Southland Christian gives lake two roles: wash away sins, catch a few fish
It won’t be long until temperatures warm up and local anglers pull out their fishing poles. This spring, they’ll have a new fishing hole available.
The campus of Southland Christian Church on Harrodsburg Road in Jessamine County has a 2.6-acre lake that was stocked with trout last week by the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. The lake has been added to the state’s Fishing in Neighborhoods program, which aims to provide quality fishing opportunities in communities of all sizes.
“This is a highly desired area,” said Dane Balsman, who coordinates the Fishing in Neighborhoods program for the fish and wildlife department. “Lexington has limited public waters for fishing. This lake will help alleviate that.”
Other nearby lakes in the Fishing in Neighborhoods program include the Jacobson Park lake and lakes at the Kentucky Horse Park. Balsman said Southland’s lake is the first of the 44 lakes in the program that is not owned by a governmental entity.
“We are excited about sharing resources with the community,” Jim Cox, campus operations director for Southland Christian Church, said in a news release. “This will be a place that families will come and enjoy.”
Cox asked that people not fish on Sunday mornings. The lake is open only during daylight hours.
The lake will be stocked with a total of 1,500 rainbow trout, 2,000 channel catfish and sunfish throughout this year. The state says the owners of lakes that participate in the Fishing in Neighborhoods program agree to cover 25 percent of the stocking costs.
People who fish there may keep four catfish, five trout, 15 sunfish and one largemouth bass over 15 inches long each day.
Children 15 and under don’t need a fishing license or trout permit, but anyone 16 or over must have a statewide fishing license.
Further details about the program and fishing requirements can be found at Fw.ky.gov/fish/pages/Fishing-In-Neighborhoods.aspx.
Karla Ward: 859-231-3314, @HLpublicsafety
This story was originally published February 10, 2018 at 6:56 PM with the headline "Southland Christian gives lake two roles: wash away sins, catch a few fish."