Officials with Kentucky Fish & Wildlife say waterfowl hunters, anglers and boaters should anticipate limited access to portions of five bays on Kentucky Lake periodically over the next several weeks as officials evaluate experimental Asian Carp harvest techniques.
According to officials, the clearing of submerged debris from designated “Asian Carp Harvest Areas’ started Tuesday, December 1st, in parts of Smith and Pisgah bays. They add similar clearing of harvest areas will also occur in parts of the Sledd Creek, Ledbetter Creek and Vickers embayments.
Fisheries biologist with the department who specializes in Asian Carp abatement, Jessica Morris says this effort can only be done in the cold weather months. In preparation, she adds biologists from the Fisheries and Wildlife divisions worked together to select the areas and dates that would work best for the effort while minimizing inconveniences to waterfowl hunters, anglers, and boaters.
In general, she notes site preparation and Asian Carp harvest in these areas will occur periodically from December to early March. She says the work will be limited to weekdays during duck season, and boating access at these locations may be affected for up to five days while harvest efforts are underway.
Officials indicate harvest areas will be marked with buoys and anglers should refrain from deploying any fish habitat in the marked areas as it may damage nets and impede efforts to corral and remove Asian Carp.
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) plans to return to Kentucky Lake in January and February for additional testing and research of the modified unified method in Smith and Pisgah bays. The Asian Carp removal method entails setting a series of large nets and driving the invasive fish into a small area before removing them from the water, which the agency tested this method earlier this year in the same bays.
