By: Lisa Bicknell
Twenty-two Future Farmers of America (FFA) students from Estill County and 35 FFA students from Madison County assisted the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife (KDFW) with stocking bass in the Kentucky River below the Irvine bridge on Thursday.
It was the third restocking of the week, including one at the Red River Gorge, and one at the end of Big Hill.
Tony Murphy and Chad Neal, members of a local bass fishing club called the River Rats, say bass numbers have declined in the river over the years.
Murphy said that he remembers when it was possible to quickly catch fish along the river, but now a person might have to fish all day to catch one or two.
The Estill County High School has a fishing team, but students are taken to other locations to fish because they don’t catch many here.
Murphy and Neal both speculated that there are multiple reasons why bass numbers are down, but one could be the flooding that has occurred in recent springtimes during the bass spawning season.
They also wondered if no-till farming and the use of herbicides could play a role, or if the release of muskelunge into the river is a factor because muskie are such predatory fish.
Neal said he had told State Representative Bill Wesley before he was ever elected that if he did win the office, he’d like for him to try to get the river stocked better. State Representative Bill Wesley helped organize the event, and he was on site when the fish were released. Wesley said he has pushed for the KDFW to better stock the river.
FFA students were treated to free pizza before they took turns releasing the 500 four to five-inch fry, a few at a time, into the river. Five-hundred were released into each of the three other pools.
Rich Storm, Commissioner of the Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Department, spoke to students before they released the fish. Storm listed some of the job opportunities with the KFWD, from research to custodial positions. He said the department stocks six million fish a year and employs people in every part of the state.
In addition, he noted that Kentucky Afield, produced by the department, is the longest running outdoor television show in America.
Storm also told students that they may hear sometimes about Kentucky finishing last in certain areas, but he stated that Kentucky doesn’t finish last when it comes to hunting and fishing.
Abundant waterways and the state’s natural beauty make this area a top destination for hunting and fishing, he said.
“If you have lived here all your life, you may take it for granted,” Storm told students, “but this state is beautiful.”