Eyes in the Timberline

A sudden movement off to the left caught my eye. I turned just in time to see a fisherman battling a leaping bass to the boat. His partner, a woman sitting in the back, seemed to be saying something as she eyed our boat. He hurriedly removed the lure from the bass' mouth and released the fish into the lake on the opposite side of the boat. "Doesn't want us to see where he's catching fish," quipped Rick Markesbery, as he continued to mechanically lift and lower not one, but two spinning rods from the front deck of the big Ranger boat.

Indeed, keeping a honey hole a secret is certainly nothing new. Markesbery, however, was hoping the cove filled with standing timber where we were fishing would soon show everyone in the area how productive the spot could be.

Markesbery a professional walleye fishermen who hails from Fort Mitchell, has performed yeoman service to would-be Kentucky walleye anglers in the commonwealth over the past few years. His career objective is to identify prime walleye fisheries in the upper South and figure out year-round patterns of fish movement. He also wants to learn about catching this often plentiful but misunderstood species, a fish that few anglers in our region go in search of on a regular basis.

This was his third straight day of pursuing walleyes in Paintsville Lake, located in Johnson and Morgan counties. Helping him understand the walleye picture in this pristine mountain reservoir was Dan Wilson, a Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources (KDFWR) district fishery biologist headquartered in nearby Prestonsburg. Using radio telemetry, Wilson has been tracking the movements of walleyes in Paintsville Lake for several months. Like Markesbery, the biologist hopes the study will give the KDFWR more information about the nature of walleye movement in this and other similar type hill country reservoirs. Wilson believes the information he's compiling will eventually allow more Kentucky anglers to take advantage of this sport fish species.

Wilson said Paintsville Lake and some other Eastern Kentucky reservoirs support good walleye populations but few anglers target the species as their main fishing objective. That's because in recent years the walleye has been thought of as more of a northern species.

Kentucky anglers, who emerged after the famed walleye spawning runs up the Cumberland River and its tributaries in the days prior to the impoundment of Lake Cumberland, never really learned how to catch this species in southern waters. In fact, the same holds true for much of the upper South where reservoir management for 'eyes has been ongoing for many years.

Markesbery, who's spent considerable time probing the depths of Laurel River Lake and to date has taken 'eyes there weighing upward to 15 pounds, believes Paintsville Lake holds the same promise.

That's what Kentucky fishery officials thought when the lake was first impounded during the mid-1980s. Records show about 268,000 walleye fingerlings and fry were stocked in Paintsville in the spring of '84. Subsequent stockings over the next couple of years were an effort to establish a self-sustaining population. Over a two-year period, in 1991 and '92, a million young walleyes were released. Since then, about 70,000 fingerlings have been added each year. There's no doubt that walleyes are growing in this clear mountain reservoir. In 1994, an 11 and three-quarter pounder established the lake record. Wilson believes growth rates of walleyes in Paintsville are good. Current data show a walleye can reach 11 inches at one year of age, 14 inches after the second year and can grow up to 16 inches by the time they're three years old. Walleyes now weighing over 10 pounds probably came from the 1984 and '85 year classes that were very strong.

The biologist says walleyes spawned in 1990 and again in '92 and '93. At this writing, it looks like '94 was also a good year. He's convinced Paintsville will provide a trophy walleye fishery for many years to come. That's due, in part, to the larger fish's preference for living amid standing timber areas where successful fishing can be tough.

Keys to Success Daytime anglers will have to learn how to fish amid standing timber during warm water months if they hope to consistently catch walleyes at Paintsville Lake, notes Markesbery. Telemetry studies indicate the bigger fish suspend between 12 and 17 feet throughout standing timber areas in the lake. Near the dam, however, a concentration of 'eyes are suspending between 25 and 40 feet.

Fishing the timberline for Paintsville 'eyes can be challenging, notes Marksbery who uses a variety of techniques. A favorite method is using fish-finding electronics to mark individual fish, then fishing for it with a two-rod, vertical jigging approach. The technique calls for spooling 8 to 10 pound test Berkley green line (because it's the same color as the lake water) onto open-face spinning reels that are balanced with ultra sensitive graphite rods featuring medium to light action tips. Quarter-ounce leadhead jigs tipped with either live minnows or nightcrawlers are ideal in standing timber. A slow up-and-down motion works best. Sometimes reducing the size of the jig to as small as one-sixteenth ounce will pay off when action is slow.

Markesbery's electronics and Wilson's studies show that, even in the heat of summer, Paintsville's timberline 'eyes will station as shallow as five feet or as deep as 25. That's why Markesbery samples various depths for active fish.

In recent years, anglers have discovered long, slender crankbaits such as Storm Lures' Thunderstick and short, fat lures like Wiggle Wart are productive for walleyes. Trouble is, at Paintsville, crankbaits are difficult cult to fish in timber cover. To get around these conditions, Storm Lures has created the Dot System which allows the angler to weight any floating lure with the precise amount of weight needed to make it sink to a predetermined level. The suspended weight system comes in form of small, stick-on lead dots. Package instructions explain the method for applying the weight to make the lure sink while maintaining proper balance. Once the dots are in place, the idea, notes Markesbery, is to cast the lure a few feet past a likely looking spot and allow it to sink to the suspended depth before starting a slow, steady retrieve through the branches of standing timber. To add zest to the presentation, Markesbery often rips the lure several times during a retrieve to create an exciting additional effect.

Kentucky anglers have long known that walleyes bite at night during summer months. Fish emerge from timberline areas and forage along shoreline above and below the mouth of the cover. To take advantage of this low-light movement, Markesbery uses his own Kentucky Spinner nightcrawler harness to finesse troll along the banks and just outside the edge of the standing timber very early and late in the day.

Wilson has also learned that the peak spawning period for walleyes in Paintsville Lake is about April first. That's a month later than most believe the species spawns in Kentucky. He's also discovered that some fish move into headwater streams to spawn while others stay at home to lay their eggs. He believes, however, that more females move into upper portions of the lake during this period, and, along with some males, enter the Little Paint arm of the lake. (So far, Wilson hasn't found spring-running walleyes in the Open Fork arm of the reservoir.) Actual spawning sites of riprap and shallow stream bottoms are used at night and abandoned during daylight hours. This gives credence to Wilson's suggestion that night fishing may be most productive even during very early spring.

Wilson hasn't been able to track the winter movement of walleyes at Paintsville due to extensive ice cover in the winter of 1993-94. He does know that autumn may be one of the most challenging of all seasons to fish for the species. Walleyes scatter to all areas of the lake during fall. This suggests that trolling -even at night- may be the most productive method for walleye fishing during this season.

Overall, Wilson believes walleyes will definitely give the Paintsville Lake scene a boost in angling popularity in Eastern Kentucky. Because of standing timber sanctuaries, walleyes will continue to grow and perhaps offer anglers one of the commonwealth's better opportunities for taking a quality sport fish from a lake setting that is exceptionally picturesque.