River Voluntary Public Access Area (VPA) via KY 728 (Priceville Road) and Kesselring Road. Bank anglers also fish at Bacon Creek Boat Ramp and at Broad Ford. Boaters should not venture upstream of Bacon Creek Boat Ramp as Nolin River Lake reverts back to the pool and riffle habitat of the pre-impoundment river at this point, risking the health of any boat motor’s lower unit. Local anglers are catching white bass around the KY 248 Bridge in the headwaters of Taylorsville Lake in Anderson County. White bass run as far up the Salt River as the once-vibrant river trading town of Glensboro in spring. The headwaters of Herrington Lake will be churning with white bass with the warming weather. This historic run spawned lure inventions and a regional reputation for incredible fishing. The legendary white bass fishery in Herrington Lake went through a fallow period in the 1990s and early 2000s, but is now producing good numbers of white bass from 12 to 14 inches long. The good fishing starts near Bryant’s Camp Boat Ramp and upstream into Rankin Bottoms, near the KY 52 Bridge between Lancaster and Danville. Bank anglers may access Rankin Bottoms at the Dix River VPA site at the end of Rankin Road off KY 52 near the bridge. This site grants over a mile of bank fishing for white bass. With water temperatures just reaching the low 50s, white bass are moving into the upper reaches of Lake Barkley. They are also hitting in the Cumberland River just below Lake Barkley. When the flows modulate slightly after the recent rains, the white bass will be active below locks and dams on the Green and Kentucky rivers. White bass fishing inspires such ardor in anglers because these fish strike practically anything that comes near them during their spawning runs. No other fishing compares to it when white bass are really on and biting. Bank anglers can enjoy fishing just as good as those fishing from boats. Herrington white bass anglers invented the plunker and fly presentation, originally comprised of a piece of broom handle with an eyelet screwed into it. They tied a piece of heavy monofilament to the eyelet with a treble hook dressed in white marabou at the other end. They cast this rig into the boils of feeding white bass and popped the rod to draw the attention of white bass. Modern anglers use a white chugger-style topwater with the back hook removed. They tie a piece of light braided or monofilament line to the eyelet of the hook and attach a 1/32-ounce marabou jig or a dressed treble hook to the business end. Some remove both hooks to keep the rig from tangling on the cast. This presentation still catches white bass as well as it did in the 1950s. White or chartreuse 1/16-ounce marabou or feather jigs suspended under bobbers and allowed to drift downstream also work extremely well on white bass. Adjust the depth of the bobber until it disappears from a fish. In-line spinners of practically any color, small silver sthingys and white 2 ½-inch curly-tailed grubs rigged on 1/8-ounce leadhead all score white bass. White bass are either right on top, a few feet deep or just above bottom. The depth you catch them changes from day to day and sometimes from hour to hour. Keep probing the water column until you find them. When they are mid-depth or deeper, the curly-tailed grub is hard to beat. The white bass are here, signaling this dreadful winter is finally gone for good. Get out in the next couple of weeks for the most exciting fishing found.
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