Frankfort, KY (February 24, 2004) - Kentucky anglers purchasing a new fishing license for the 2005-2006 license year need to keep in mind some regulation changes regarding fishing in the coming year.

The redear sunfish, commonly referred to as a shellcracker, is now considered a sport fish species in Kentucky. Redear sunfish are popular fish with anglers all over Kentucky. Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley both possess fantastic populations of redear sunfish. Redear sunfish in the past could have been legally harvested by gigging, bowfishing, spear fishing and commercial fishing because they were not classified as a sport fish. Anglers expressed displeasure at these methods of harvest for redear sunfish, however, which lead to the sport fish designation this year.

Starting on March 1, 2005, Greenbo Lake will have a 15 fish daily creel limit on bluegill and all other sunfish. Greenbo Lake possessed a good bluegill population in the 1980s. The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources (KDFWR) fertilized the lake back then and this helped sustain the good bluegill population. However, the fertilization caused water quality problems and a severe aquatic vegetation problem. The KDFWR curtailed the fertilization and the numbers of quality bluegill declined as a result. The new regulation hopes to spread out the harvest of the remaining quality sized bluegill in the lake.

The KDFWR also stocked grass carp in Greenbo to control the aquatic vegetation. The grass carp in Greenbo Lake will soon die of old age and will not be stocked again. Vegetation will hopefully return providing additional habitat for bluegill and other sunfish.

The KDFWR stocks rainbow trout in the Paintsville Lake tailwater from April through November annually. Some of these fish move downstream into a 3.6-mile section of Paint Creek from KY 40 bridge downstream to the first U.S. 460 bridge crossing. Brown trout were also stocked into this section until 2001. Anglers have caught both rainbow and brown trout longer than 18 inches in this section of Paint Creek in recent years.

To protect this fishery, a 16-inch minimum size limit and one fish daily creel limit on both rainbow and brown trout begins on March 1, 2005 on the section of Paint Creek from KY 40 downstream to the first U.S. 460 bridge crossing. This regulation provides a unique and high quality angling experience in Eastern Kentucky.

If you are unsure what kind of fish you just caught, consult the Angler’s Fish Identification Guide on pages 20 and 21 of the 2005 Kentucky Sport Fishing and Boating Guide. Color illustrations of the 16 most sought after fish by anglers are contained in the Angler’s Fish Identification Guide. These color illustrations help anglers eliminate confusion about what fish they caught, and assist with understanding the size and creel limits on various species of fish.

For more information about current fishing regulations and a copy of the Angler’s Fish Identification Guide, consult the 2005 Kentucky Sport Fishing and Boating Guide available free of charge wherever licenses are sold. Regulation information, maps of where to fish, fishing forecasts, boating and fishing access spots and loads of other fishing-related information are also available on the KDFWR website at fw.ky.gov.

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