In 2022 a group of anglers in Eastern Kentucky formed a nonprofit “Anglers For Improving Opportunities” (AFIO). We believed through organizing that we could raise local funds and labor to improve our local lake. Paintsville Lake is important to us because most of us remember the moment we got hooked on bass fishing there.
I can vividly remember the 5lb+ largemouth that threw my rooster tail after jumping nearly 30 years ago. I was hooked! Many of us are also conscious of the opportunities offered to local high school bass teams. In our area, we have some of the strongest teams in the state, in many cases granting kids the opportunity to continue fishing in college. We hope to continue to afford these opportunities to the next generation of anglers
A parking lot will usually tell the story of a lake and it is not uncommon to find the lot at Paintsville surprisingly empty in the springtime. Paintsville is a difficult lake to catch fish on period, and many of our young people comment that Paintsville offers no benefit to them as upcoming anglers due to the current condition of the lake.
AFIO, with the help of local elected officials, began to ask good questions of the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife (KDFWR). Our initial goal was to fund the introduction of tiger bass, also known as F1s, to improve the trophy component in our lakes. What we found was a Pandora’s box of sorts, and we believe the lessons we have learned over the past 16 months can be beneficial to lakes like ours all over the country. Major League Fishing Biologist Steven Bardin called our efforts a blueprint for angler driven stewardship.
The History of Paintsville Lake
Paintsville Lake is an 1100 acre man-made reservoir that was opened to the public in 1983. Paintsville Lake is a small reservoir that was built for flood control measures by the US Army Corp of Engineers. Paintsville, like a lot of lakes in our region, is a small 1100 acre lake that is typically known for being a deep, clear lake with some of the most picturesque scenery on a lake in Kentucky. Most of our structures are timbered hollows that have begun to deteriorate due to the lake’s age. Most lakes experience a decline in structure around this age.Paintsville throughout its history has produced trophy catches annually, so the potential is there.
For perspective, in a bass tournament, most of the year, 5-8 pounds would be the winning bag, but many times of the year much less. In the spring time you will have an occasional 12-20lb bag. These winning bags usually consist of one or two trophy bass that weigh over four pounds. In the summer time a bag of five, 12-inch bass will sometimes bring home the win.
Steps Toward Improving Paintsville Lake
Tiger bass (F1s) continue to have success stories that follow their introduction into a body of water in lakes in areas with similar conditions as Paintsville Lake. We have studied similar scenarios where we compare climate and other specifics to lakes having success with F1s.
The F1 is a 50% Florida Strain Largemouth and 50% Northern Strain Largemouth. When we first mentioned the idea, we were told that we have a pure northern population in Kentucky and that we could not risk introducing new genetic material. We initially asked for the DNA proof to back their claims, and if there was any evidence of Florida Strain locally.
We suspected over time without any DNA evidence ever on Paintsville that some percentage of Florida genetics could have probably persisted due to the history of Florida strain stockings throughout the US in the 1960s. Paintsville Lake also has no documented bass stockings. Recruitment every year is such that bass do not need supplementation.
We were able to dig up two DNA studies that were conducted by the KDFWR in the 90s and early 2000s. Both studies were never made public before our inquiries, leading to speculation, and both confirmed our theory that we probably did not have a pure northern population. Even hatchery broodstocks were considered tainted with Florida genetics and the study we read recommended those be destroyed. But were they? DNA sampling techniques improved post 2000 and any data pre-2000 could be inferior and potentially incorrect due to outdated techniques.
Collecting DNA on Largemouth Bass
We had noticed that Major League Fishing was now using swabs to sample their trophy catches on tour, and we wondered why we couldn’t do that locally to confirm or deny the claims made by the KDFWR. Anglers For Improving Opportunities formed a partnership with Major League Fishing Biologist Steven Bardin to conduct swabs on the largemouth bass that were caught during the East Kentucky Tournament Trail on April 2, 2022.
We hired a biology teacher from Central Kentucky, Robby Mccann, who had extensive experience in leading research such as this in the past. Robby sampled all 97 keeper fish for relative weight and performed a DNA swab. After our efforts last year, the department began fin clipping in the fall for a DNA study for the first time in almost two decades. You can find the results of our study here.
For comparison, the department collected 25 fin clip samples during their fall samples. Our sample is superior due to the fact that it is four times larger. We caught fish from all over the lake and from different depths. We believe our efforts were the catalyst for the department’s DNA project. The scope of their DNA efforts have still not been made public, but were released on the USACE page for Fishtrap lake.
In 2021, West Virginia also rolled out DNA studies a full year before Kentucky. All of the information leads to anglers in West Virginia speculating that they do not have a pure northern population either. The DNA studies in West Virginia were most likely rolled out due to fears of the invasion of Alabama Bass. These bass have destroyed lakes to our south and are a topic for another day. Luckily in our DNA sample, we did not find Alabama Bass genetics in Paintsville.
What did Relative Weight tell us about our lake?
Relative weight is an easy way to determine the health of any population. You simply measure length and weight and then compare those to a standardized scale for relative weight showing what a healthy bass at that length should weigh. Check out the Smartfish App if you are interested in doing this in your local lake. you can easily check and track data using the app.
Initially our relative weight data showed that our fish were underweight and that, as anglers, we probably needed to remove more small bass throughout the year. One of our difficulties in removing small bass is that the state removed the slot limit that we once had and slapped us under statewide regulations. You can keep 6-12”+ bass.
The regulation change is inconsistent with data, but the department states that when we had a slot limit, fishermen did not keep enough bass. One of our discoveries throughout the past 12 months is that in small impoundments, the reason most of us are plagued with small bass is because catch and release hurts us more than it helps us. We have to stop shaming anglers who keep and eat bass.
Our population is most dense between 9 and 13” bass. Those little bass that we catch and release are consuming more resources than they are worth to the population. Anglers have begun to make an impact in keeping those smaller bass as allowable by law. Relative weights have started to improve in 2023 due to a variety of factors.
In our case it takes five years to grow a 15” bass in Eastern Kentucky. For whatever reason, biologists agree the majority of our population in Paintsville is stunted and stall out growing at around 11-12”. Relative weight gave credibility to these claims and showed that we had other limiting factors preventing our fish from growing.
The DNA Results
Recently we received the DNA data and the results were eye opening. We initially expected to find small amounts of Florida genetics. We had hoped to find a few instances of fish with 5-20% Florida genetics. In the data set attached below, we found more instances of pure Florida strain largemouth (90%+) than we found instances of pure northern strain largemouth.
The majority of our population are considered intergrades, which is what our department speculated we would be left with long term after the introduction of F1s. If outbreeding depression is a thing with F1s, Paintsville is deep into that phase. Many biologists will refer to these bass that are not strains of 50-50 as “mutt” fish with varying percentages of mixed genetics.
Studies support the fact that they do not grow as fast as the F1, but it has NOT been proven that they will underperform pure strains of either Northern or Florida strain largemouth. The data set is attached below. My partner and I were lucky enough to land the winning bag on the East KY Tournament Trail that day, all the fish catches are included in the video here.
What Have We Learned?
In 2022, genetics were not a limiting factor in Paintsville Lake. We proved the lake had diverse genetics. The first challenge we face in Paintsville is habitat, fertility, and improving the forage base. The second step we took in 2022 was to install 61 pieces of habitat. The habitat provides a sanctuary for baitfish and also other species of fish in the lake.
Most every biologist we have spoken to across the country, states that habitat improvement due to our aging fishery was the first step in improvement. The habitat effort used pallet structures that AFIO secured locally from businesses; the department showed up with cedar trees to attach to those structures. We also constructed 10 shelbyville cubes. These cubes should last forever and to our surprise within weeks the plastic was growing algae and holding fish and bait fish.
Our goal is to install approximately 500 pieces of structure over the next five years. We are blessed in Eastern Kentucky to have the best local fisheries staff that you could have. Jason Russell and his staff are second to none. These guys work and want to see improvements as much as anyone.
We recently formed a partnership with KDFWR and got approval on several future improvements, adding hinge cut trees, stump type weedless structures, more shelbyville cubes, stake beds, and other habitat that will be added to the lake. The department was instrumental in determining locations for habitat and in deploying and building that habitat. If your local biologist is as willing as ours, your group can have a significant impact.
Perfect Timing
The timing of these efforts couldn’t be better with the Casting For Kids Boardwalk recently constructed at the lake. The boardwalk has rod holders for fishing and a new kayak ramp. The boardwalk was also designed in such a way that handicapped kids could get to water level and fish. Chris Ferguson, the local Shrine clubs, and the Johnson County Fiscal Court deserve a ton of credit for this vision and the work that they continue to do through the bass tournament to improve opportunities for kids and especially handicapped kids. One hundred structures are currently under construction for the boardwalk by the KDFWR. AFIO purchased all of those materials for the build in mid-April.
Forage
The next challenge for Paintsville Lake is to supplement our forage base. We currently have gizzard shad only in our lake, although threadfin shad did exist in the 90s. The KDFWR stocked 11,000 threadfin for three consecutive years in the 90s. Threadfin have an almost entirely different behavior than gizzard. Threadfin also can potentially spawn three times in one season, where the gizzard spawn once. The differences in behavior and the multiple spawns offer an obvious benefit to all predators.
We believe that in 2023 we have milder winters than we had 30 years ago. The early 90s winters were much different than winters nowadays. The lake also discharges water in a different way due to changes several years ago. These changes require a new study. Undoubtedly, threadfin will need to be supplemented over time. Cold winters where water temperatures drop below 40 degrees are rough on threadfin shad populations, but despite these winters threadfin persist in some lakes in Kentucky.
Recently with the help of American Sportfish we stocked 50,000 threadfin in Paintsville Lake. These shad made an eight-hour trip from Alabama and arrived in very good shape. Our group chose two stocking sites for shad. We stocked 20,000 shad at the ramp and the other 30,000 shad at the intersection near the top of the lake. The threadfin appear to be doing well in looking at them on forward facing sonar.
Stocking forage in an existing lakes with an established predator base can also be very difficult and may take a couple of stockings. Next year we hope to follow up with 25,000 more threadfin shad. These efforts are not possibly without Paintsville Tourism and the Johnson County Fiscal Court. You can view the shad stocking here.
Fertility
In terms of fertility, Paintsville Lake has remained oligotrophic throughout its existence since 1983. Fertility has not improved over the 40 years that the lake has been impounded and this is a difficult challenge due to the lake being a US Army Corp of Engineers lake with no agriculture above the lake.
The lake is surrounded by a 12,000 acre wildlife management area. There are no houses or any kind of development around the lake. According to biologists, the forest probably consumes most of our nutrients before they make it to the water. We had hoped to fund a fertilizer study on 300 acres of the upper lake, but we ran into some difficulties after discussions with the Division of Water.
New legislation prevents supplementing nutrients anywhere in the Mississippi River watershed. On these projects you should be prepared for the hoops you will have to jump through. Many times over the past year we felt like we took two steps forward and then one step back. We are making progress, but it has not been an easy road. Thankfully our county government and local elected officials continue to go to bat for these efforts.
What is Next?
Organizations like Friends of Reservoirs, most local governments, and officials are very interested in improving local bodies of water due to the economic impact. Largemouth bass have been stocked in nearly every lake in the US and several countries around the world due to their desirability as a sport fish. Many bass fishermen frequently leave our state to fish due to better opportunities or the higher potential of landing a trophy bass.
Look at license sales in bordering states and then compare those to Kentucky. Are we doing enough to improve and maintain our lakes?
Our argument all along has been to improve the trophy component in our lakes by adding F1s. If we could take 5-7 pound largemouths that we see weighed locally in bass tournaments throughout the season, and if F1s allowed those fish to weigh 8-10 pounds, this project would be a major victory for bass fishermen, the local economy, and our efforts to affect change.
If a double digit fish was landed locally, what is that worth economically in these rural communities? In our situation introducing Florida genetics is not new. We have already proven the existence of Florida genetics, so our project changes nothing in terms of genetics that already exist in the lake.
Our goal is to continue the fight to bring F1s to Kentucky. Our state organization is the only one we have discovered with a negative opinion of F1s, especially considering our specifics. Anglers For Improving Opportunities has a goal to affect positive change through research and science. We believe that partnerships such as ours are mutually beneficial to state organizations who are strapped for labor and budgets.
Last year our turnaround time on our habitat project was unmatched. These efforts usually take 18 months of planning, yet we did ours in about four months. State organizations are notoriously slow when it comes to obtaining data and then subsequently releasing that data. Our data took about nine months to return. In West Virginia I have not seen a public statement on their DNA samplings from 2021. When will Kentucky announce their DNA sampling efforts? Will they ever release those results if they do not confirm their narrative?
Are you interested in our efforts? Follow our Facebook Page - Anglers For Improving Opportunities. We are a 501(3)(c) and are accepting tax deductible donations to support these efforts at anglersforimproving@gmail.com.
How can you affect change in your area? Approach your local biologist. Their emails are usually listed on the department websites. Don’t just fire random questions at them - do your research. There are a ton of articles that you can find using Google with lakes that often face similar circumstances.
Be respectful and rally the local elected officials with the potential economic impacts. The data out there from successful lakes points to millions of dollars going back into the local economy around successful lakes. Organize a group, begin working towards the funding opportunities that exist and affect positive change. “We can’t wait for some other person or some other time to affect change.”
More background on our efforts:
DNA Sample Data Below:
