The Sentinel-Echo I www.sentinel-echo.com MONDAY, MARCH 12, 2012 I 11A KENTUCKY AFIELD OUTDOORS: MARCH FISHING MADNESS Walleye fi shing getting into gear right now BY ART LANDER JR. in the afternoons, when “In the lake when we environments. Special to The Sentinel-Echo walleye move out into are electrofishing in Restoration efforts more open water. mid-to-late winter, we intensified in the 1970s sometimes find pre- with the opening of the This is the fourth Native to Kentucky, spawn walleye that Minor Clark Fish installment of a seven the walleye (Sander vit- have moved up into Hatchery. At the cool- week series titled reus) is present today stained water on flats,” water hatchery near “March Fishing in six lakes, with fish- said Cummins. “By Morehead, Kentucky Madness” profiling pro- able populations estab- mid-March there are Fish and Wildlife biolo- ductive early fishing lished through decades usually walleye on gists and technicians spots across Kentucky. of stockings and inten- rocky banks and began producing wall- FRANKFORT, Ky. - In sive management. around islands.” eye fingerlings spawned early March, with The four other In late April, May and from broodstock col- water temperatures in Kentucky lakes that into early June, the lected in-state. the upper 40s, walleye have populations of lure of choice is a spin- The walleye’s geo- can be found in river walleye are Carr Fork ner rig baited with a graphic range extends headwaters and in the Lake, Nolin River Lake, nightcrawler. from the Tennessee tailwaters of reservoirs Paintsville Lake, and There’s a lot to like River basin northward, below dams. Green River Lake. about walleye. They on both sides of the This seasonal fishing Additionally, there are thrive in cool water so Appalachians, to opportunity is arguably walleye in the tailwa- their flesh is firm and Quebec and northwest- one of the best times of ters of these lakes and tasty. The can grow to ern Canada. the year to catch wall- in the Ohio River. 30 inches in lakes and Get out this spring eye. Statewide, there’s a bite readily, when and catch some wall- “In Lake 15-inch minimum size anglers learn where to eye, one Kentucky’s Cumberland, walleye limit on walleye and a find them and what the overlooked fishing make spawning runs in six fish daily creel best presentation is opportunities. February and March to limit. when fishing lures or Check out our other the Cumberland River “A majority of the bait. features of the March above the mouth of the walleye in the Green The walleye is dis- Fishing Madness Laurel River, and the River Lake tailwaters PHOTO SUPPLIED tinctive in appearance. Kickoff on a new page Big South Fork arm of are fish from the lake,” John Williams, southeastern fi sheries district biologist for the It has large, glassy eyes at the Kentucky Fish the lake above Alum said Eric Cummins, Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources, holds a and a prominent dark and Wildlife website at Ford,” said John fishery biologist in the walleye he caught from Laurel River Lake. The walleye is an un- blotch on the first dor- fw.ky.gov. If you plan to Williams, southeastern southwestern district, sal fin. Coloration is fish, you’ll need to buy fisheries biologist for derutilized fi sh in Kentucky. Walleye in lakes will move progres- for Kentucky Fish and dark green on the back. a new 2012 Kentucky the Kentucky sively shallow in the next few weeks, placing them within striking Wildlife. “There are no The yellowish sides fishing license, avail- Department of Fish range of anglers. screens on the dis- have faint markings able in the sporting and Wildlife Resources. charge outlet pipes of and the belly is milky goods section of depart- “Up there, anglers fish the dam, so walleye of walleye to be in 4 to 5 coves in the spring and white. ment stores and tackle jigs tipped with min- all sizes come through feet of water around stay there until water Sauger, which closely shops. You may also nows. As they drift the dam into the tailwa- small sycamore trees temperatures climb in resemble walleye, are buy one by visiting the downstream, the jig is ters.” and flooded brush the 70s,” said Williams. darker, with distinctive Kentucky Fish and fished vertically and Typically, walleye growing right at the “In April and May wall- brown saddlelike mark- Wildlife homepage at bounced off the bot- escape when the lake is water’s edge. A produc- eye are in water that’s ings across their back fw.ky.gov or by calling tom.” down in the winter and tive lure choice for this less than 15 feet deep.” and sides. 1-877-598-2401. Williams said later in there’s a sudden rise type of fishing is to Walleye spend a lot of In the 1960s, the early Author Art Lander Jr. the spring in April, due to heavy rains or drift a live nightcrawler time around flooded years of walleye resto- has been writing about May and into June, snow melt. on a spinner rig and timber, which is diffi- ration in Kentucky, the outdoors since the walleye in the lake Jigs and curlytail bottom bouncer. cult to fish. Williams fisheries personnel 1970s. He is a staff writ- move up into the grubs are top lure At nearby Laurel recommends fishing stocked the Lake Erie er for Kentucky Afield creeks. “It’s amazing choices when fishing in River Lake, the pattern nightcrawlers on spin- strain of walleye, which Magazine. how shallow they can the tailwaters, is similar, with walleye ner rigs at the mouths Cummins said. is more suitable to lake be, especially if the in the lake moving of timbered coves late water is stained,” he deeper as the weather said. warms up. “Walleye It’s not unusual for move up shallow in WKFC will be offi cial radio station of the Corbin Speedway BY JOHN POTTS Special to The Sentinel-Echo Corbin Speedway has announced that WKFC- FM, “The Bandit 101.9,” will be the official radio station for the facility during the 2012 racing sea- son. WKFC, located in London, Ky., has been on the air since March of 2008, serving the Tri-County area of Laurel, Whitley, and Knox counties. “We’re very happy to have WKFC acting as our official radio station,” commented Keith Page, gen- eral manager of the track. “Their format serves the perfect demographic for our race fans. Their pro- gramming is outstanding.” “We like their philosophy that radio is much more to the listener than just a juke box,” Page added. “Our music selections are entertaining and appealing to a wide audience,” a spokesperson for WKFC said, “but it is the information that we are disseminating that is most important. Radio today cannot be simply about music. “Music is available everywhere these days from iPods to satellite radio,” the spokesperson contin- ued. “However, you can’t get local news and infor- mation from those sources. As the pace of life increases, radio become more relevant and more important. No other medium can travel with you as a constant companion like radio does. It’s nimble and instantaneous, it’s local, and it works for lis- teners and advertisers alike.” “Our race fans will be able to hear up-to-date information on upcoming race programs on WKFC, as we’ll be keeping them informed as to what we’re doing,” Page said” The track’s final pre-season practices will be held on Thursday, March 15, from 12:00 noon until 6:00 p.m., and on Friday, March 16, from 12:00 noon until 4:00 p.m. Following the March 16 session, a car show is planned, along with a live radio remote hosted by WKFC. Admission to the car show and party is free, and the owners of area custom cars will be welcome to bring their vehicles out, and racing teams can also display their cars. No entry fee will be charged, and trophies will be awarded for a number of classes including race cars. The opening night program on Saturday, March 17 will be the Jim Robinson Memorial, in honor of a Louisville-area champion driver who competed all over Kentucky, Indiana, and Ohio. Jim Robinson was a winner of the International 500 at the old Fairgrounds Motor Speedway, and was the winner as a co-driver of the Dayton 500. Page also announced that all firefighters and emergency medical personnel will be admitted free on the opening night of racing, simply by showing their job identification. Scheduled for competition on the opening night are the Lucas Oil Corbin Late Models, Bubby’s BBQ Sportsmen, Imprint Wearhouse Pure Streets, Burning Rubber Radio Mini-Stocks, Extreme Engine Systems Outlaw Mini-Cups and Extreme COUPON FOR IN-STORE OR ONLINE USE! Engine Systems IKO Junior Mini-Cups, and a Baby Coupon$ Coupon$ Grand Series. SOMERSET: Racers and fans should watch for developments Coupon ne Regular Code: O Price Item on the track’s website, www.corbinspeedway.com, Burnside Rd. (Hwy. 27) and W. Bourbon Rd. in the Offer may be used for any one item of regular price only. A single cut of fabric or trim “by the yard” equals one item. as well as on the Corbin Speedway Facebook page. One coupon per customer per day. Grand Central Place Shopping Center • 606-679-1911 Must present original coupon at time of purchase. Offer is not valid with any other coupon, discount or previous purchase.