Cedar Creek Lake being lowered for nuisance vegetation control

​​FRANKFORT, Ky. (Nov. 13, 2025) — The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources has begun a drawdown of Cedar Creek Lake in Lincoln County in an effort to control excessive nuisance aquatic vegetation. The lake is being​ lowered 7-9 feet this winter to try to control the invasive plants that are starting to negatively impact fish populations.

Cedar Creek Lake has experienced the establishment and expansion in coverage of the invasive aquatic plant, Brazilian elodea, and is still seeing effects of other nuisance vegetation that is impacting the size and growth rates of largemouth bass, including the bigger bass.

“Eurasian watermilfoil had been established for several years in the lake, but the addition of the Brazilian elodea has really had an impact on the bass population,” said Marcy Anderson, Southeastern District fisheries program coordinator for Kentucky Fish and Wildlife. “With the expansion of the Brazilian elodea, the number of largemouth bass less than 8 inches sampled in the spring has become excessive, more than doubling the last few years.”

The lake was previously lowered in 2007 and 2015 to address overabundant vegetation. Grass carp have also been stocked in the lake in 2009, 2016 and 2023 as part of a multi-pronged approach to maintain moderate levels of aquatic plants.

“Drawdowns expose the nuisance vegetation to freezing temperatures throughout the winter,” said Dave Dreves, Fisheries Division director for Kentucky Fish and Wildlife. “Even though it wouldn’t be popular with Kentucky residents, a cold, harsh winter would provide the best vegetation control. Drawing the water down out of the shoreline vegetation will also have the benefit of exposing more of the smaller forage fish, such as sunfish, to predation, thereby increasing the foraging efficiency of predators like largemouth bass.”

Some weeds are beneficial for a lake. They provide protective cover for young fish, concentrate forage fish, provide ambush points for predator fish, and provide anglers with visible locations to target fish. Too many weeds, on the other hand, can overly protect young fish causing them to stunt in size because of too much competition, limit access to forage for the intermediate and larger fish which reduces their condition and growth, and reduces the fishable area of a lake.

“Based on past angler attitude surveys conducted on the lake, there has been a 50/50 split between angler satisfaction with the amount of vegetation and those wanting less,” said Jeff Ross, assistant director of Fisheries for Kentucky Fish and Wildlife. “We are trying to hit that sweet spot between too much and too little aquatic vegetation in the lake.”

The Southeastern Fisheries District staff monitor the fish populations in Cedar Creek Lake every year and will assess fish numbers, sizes and growth, especially for largemouth bass in the coming years to determine the effectiveness of the drawdown. Although often expensive, limited use of herbicides may also be employed on the lake next spring depending upon the results of the vegetation control efforts this winter.

During the drawdown, the main boat ramp at the dam will remain usable and anglers should be able to reach all fishable areas of the lake. During the fullest extent of the drawn down, anglers will no longer be able to launch trailered boats at the Cowan Road boat ramp (upper-lake) or the old Highway 150 boat ramp (mid-lake).

Updates will be posted on the Kentucky Fish and Wildlife website (fw.ky.gov). For questions, contact the department’s Information Center at 800-858-1549, or at info.center@ky.gov, weekdays 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. (EST), except holidays.