Paintsville Lake is a reservoir in Johnson and Morgan counties in eastern Kentucky. It was impounded from Paint Creek in 1983 by the United States Army Corps of Engineers. It is the major attraction of Paintsville Lake State Park.
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. The dam did not break, and the residents 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: