Wolf Creek National Fish Hatchery

Just below Wolf Creek Dam on the tailwater of Lake Cumberland in Russell County, Kentucky, the Wolf Creek National Fish Hatchery sits on one of the most productive cold-water stretches in the eastern United States. The facility was constructed in nineteen seventy-five specifically to compensate for the trout habitat destroyed when the Army Corps of Engineers dammed the Cumberland River. Cold water released from the base of the dam creates ideal trout conditions for miles downstream.

The hatchery produces roughly one million trout per year, for stocking in public fishing waters across Kentucky. Its visitor and education center, opened in September two thousand six, was the first such facility at any national fish hatchery in the country.