FRANKFORT, Ky. – Anglers fishing at Upper Sportsman’s Lake in Franklin County can help the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources by returning tags from marked rainbow trout. Researchers are trying to determine the harvest rate of trout from the lake to guide future stocking strategies.

Kentucky Fish and Wildlife employees have inserted yellow tube tags into 200 of the 2,000 rainbow trout that will be stocked in the Upper Sportsman’s Lake – located on the main campus of Kentucky Fish and Wildlife – sometime during the week of Nov. 7. Anglers who return tags from these fish are eligible for an award.

The lake will receive another 2,000 rainbow trout in January and March, of which an additional 200 fish will be tagged.
Upper Sportsman’s Lake is one of 29 lakes in 17 Kentucky counties enrolled in the department’s Fishing in Neighborhoods (FINs) program, which brings fishing opportunities closer to population centers.
Each tag consists of a piece of yellow tubing inserted into the back of the fish. Tags contain the department’s name, telephone number and a fish identification number.

Anglers who catch tagged fish should return the tag to Kentucky Fish and Wildlife. For convenience, tags and fish information may be turned in at the lake using the postage-paid envelopes in the yellow drop boxes located near the information kiosks. Anglers practicing catch-and-release may clip the tag from the fish before releasing it.
Only one envelope should be used for each fish.

For more information on the FINs program, visit the Kentucky Fish and Wildlife web site at www.fw.ky.gov. The Kentucky Fish and Wildlife campus is located at #1 Sportsman’s Lane (formerly #1 Game Farm Road), off U.S. 60 in Frankfort, 1.5 miles west of U.S. 127.
Anglers who are 16 years or older need a valid fishing license and a $10 trout permit to keep trout. Kids 15 or younger do not need the trout permit or a fishing license. The trout permit is included with the senior/disabled and the sportsman’s license.