Guist Lake a Haven for Big Bass

I recently wrote about Guist Creek Lake in Shelby County and its great potential as a bass fishery. Well, it is living up to everyone's expectations.

Tom Banta, owner of Guist Creek Marina, called me April 14 and suggested I come down and see the bass in their tank on the showroom floor. When I arrived, I saw the biggest bass I've ever seen alive - 10 pounds, 2 ounces.

The fish was caught by Monte Clos of Falmouth, Ky. while fishing a tournament held April 13 by Kincaid Bass Club. (The fish died in the tank last week.)

Seven largemouth bass over six pounds each, including Clos's big fish, were caught during the tournament, all on that Sunday. Most were taken by pitching jig/pig combinations into the wooded structure on the channel banks.

As is the case in most bass fishing tournaments, each fish was released back into the lake, except Clos's monster.

Now that the big pre-spawn females have "turned on" at Guist Creek, they should remain very active until mid-May.

From the apogee of the moon until full moon (six to eight days), big bass move into the shallow water looking for spawning sites. This migration occurs at our latitude in March, April, and May.

Many factors such as water temperature and water levels can have an effect on this pattern, but its fairly dependable year in and year out.

The reports coming out of Taylorsville Lake are almost as encouraging as those from Guist Creek. Taylorsville has returned to summer pool after running very high since the March 1 flooding. The water is still heavily stained in the main lake but the creeks are clearing.

Good catches of bass and crappie are being reported daily to Fred Taylor, owner of Bounty Hunter Bait & Tackle in Taylorsville. Taylor said the bass are hitting plastic worms and jigs, while the crappie are being caught in the trees with minnows.

Until last week, the only boat ramp open at Taylorsville was Possum Ridge. But I have been informed that Van Buren and Settlers Trace have re-opened as well.

When fishing Taylorsville be sure to watch out for drifting debris and timber in the aftermath of last month's flooding and high water.

The Commonwealth Open bass tournaments are now back every Saturday at Taylorsville Lake. Mike Cecil, Commonwealth's director, reports lots of bass being caught but most fail to make the 15-inch size limit. The tournament sign-up is at Bounty Hunter Bail & Tackle between 6 and 7 a.m. and the weigh-in is at Possum Ridge ramp.

Now is the time for challenging those big bass...if you can't stop turkey hunting long enough to do so.

Good luck and God bless.