More questions about Cumberland lake, dam

[BigPoppy]

Been a while since I last posted and rather than trying to figure it all out I just changed my charater name to match the one my grandaughters have bestowed upon me, over the last few months. Now for the meat and taters of my questions with all of the work and the depth of the water remaining in the lake. Has there been anything mentioned about the hatchery and the side affects of the summer heat on the trout in the river it self. I live in Barren County and for many years we enjoyed a put and take trout population. about 7 or 8 years ago this was halted due to the rise of the lakes temps. with Cumberland being drasticly reduce I am concerned that the cold water supply will not be enough to maintain the hatchery. This would be a tragic blow to the whole area, as it would also effect the big stripe fishery most likely. so has anyone heard any thing about this.
BigPoppy
Aka Dennis/justfishin

[Snookonthefly]

BigPoppy,

I have seen several reports that note either a partial or total shutdown of the trout hatchery. Both would require the State to purchase trout from alternate state hatcheries. It is probably a little early to get a firm impact, money will be the key to mitigating the damage to all issues affecting the draw down. This would be a good time to develop slot limits similar to Cumberland river in the other tailwaters of Kentucky. I pulled the info below off of the Lexington Herald Leader a couple of days ago, it would be nice to get trout specifc information as this moves forward.

A drawdown of the lake also will affect more than 70 miles of Cumberland River trout water that flow below Wolf Creek Dam. Trout need well-oxygenated, cold water (ideally in the mid-50s to mid-60s).

Kinman said he thinks this is manageable. Two years ago the Corps, at the state's request, opened the dam's sluice gates when dissolved oxygen levels dipped into the danger zone. It worked. Dissolved oxygen levels bounced back into the trout safety zone.

A byproduct of a severe drawdown is very high water levels in the tailwater.

"The fish will still be there, and they still have to eat," said Cary, who fishes both the lake and tailwater. Adding that with water running up on banks to tree lines, it will make it harder to find the fish.

Tight Lines,
Snookonthefly

[RoadToad]

I think it all comes down to how long the draw down lasts. All I've read is "one to seven years." If it's only one year, and spring isn't too wet, then neither the lake nor the tailwaters should suffer too awfully. Seven years at 683 ft. would probably devastate both.

[justlookingn]

I am not a trout fisherman but hope the draw down doesnt affect the great trout fishery below the dam.
Back in the 70's when they were repairing the dam the water level of the lake was drawn down to low levels. The trout stocking of the tailwaters had been going on for several years. Trout fishing was sort of a novelty back then. We'd go fish there for the trout. But by the mid 70's, the croppie fishing became the main fish. We would take a 200 minnows and catch 100 or more croppie each trip. We would go to the area just below the dam and find the slack water areas. You could catch the croppie about as fast as you could bait your hook if you got the right spot. A lot of fisherman were catching the croppie too. We had to get there early to get the right spots and hope they were generating. After the dam was repaired and lake was held at normal water levels, the croppie disappeared.
Hope they can save the trout this time.