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Monday (5/15/2017) and Tuesday (5/16/2017) are Air Quality Alert Days for ozone in Louisville/Southern Indiana. Forecasters believe ozone will be in the Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups (orange) range. Sensitive groups include seniors, children, and people with breathing ailments like asthma and COPD. The general public is not likely to be affected.
Check the air quality at louisvilleky.gov/airquality.
Find tips on reducing air pollution at helptheair.org.
Photo: Kentucky Department Fish and Wildlife
Kentucky marks the 20th anniversary of its wildly successful elk restoration program with a special “Kentucky Afield” television show preceding this year’s drawing for elk permits.
Tune to KET (Kentucky Education Television) at 8:30 p.m. (Eastern) Saturday, May 13, to get a behind the scenes look at how Kentucky’s Commonwealth Office of Technology conducts the annual drawing. “We’re airing this special program so everyone can see how it’s done,” said Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Commissioner Gregory Johnson.
The 30-minute show features Wildlife Division Director Steve Beam answering questions about the drawing process. Beam will also provide guidance to drawn hunters on selecting an area to hunt.
At 9 p.m. (Eastern), following the conclusion of the show, visit the Facebook site of “Kentucky Afield” TV or Kentucky Fish and Wildlife to see a scroll of the names of successful applicants. People may also check the status of their application by selecting the “My Profile” tab on the Kentucky Fish and Wildlife website, located at fw.ky.gov.
Kentucky received more than 78,000 applications this year for the 710 permits available through the drawing. Kentucky has the largest elk herd east of the Rocky Mountains and offers more elk hunting permits than all of the eastern states combined.
Kentucky’s restoration effort began with the release of seven elk in 1997.
Taking your kids to catch some hand-sized bluegill is another great aspect of this time of year in our state.
“A lot of your bigger male bluegill are moving up into the shallows,” said David Baker, Central Fisheries District biologist for the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. “It is an excellent time to take kids out and get them excited and hooked on fishing.”
Baker took his wife, daughter and son on a trip to a pond on a central Kentucky wildlife management area last weekend. “They caught so many fish; I couldn’t keep up with them,” he said. “My wife and daughter had one on at the same time. It was like that for a solid hour.”
Photo: Kentucky Department Fish and Wildlife
Bluegill in the shallows doing their reproductive dance brings some of the fastest fishing found. “Bluegill are close to spawning and definitely willing to strike bait suspended under a bobber,” Baker said. “I’ve been to several of our central Kentucky lakes recently and received good reports on the bluegill fishing. We manage the smaller state-owned lakes in our district for good panfish populations. Boltz Lake, Corinth Lake, Beaver Lake, Elmer Davis Lake and McNeely Lake are all fishing really well for panfish right now.”
Two of those lakes lie in Grant County, 92-acre Boltz Lake and 96-acre Corinth Lake, and both hold good bluegill populations. “Corinth rebounded from the shad eradication a while back and is doing well for bluegill,” Baker said. “We see them now up 8 ½ inches regularly. We are also seeing redear sunfish up to 10 inches in Corinth.” Redear sunfish are commonly called “shellcrackers” by anglers.
Baker said 158-acre Beaver Lake in Anderson County is full of 8-inch and longer bluegill. “Fish tight to cover and under the cedar trees for bluegill on Beaver Lake,” Baker said. “We also saw redear sunfish up to 12 inches at Beaver. They are out in the middle of coves on the mud flats.”
Elmer Davis Lake covers 149-acres in Owen County near Owenton. The lake is now refilling after a drawdown for repair work on the dam. Kentucky Fish and Wildlife conducted a shad eradication on the lake over the winter that Baker said will improve the bluegill and the redear sunfish populations in the lake over the coming years.
“Another good bluegill lake is McNeely Lake in Jefferson County,” Baker said. “It is right in the back yard of a lot of people in the Louisville area. McNeely also has a healthy population of redear sunfish.”
The smaller state-owned lakes offer excellent bank fishing for bluegill as do the 43 Fishing in Neighborhoods (FINs) lakes scattered throughout Kentucky.
If one has access to a boat, Kentucky Lake is arguably the best bluegill lake in Kentucky. The lake holds fantastic numbers of 6- to 8-inch fish with many larger specimens in the population.
Target the back reaches of coves in May on Kentucky Lake. Those with some flooded timber and an overhead canopy make the best spots. Look for freshly swept depressions in the bottom, indicating bluegill nests. You can catch bluegill all day long from spots like this on Kentucky Lake.
In addition to these lakes, farm ponds and subdivision lakes often hold good populations of bluegill. To check the bluegill population at a lake near you, check the annual Fishing Forecast.
Suspending a wiggling redworm impaled on a size 6 Aberdeen hook under a bobber still works extremely well for bluegill, as it has decade after decade. The rig will also fool any redear sunfish nearby.
Feather jigs tipped with a wax worm or a cricket suspended under a bobber also work well for bluegill. If bluegill get finicky, bottom fish a redworm impaled on an Aberdeen hook near weedbeds. You may also pick off a few redear sunfish with this presentation as well.
The bluegill are in the shallows spawning. For those who want to catch fish after fish, there is no comparison.
Credit: KY State Parks
Give mom a break this Mother’s Day with a buffet at a Kentucky State Park. The Kentucky State Parks will be offering a Mother’s Day buffet Sunday, May 14, at its resort parks.
The menu includes salad bar, fruit, cheese, roast beef, roast pork with apple dressing, chicken and dumplings, fried catfish and hush puppies, vegetables and desserts.
The buffet will start at 11 a.m. and closing times will vary by park. General Butler State Resort Park is having seatings at 11:30 a.m., 1 p.m., 2:30, 4 and 5:30.
The adult price is $19.50 plus tax; $9.50 plus tax for children ages 6-12 (drink included).
The resort parks all have gift shops. Visit a state park gift shop for unique Kentucky handcrafted items. Kentucky State Park gift cards are also available at parks and make excellent gifts.
For more information about Kentucky State Parks, visit www.parks.ky.gov.
For more than 150 years, Louisville’s bourbon industry and Louisville Water Co. have produced two of the city’s most recognized products. Now, Louisville Water is partnering with a local distiller to bring awareness to the important and essential role that Louisville’s water has with the industry.
Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer joined representatives from Louisville Water and the Bulleit Frontier Whiskey Experience at Stitzel-Weller yesterday to unveil the new partnership at the distiller’s Shively location, 3860 Fitzgerald Road.
As part of the partnership, the visitor experience at Stitzel-Weller now includes an exhibit on how the bourbon industry benefits from water step-by-step … from the crops, the fermenting process and bottling, to how the bourbon is served.
Louisville Water, for its part, will expand its involvement in many of the community’s bourbon-related events and attractions where water is served. The company also will add a special tour at its WaterWorks Museum that highlights the bourbon and water connection.
“This new partnership is another part of the growth and evolution of Bourbonism in our city,” the Mayor said. And it reflects a very old alliance between two of Louisville’s most recognized products – bourbon and water.”
Louisville Water began in 1860, and by the 1880s, more than 10 distillers were using water, initially for cooling the equipment, fire protection and hydraulic elevators. Today, Louisville Water counts more than a dozen distillers among its customers.
Louisville Water’s history with Stitzel-Weller also is a long one. The company first provided fire protection to Stitzel-Weller in 1937 and then a supply line in 1944.
“The bourbon industry is an important part of our daily production of 115 million gallons of drinking water,” said Spencer Bruce, President and CEO of Louisville Water. “Our water’s great taste supports the bourbon flavor, whether it’s a drop of water or a rock in the drink. And water is the only ingredient that can be added to the bourbon once it leaves the barrel and goes into the bottle, so in that way Louisville Water is enjoyed by millions worldwide.”
For distillers, Louisville’s water provides a great base to start the distilling process.
“Beyond the distilling, we serve Louisville’s water in the tasting room. It’s a key ingredient as a visitor samples our bourbon – as air is to wine, water is to bourbon,” says Kevin Didio, manager of the Bulleit Frontier Whiskey Experience at Stitzel-Weller. “And beyond that, serving water alongside our great brands is part of our commitment to a socially responsible experience.”
Photo: Actors Theatre of Louisville
Artistic Director Les Waters and Managing Director Kevin E. Moore are thrilled to share that Andrew Hinderaker’s The Magic Play will round out Actors Theatre of Louisville’s 2017 – 2018 Season. Critically acclaimed magician and actor Brett Schneider stars in this one-of-a-kind theatrical experience that combines love, loss and world-class magic into an evening of pure heart-warming spectacle. Chicago Sun-Times states, “True to its title, “The Magic Play,” Andrew Hinderaker’s highly original, altogether remarkable new work, is full of sleight-of-hand astonishments.” Directed by Halena Kays, The Magic Play will run from January 23 – February 11, 2018 in the Pamela Brown Auditorium as part of the Brown-Forman Series.
“The Magic Play is theatrical wonder at its very best,” says Artistic Director Les Waters. “Not only is it world-class magic that everyone will enjoy, but also a moving human drama of loss and love. I am excited to share this play with our community and think Andrew Hinderaker’s brilliance will be a perfect complement to the other wildly entertaining stories in our 2017 – 2018 Season.”
Presenting the finalized 2017 – 2018 Season at Actors Theatre of Louisville:
Angels in America, Part One: Millennium Approaches
Angels in America, Part Two: Perestroika
By Tony Kushner
Directed by Meredith McDonough
August 29 – October 14, 2017
Fifth Third Bank’s Dracula
Originally dramatized by John L. Balderston and Hamilton Deane
From Bram Stoker’s world-famous novel, Dracula
As adapted and directed by William McNulty
September 6 – October 31, 2017
Skeleton Crew
By Dominique Morisseau
Directed by Steve H. Broadnax III
November 14 – December 10, 2017
Fifth Third Bank’s A Christmas Carol
By Charles Dickens
Adapted by Barbara Field
Directed by Drew Fracher
November 21 – December 23, 2017
The Santaland Diaries
By David Sedaris
Adapted by Joe Mantello
Directed by Meredith McDonough
December 1 – 23, 2017
Little Bunny Foo Foo
By Anne Washburn
Directed by Les Waters
January 9 – February 4, 2018
The Magic Play
By Andrew Hinderaker
Directed by Halena Kays
Featuring magician Brett Schneider
January 23 – February 11, 2018
42nd Humana Festival of New American Plays
February 28 – April 8, 2018
The 2017-2018 Season is generously supported by Brown-Forman, the official season sponsor, with additional support from Fund for the Arts, the Kentucky Arts Council and Yum! Brands, which supports the student matinee series.
For more information on the 2017-2018 Season, including play descriptions and ticketing availability, please visit ActorsTheatre.org.
Louisville Metro Emergency Services Officials are providing attendees of Derby Week events with a new safety tool designed to provide an additional layer of safety and security to measures already in place surrounding the Pegasus Parade, the Kentucky Derby Festival events, the Kentucky Oaks and the Kentucky Derby.
LENSAlert now allows citizens and visitors to text predetermined keywords to sign up for alerts at major events in the city. The system provides real time alerts and notifications and will inform event attendees of severe weather, hazardous material incidents and other emergencies.
Attendees are encouraged to Opt-In prior to the event, by texting to 67283 and using one of the keywords below:
Keyword / Event
Parade – for notifications at the Pegasus Parade
Festival – for notifications at any Kentucky Derby Festival event
Oaks – for notifications at the Kentucky Oaks
Derby – for notifications at the Kentucky Derby
DerbyWeek – to sign up for all of the above at once
Emergency Services Director Jody Meiman states, “Use of LENSAlert’s Opt-In feature will be coordinated through the Incident Management System from the Emergency Operations Center and is meant to communicate emergency information only and will be the trusted source of information should a major incident occur. We expect a safe and secure Derby Week but based on events that are occurring around the world, we would be remiss if we did not use tools such as LENSAlert to assist in safely securing the public.”
In the event of a major incident, Emergency Services, the Kentucky Derby Festival and Louisville Metro Police Department will post a LENSAlert Opt-In graphic on social media in order to direct inquiries to the LENSAlert Opt-In feature.