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Hatchery Surplus Produces Stocking Bonanza for Ohio River
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Frankfort, KY - Minor Clark Fish Hatchery just downstream of Cave Run Lake Dam produced excess numbers of hybrid striped bass this year. The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources stocked these excess fish in the Ohio and Kentucky Rivers and should provide excellent fishing in the coming years on the two rivers.

"Our hatcheries did a tremendous job producing hybrid striped bass this year," said Gerry Buynak, assistant director of fisheries for Kentucky Fish and Wildlife. Fisheries officials requested 150,000 hybrid striped bass for stocking in the Ohio River. The hatchery produced over 479,000.

"The Ohio River looks fantastic this spring," said Doug Henley, Ohio River fisheries biologist for Kentucky Fish and Wildlife. "We had such a great year spawning last year on the river for all species, but especially forage fish such as emerald shiners and shad. We should have another year like that this year. We had three feet of visibility earlier this spring, which is phenomenal for the Ohio River."

The fisheries division of Kentucky Fish and Wildlife originally planned to stock 30,000 hybrid striped bass in the Markland pool of the Ohio River, but the surplus allowed them to stock 112,000. They planned to stock 12,000 hybrid striped bass in the McApline pool of the river, but stocked 60,000.

Fisheries officials slated 24,000 hybrid striped bass for stocking in the Cannelton pool of the Ohio River, but stocked 88,500. The Uniontown pool of the river received twice as many hybrid striped bass as originally planned and the Smithland pool was to receive 15,000, but got 71,000.

The hatchery produced so many hybrid striped bass that biologists were able to stock two extra pools of the Kentucky River. "This is the first year we stocked that many pools of the Kentucky River with hybrid striped bass," Buynak explained. "We originally planned to stock pools four through nine, but we had extra fish so we also stocked pools two and three."

The Kentucky River would have received 20,000 hybrid striped bass, but fisheries biologists and technicians stocked 34,000.

"It was a very good year," Buynak said. "If these rivers continue to look this good and our survival is good, watch out. The fishing should be phenomenal in a few years for hybrids on both of these rivers."

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