Tales of Woe at Wolf Creek Dam

June 8, 2007 By: Marshall Cutchin

Tales of woe are already being heard from those who depend on trout fishing below the Wolf Creek Dam on the Cumberland River. As we’ve reported, the dam was labeled “at risk” by the Army Corp of Engineers (see “Lake Cumberland Drawdown Threatens Hatchery, Fishing“), and the temporary fix has been to lower levels in the dam impoundment to reduce the likelihood that the dam might fail. Low water means warm water, and both the tailwater fishery and the Wolf Creek Hatchery are already feeling the effects. “Perhaps the most outspoken local trout man is Pat Carroll, conservation director for Derby City Fly Fishers, who calls the situation ‘scary.’ He adds, ‘It doesn’t look good from Burkesville downriver…. We’re going to lose the trout…. I don’t have any doubt about it.'” Dave Hawpe in the Lousville, Kentucky Courier-Journal.