This group collected samples from Paintsville Lake on April 2, 2022. The sample is being overseen by Major League Fishing and Steven Barding (Fisheries Manager). The data continues to show overpopulation and stunted growth. Using relative weights as a comparison, it was found that only 16.5% of the black bass population in Paintsville Lake are growing. This is consistent with recent electrofishing data from the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife of electrofishing hourly rates of 132 fish per hour. Currently we are exploring methods of fish removal due to this overpopulation, we believe that these efforts can help fishing in the lake across the board for all game fish by reducing the number of predators that are potentially doing more harm than good to the forage population. The KDFWR is considering electrofishing some of these fish out as well as potentially hosting dates that allow removal of size and creel limits to address the overpopulation of 5-12" fish in the lake.

Paintsville Lake DNA Swab Testing April 2, 2022