Guilford Lake is a 70 acre natural kettle lake located in the Town of Guilford, Chenango County. The lake is nearly circular in shape with a mean depth of 34 feet and a maximum depth of 70 feet. The eastern half of lake shore is undeveloped pasture and forest while a mix of permanent and summer homes line the western shoreline.
Physical Features:
Elevation: 1600 feet
Area: 70 acres
Shoreline Length: 1.5 miles
Length: 0.5 miles
Maximum Depth: 70 feet
Mean Depth: 34 feet
County and Town: Chenango County, Town of Guilford
Aquatic Plant Life:
There are some scattered, dense beds of rooted aquatic plants around the margins of the entire lake with the greatest concentrations occurring along the northern and western shore.
Access:
In Guilford, near the lake outlet along County Route 35. Hand launch. Parking for 15 cars.
For more information on this launch including Google Maps driving directions, visit the Boat Launch Sites for Chenango County page.
Fish Species:
Brown trout, rainbow trout, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, chain pickerel, black crappie, pumpkinseed sunfish, bluegill, rock bass, yellow perch, brown bullhead, white sucker, and golden shiner.
Fishing:
Stocked trout are able to survive throughout the year in Guilford Lake, so there is potential to catch larger hold-over fish. Largemouth bass are abundant, have good growth rates, with fish over 20 inches caught each year.
Regulations:
Statewide Fishing Regulations Apply.
Fisheries Management:
Guilford Lake is stocked annually with approximately 200 two-year old brown trout and 1,600 yearling rainbow trout.
Fisheries Survey:
A fisheries survey of Guilford Lake in Chenango County was conducted in May 2016. There had not been a fisheries survey completed since 1995, so recent information was needed on this moderately popular fishing destination worthy of periodic surveys. The survey showed that pumpkinseed were the most prevalent species in the pond, followed by yellow perch and largemouth bass. The growth rates for largemouth bass were consistently higher than the reported statewide average and at times exceed the fast growth values. Largemouth bass over 10 inches were caught at an impressive 42.4 fish per hour. Pumpkinseeds were caught at 215 per hour and were very near the statewide growth average at each age. Yellow perch are doing well in the lake in terms of numbers, but appear to be lagging behind the statewide growth averages at nearly every age. The current statewide angling regulations appear to be appropriate to maintain the fishery.
