Kentucky Lake Boaters Urged to Be Extra Cautious in Early November as USGS Deals with Silver Carp

I don't have a boat, so I don't know when those who own them typically retire them for the year.

But in this part of the country, we can still manage to have really nice days in early November, so I imagine boaters will still have them ready for just such an occasion.

And since Kentucky Lake is a very popular destination, a word to the wise should be sufficient.

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) has issued an advisory to boaters who might be planning a trip to Kentucky Lake.

Now, when I first saw this release's headline, my first assumption was that maybe there were going to be high winds which would make water travel perilous. But that kind of warning would come from the National Weather Service.

No, it's not about wind. It's about silver carp.

They have become enough of a problem in Kentucky Lake that the USGS will need to set up block nets in the water in order to tag and research them and then, ultimately, get them out of the lake.

Silver carp are invasive species and do nothing but cause problems. And the thing is, this isn't a recent development at all. When I checked the USDA's National Invasive Species Information Center, I learned that these aquatic troublemakers have been in American waters for 47 years. They are an Eastern Asian species and can wreak serious havoc on ecological systems.

According to the USDA, silver carp feed on the same plankton that native species need to survive, making them an aggressive and unwelcome competitor.

From November 2nd through November 13th, the USGS will set up these block nets in the lake at U.S. Highway 68 and in the northwest arm of the Jonathan Creek embayment.

Boaters accessing these areas are advised to trim up their outboard motors and turn them off while passing over the net. If the motors cannot be trimmed, then the operator can push the net down as it passes over, using a special device designed for such procedures.

Hopefully this will advance what seem like tricky efforts to herd an ultimately remove this species from Kentucky Lake and prevent them from invading other bodies of water.