New bank fishing area at Guist Creek Lake
During November, the Department completed the acquisition of a threeacre
tract of land at Guist Creek Lake.
Guist Creek Lake is a 317-acre state owned impoundment in Shelby County.
The new three-acre tract is located in the upper arm of the main tributary of Guist
Creek where Hwy 1779 crosses the lake.
Ultimately, the desired use for this tract of land will be to develop a parking area for
bank angling access to the lake, as well as the construction of a new fishing pier.
Central Fisheries District biologist Jeff Crosby has helped manage this fishery
for more than 15 years. “Guist Creek Lake is one of the premiere bass fisheries in central
Kentucky. Its reputation is for quality largemouth bass, not numbers.”
Crosby believes that anglers at Guist Creek Lake can expect another good year in 2011.
“Anglers should experience a high number of 15-inch and larger bass at Guist Creek Lake in 2011.”
While the densities of 15-inch and larger fish are on the increase, Crosby cautions that the
abundance of really big bass (20 inches) is about on par with previous years.
Guist Creek Lake also contains a good population of hybrid striped bass.
“The potential for a trophy hybrid striped bass is always there. This past fall, we
sampled numerous fish in the 20-inch and larger size class.”
The Department currently owns a 50-foot buffer around the entire perimeter of Guist Creek Lake. Unfortunately, anglers
must gain landowner permission to cross private property in order to access the buffer in most places around the lake.
Crosby believes that catfish and panfish anglers will benefit most from the development of the new bank fishing access.
“We have manipulated stocking densities of channel catfish over the past several years and observed a big response
in terms of the quality of the catfishery.
In conjunction with a 12-inch minimum size limit, the modification of stocking densities has really helped to increase
the overall size of the average channel catfish at Guist Creek.”
During November, the Department completed the acquisition of a threeacre
tract of land at Guist Creek Lake.
Guist Creek Lake is a 317-acre state owned impoundment in Shelby County.
The new three-acre tract is located in the upper arm of the main tributary of Guist
Creek where Hwy 1779 crosses the lake.
Ultimately, the desired use for this tract of land will be to develop a parking area for
bank angling access to the lake, as well as the construction of a new fishing pier.
Central Fisheries District biologist Jeff Crosby has helped manage this fishery
for more than 15 years. “Guist Creek Lake is one of the premiere bass fisheries in central
Kentucky. Its reputation is for quality largemouth bass, not numbers.”
Crosby believes that anglers at Guist Creek Lake can expect another good year in 2011.
“Anglers should experience a high number of 15-inch and larger bass at Guist Creek Lake in 2011.”
While the densities of 15-inch and larger fish are on the increase, Crosby cautions that the
abundance of really big bass (20 inches) is about on par with previous years.
Guist Creek Lake also contains a good population of hybrid striped bass.
“The potential for a trophy hybrid striped bass is always there. This past fall, we
sampled numerous fish in the 20-inch and larger size class.”
The Department currently owns a 50-foot buffer around the entire perimeter of Guist Creek Lake. Unfortunately, anglers
must gain landowner permission to cross private property in order to access the buffer in most places around the lake.
Crosby believes that catfish and panfish anglers will benefit most from the development of the new bank fishing access.
“We have manipulated stocking densities of channel catfish over the past several years and observed a big response
in terms of the quality of the catfishery.
In conjunction with a 12-inch minimum size limit, the modification of stocking densities has really helped to increase
the overall size of the average channel catfish at Guist Creek.”











