Wolf Creek National Fish Hatchery

Wolf Creek National Fish Hatchery

was constructed in 1975. This is one

of the most recently constructed

hatcheries in the federal hatchery

system.

This station currently produces

approximately 1,000,000 trout

weighing 230,000 pounds. In

cooperation with the Kentucky

Department of Fish and Wildlife

Resources, fish are stocked into 90

different public fishing waters in the

state. No private waters are stocked.

The majority of the fish are stocked

in waters controlled by the federal

government.

The hatchery’s water supply

comes from Lake Cumberland at

a depth ranging from 25 to 100 feet

below the water surface. The water

temperatures will range from 40° to

65° depending on the time of year.

The water gravity flows through

the hatchery at rates up to 15,000

gallons per minute.

Over a century ago, it was recognized

that conservation measures were

necessary to maintain good fishing

in our public waters. Fishing has

always been one of America’s leading

forms of outdoor recreation. The

primary responsibility of the Wolf

Creek National Fish Hatchery is to

raise rainbow trout which will help

preserve this tradition for present as

well as future generations of

Americans.

Construction of a dam, regardless

of its type, alters the entire

environment within a river. The first

and most obvious change takes place

when the reservoir fills, but many

changes may also take place below

the dam. Some of them might be

subtle, and others, like those in the

Cumberland tailwaters, might be

quite drastic.

Wolf Creek Dam produces a large,

deep reservoir in which the water

stratifies into temperature layers

during the summer and fall months.

The water released into the

Cumberland River comes from a

deep, cool layer. It caused a loss of

the original warm water fish habitat

and replaced in with the present

cold tailwater.
What Can You Do?

Visitors are welcome to tour the

hatchery and to fish in the creek

below the hatchery.

7:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. daily.

Restrooms, drinking water, and

parking areas are provided for

public use. During your visit, please

feel free to ask questions you may

have concerning the hatchery.

Group Tours

Special group tours can be arranged

with the Hatchery Manager. You are

invited to return often.

Hatchery Manager

Wolf Creek National Fish Hatchery

50 Kendall Road

Jamestown, KY 42629-6502

Telephone: 270/343 3797

Email: James_Gray@fws.gov

Fishing and Camping

Fishing is allowed in the creek below

the hatchery. This creek is Handicap

Accessible with a ramp at creek level.

The creek is randomly stocked

3 to 4 times a week.

The Cumberland river provides good

fishing for trout, walleye, sauger, and

others depending on the distance

from the dam.

Lake Cumberland provides good

fishing and is well known for the

striper fishing which has produced

fish in excess of fifty pounds. Lake

Cumberland provides an excellent

recreational area as the lake is

approximately 55,000 acres with many

fingers where a person can have their

own little section to themselves.

Camping is available at the Corps of

Engineers, Kendall Park, 877/444 6777.

The Lake Cumberland State Resort

Park, 800/325 1709, is nearby. Lodging

is available at three resort lodges

and numerous motels in the area.

Houseboats can be rented from

different docks if you choose to sleep on

the water. Visit the Lake Cumberland

Website at www.cumberlandlake.com.

For Additional

Information

Contact

KENTUCKY

TENNESSEE

Wolf Creek

Fish Hatchery

Columbia

Russell

Springs

Jamestown

Albany

Somerset

Burnside

Monticello

Whitley

 City

C U M B E R L A N D P K W Y

127

127

Lake 27

Cumberland

90

55

90

92

Hatchery Hours
This is an ideal vacation spot for

anyone that likes water sports.

Lexington, Bowling Green, and

Louisville are about 100 miles from

Jamestown, KY which offer horse

racing and many forms of

entertainment.

1. Visitor Parking

2. Sheltered Exhibit

At the kiosk, read information

pertaining to the National Fish

Hatchery System, Wolf Creek

National Fish Hatchery and the

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.

Located throughout the grounds

you will find informational signs to

help you understand the hatchery

and it’s operation.

3. Incubator and Juvenile

Fish Rearing Area

Spawning operations are not

conducted at this station. However,

Federal hatcheries in Tennessee,

West Virginia, Wyoming, and

Montana hold adult trout

(broodstock) which are spawned

artificially. After the eggs are taken

and fertilized, they are held at the

station until they develop to the eyed

egg stage. Then the eggs are shipped

via Federal Express to production

hatcheries like Wolf Creek National

Fish Hatchery to hatch.

This is the incubator and juvenile

fish rearing area. When the station

receives eggs, fall through winter

months, they are disinfected to

prevent spread of fish diseases. They

are counted using volume metric

displacement and then placed in the

incubators to hatch.

Approximately 10 to 14 days after

the eggs are placed in the

incubators, they hatch. The fry are

left in the incubator for another 14

days until their yolk sac is absorbed.

The fry are then transferred to

rearing tanks where they are fed

specially formulated feed hourly. The

young fry, when they reach

approximately 2 inches, become

teenage fish and are called

fingerlings. When the fingerlings

grow to 3 inches they are moved to

the outside raceways where the

larger fish are kept.

4

5

7

9

10

8

6

3 3A

1 2

Wolf Creek
The fish enjoy visitors and will swim

to meet you but it is harmful to them

if you catch them.

3A. Hatchery Office

4. Raceway Area

Fish are fed and cared for until they

reach the desired stocking size. It takes

approximately 18 months to develop

from egg stage to a 9 inch fish.

Feeding activities range from twice a

day for the larger fish to 5 to 6 times

daily for the smaller sizes. As the fish

grow, transferring of them from one

raceway to another is a regular

occurrence.

Throughout the year fish are

harvested from the raceways and

distributed by truck for stocking in

over 90 different streams, lakes and

tailwaters in Kentucky and North

Carolina.

5. Garage and Maintenance Buildings

These are maintenance, garage and

paint storage buildings where work

activity involves the mechanical

aspects of the hatchery’s

maintenance and operation. For

safety reasons, this area is not open

to the public.

6. Feed Bins

Fish food is stored here for easy

transfer to the vehicles which are

used for feeding fish in the

raceways.

7. Restrooms

8. Road—Handicapped Only

9. Parking and Fishing Ramp

Handicapped Only

10. Residences—Hatchery

Personnel Only

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

The Wolf Creek National Fish

Hatchery is one of more than 65 units

in the National Fish Hatchery

System administered by the U.S.

Fish & Wildlife Service. The Service

also manages over 514 national

wildlife refuges and

major fish and wildlife

research laboratories

across the country. As the

Nation's primary steward

of fish and wildlife

resources, the Service

provides leadership in

habitat and wetlands

protection; fish and

wildlife research and

technical assistance; and

in the conservation and

protection of migratory

birds, anadromous fishes, certain

marine mammals, and threatened and

endangered species.

Wolf Creek National Fish Hatchery is

one of 14 Federal hatcheries located

in the southeast region. These

hatcheries serve a vital role in the

management of our fishery resources.

We have enjoyed having you visit the

hatchery and invite you to return

often. Your awareness of our resource

and its needs is the basic foundation

for support of healthy fish and

wildlife populations.

Please

don’t

harm

the fish.

Keep your

hands

out of the

water.

Norfork Mammoth

Spring

Greers

Ferry

Dale

Hollow

Erwin Edenton

Warm

Springs

Bears

Bluff

Orangeburg

Welaka

Private

John Allen

Natchitoches

•Wolf

Creek

Chattahoochee Forest

National Fish Hatcheries

Southeast Region

Warm Water Hatchery

Cold Water Hatchery
Natural Life

Trout eggs are deposited in

prepared redds, or nests

in the gravel of stream

beds and hatch in 8 weeks

or more. A young fish or

fry lives for 3 to 4 weeks

on food absorbed from

the yolk sac.

About the time the

yolk is completely absorbed, the

fingerling emerges from the

gravel and feeds on microscopic

aquatic organisms.

From the many eggs

deposited in the gravel,

only a very few young

fish are produced and

survive to adulthood.

Most of the eggs and

young fish die from

natural causes such as

floods, silt, drought and

predators. Under

natural conditions, relatively few

trout reach catchable size to be

taken by fishermen.

Life-Cycle of Rainbow Trout

Egg to Fingerling

Undeveloped

Egg

Hatching

Fry

Fingerling

Trout

Eyed Egg Sac Fry

Photos by USFWS

Threatened and Endangered Species

The Wolf Creek National Fish

Hatchery is actively engaged in the

recovery and restoration of many

imperiled aquatic species. These

activities are carried out through on

station propagation of fish and

mussel species, reintroductions, and

field surveys. Today,

almost every river and

stream in the Southeast

has been modified in some

way. All of these and other

forces have dramatically

altered the Southeast’s

aquatic biodiversity and

fishery resources.

Although some changes

affecting aquatic habitat,

such as reservoirs, have

contributed substantially

to recreational fisheries,

the Southeast’s aquatic

biodiversity is threatened,

and by some measures the

Southeast’s aquatic ecosystem health

is poor and continues to decline.

Annual Catch A Rainbow

Kids Fishing Derby

Held annually, the first Saturday

in June. This event is free for

children ages 1 to 15. Lots of prizes,

trophies, food, and drinks for the

participants. A great family event.

For more information visit

www.catcharainbow.org.

Future Visitor/Environmental

Education Center

We are currently in the planning and

design phase of a 8,700 sq. ft. office,

visitor center, and environmental

education complex. The new facility

will greatly enhance our visitor and

environmental education programs.

Construction should be complete by

mid-2005.
Wolf Creek

National Fish Hatchery

50 Kendall Road

Jamestown, Kentucky 42629-6502

270/343 3797

Email: James_Gray@fws.gov

http://wolfcreek.fws.gov

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

1 800/344 WILD

January 2004