Paintsville Lake is a 1139 acres (4.6 km²) reservoir

Reservoir

A reservoir , artificial lake or dam is used to store water.Reservoirs may be created in river valleys by the construction of a dam or may be built by excavation in the ground or by conventional construction techniques such as brickwork or cast concrete.The term reservoir may also be used to...

 in Johnson

Johnson County, Kentucky

Johnson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. It was formed in 1843. As of 2000, the population was 23,445. Its county seat is Paintsville...

 and Morgan

Morgan County, Kentucky

Morgan County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of 2000, the population was 13,948. Its county seat is West Liberty. The county is among the dry counties, which means that the sale of alcohol is restricted or prohibited.- Geography :...

 counties in eastern Kentucky

Kentucky

The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...

. It was impounded from Paint Creek

Paint Creek (Johnson County, Kentucky)

Paint Creek is a tributary of the Levisa Fork in Johnson County, Kentucky. The stream is formed at the confluence of the Little Paint and Open Fork creeks. It is named for the colorful Adena Indian ideographs that were painted on white birch trees and rocks that once lined the stream.Paint Creek...

 in 1983 by the United States Army Corps of Engineers

United States Army Corps of Engineers

The United States Army Corps of Engineers is a federal agency and a major Army command made up of some 38,000 civilian and military personnel, making it the world's largest public engineering, design and construction management agency...

. It is the major attraction of Paintsville Lake State Park

Paintsville Lake State Park

Paintsville Lake State Park is a park located just west of Paintsville, Kentucky in Johnson County. The park itself encompasses , while Paintsville Lake, its major feature, covers approximately extending into parts of Morgan County....

.

History

Paintsville Lake officially opened to the public in 1983, three years before Paintsville Lake State Park was established.

On December 9, 1978, ten-thousand Johnson County residences had to be evacuated from the area below the construction site of the Paintsville Lake dam. This is because the area had recently received eight inches (200 mm) of rain, which had caused a leak in the coffer dam that was keeping the construction site of the actual dam dry. Luckily, the dam did not break and the residences were allowed to return to their homes the following day.

Fish species

Paintsville Lake has a variety of game fishing species. Fish that can be caught in the lake include:

Bass Bass (fish) Bass is a name shared by many different species of popular gamefish. The term encompasses both freshwater and marine species. All belong to the large order Perciformes, or perch-like fishes, and in fact the word bass comes from Middle English bars, meaning "perch."-Types of basses:*The temperate... Largemouth Bass Largemouth bass The largemouth bass is a species of black bass in the sunfish family native to North America . It is also known as widemouth bass, bigmouth, black bass, bucketmouth, Potter's fish, Florida bass, Florida largemouth, green bass, green trout, linesides, Oswego bass, southern largemouth... Smallmouth Bass Smallmouth bass The smallmouth bass is a species of freshwater fish in the sunfish family of the order Perciformes. It is the type species of its genus... Catfish Catfish Catfishes are a diverse group of ray-finned fish. Named for their prominent barbels, which resemble a cat's whiskers, catfish range in size and behavior from the heaviest and longest, the Mekong giant catfish from Southeast Asia and the second longest, the wels catfish of Eurasia, to detritivores... Channel Catfish Channel catfish Channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus, is North America's most numerous catfish species. It is the official fish of Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, and Tennessee, and is informally referred to as a "channel cat". In the United States they are the most fished catfish species with approximately 8...

Trout Trout Trout is the name for a number of species of freshwater and saltwater fish belonging to the Salmoninae subfamily of the family Salmonidae. Salmon belong to the same family as trout. Most salmon species spend almost all their lives in salt water... Rainbow Trout Rainbow trout The rainbow trout is a species of salmonid native to tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in Asia and North America. The steelhead is a sea run rainbow trout usually returning to freshwater to spawn after 2 to 3 years at sea. In other words, rainbow trout and steelhead trout are the same species.... Sunfish Lepomis Lepomis is a genus of freshwater fish in the sunfish family of order Perciformes. The most recognizable species of the sixteen in this genus is the Bluegill.... Perch Perch Perch is a common name for fish of the genus Perca, freshwater gamefish belonging to the family Percidae. The perch, of which there are three species in different geographical areas, lend their name to a large order of vertebrates: the Perciformes, from the Greek perke meaning spotted, and the... Walleye Walleye Walleye is a freshwater perciform fish native to most of Canada and to the northern United States. It is a North American close relative of the European pikeperch...

See also

• Paintsville Lake State Park
  Paintsville Lake State Park
  Paintsville Lake State Park is a park located just west of Paintsville, Kentucky in Johnson County. The park itself encompasses , while Paintsville Lake, its major feature, covers approximately extending into parts of Morgan County....
  
  
• Paintsville Lake facilities map
• Paintsville Lake area interactive GIS map