Art Lander’s Outdoors: A scenic mountain reservoir, Carr Creek Lake is an overlooked walleye fishery

Editor’s note: This is the ninth article in a series about Kentucky’s major reservoirs.

For more than twenty years it was known as Carr Fork Lake.

In January 1997, Congress officially changed the name of the project to Carr Creek Lake, in honor of long hunter William Carr, who explored the area in the 1770’s, and the community’s legendary high school basketball team that won the state championship in 1956.

Carr Creek Lake is in Knott County, about 11 miles south of Hindman, reached via Ky. 160 and Ky. 15 (Smithboro Road). The dam is 8.8 miles above the mouth of Carr Fork, a tributary to the North Fork of the Kentucky River.

There is no fee to launch at the dam boat launching ramp, off Ky. 15 on Sassafras Creek Road. (Photo by Art Lander Jr.)

The scenic mountain lake was completed in December 1975. The drainage area above the dam is 58 square miles.

Size

The 710-acre lake is 8.2 miles long at summer pool, elevation 1,027, and has a maximum depth of about 65 feet, with an average depth of about 40 feet. The seasonal drawdown to winter pool is 10 feet.

There are three small dams in headwater tributaries (Defeated Creek, Shingle Creek, and Little Carr Fork Branch) to prevent sediment from being deposited in the lake.

State Park

Carr Creek State Park, 29 acres, is on the north shore of the lake off Ky. 15.

Facilities include a 39-site campground, with water and electric hookups, beach and playground. For information telephone (606) 642-4050.

The park is closed for utility construction and will reopen March 15.

Lake Manager’s Office

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Carr Creek Lake, Resource Manager’s Office, 843 Sassafras Creek Road, Sassafras, KY 41759-8806, telephone 606-642-3308.

Managing Fishery Biologist

Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources, Eastern Fishery District, Kevin Frey, District Biologist, 2744 Lake Road, Prestonsburg, KY 41653, telephone 606-889-1705.

Carr Creek Marina, open seasonally, is about 4 miles east of Vicco, Ky., off Ky. 15. (Photo from Kentucky State Parks)

Marinas

There is one marina.

Carr Creek Marina, open seasonally, is about 4 miles east of Vicco, Ky., off Ky. 15. The address and telephone number are 217 Big Smith Branch Road, Sassafras, Kentucky 41759, 606-642-3239.

Boat Launching Ramps

There are three boat launching ramps on the lake.

There is a $5 a day fee to launch at two ramps, the marina boat launching ramp and the Littcarr boat launching ramp. An annual pass is available for $25.

There is no fee to launch at the dam boat launching ramp, off Ky. 15 on Sassafras Creek Road.

The Littcarr boat launching ramp is at the head of the lake, off Ky. 160, and is closed when the lake is at winter pool.

Local Tourism Information

Knott County Tourism Commission, Box 505, Hindman, KY 41822, telephone 606-785-5592.

Fishing

Carr Creek Lake is a mesotrophic lake of moderate productivity.

This highland reservoir supports populations of three species of black bass (largemouth, smallmouth, and spotted bass), bluegill, two species of crappie (white crappie and black crappie), walleye, and three species of catfish (channel catfish, flathead catfish and white catfish).

The lake has three coves with standing timber, and there are scattered beds of aquatic vegetation.

The main forage fish are gizzard shad and alewives.

Largemouth Bass

The largemouth bass fishery is rated good.

There are good numbers of fish over 20 inches, with March to early-April the best time to catch a trophy fish. Late spring through summer the best fishing is at night. The best fall fishing is during murky water conditions in November and early December when good fish are caught by casting crayfish-colored crankbaits across rocky points.

Smallmouth Bass

The smallmouth bass fishery is rated poor.

It’s a small, remnant population with low recruitment, but fish up to 20 inches are present.

Fish steep, rocky banks in the lower lake.

Spotted Bass

The spotted bass fishery is rated fair.

There are fair numbers of fish up to 16 inches, and larger fish up to 18 inches are present.

Fish rocky shores in the mid-to-lower lake.

Carr Creek Lake contains very high numbers of Walleye from 15-26 inches, with a few fish up to 28 inches. (Photo by Art Lander Jr.)

Walleye

The walleye fishery is rated excellent.

There are very high numbers of fish from 15-26 inches, with a few fish up to 28 inches. During the summer fish the riprap and rocky banks near the dam, deep water in the lower lake where walleye suspend below schools of alewives, and coves with standing timber.

Crappie

The crappie fishery is rated good.

Both white crappie and black crappie are present in the lake, as well as the blacknose crappie, the result of a naturally-occurring recessive gene in black crappie. This distinctive fish, which has a pronounced black stripe from its nose to its dorsal fin.

Black crappie from 10 to 13 inches and white crappie from 10 to 15 inches are present in Carr Creek Lake.

Bluegill

The bluegill fishery is rated fair.

Good numbers of small bluegill are present. Fish in shallow coves during the late spring, and around the edges of weed beds during the summer.

Catfish

The catfish fishery is rated good.

Art Lander Jr. is outdoors editor for KyForward. He is a native Kentuckian, a graduate of Western Kentucky University and a life-long hunter, angler, gardener and nature enthusiast. He has worked as a newspaper columnist, magazine journalist and author and is a former staff writer for Kentucky Afield Magazine, editor of the annual Kentucky Hunting & Trapping Guide and Kentucky Spring Hunting Guide, and co-writer of the Kentucky Afield Outdoors newspaper column.