Kansas Fishing Report for Northwest Kansas

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REGION 1
Update dates are shown at the top of the report of the individual lake.
State reports last checked June 22, 2017 at 7:15 p.m.

Last Updated: 6/15/2017

Species	Rating	Size	Baits, Method, Location
Crappie	Fair	Up to 15 inches	Minnows, jigs, and small slab spoons fished vertically over steep drop-offs or around the fish attractors. Anglers are also picking up a few fish trolling crankbaits over deep water off of shelves and points.
Walleye	Good	Up to 28 inches	Drifting, cast and slow retrieve, or vertically fishing jigs tipped with nightcrawlers or minnows over well defined mainlake points has been very effective. Anglers report catching fish trolling worm and spinner rigs along edges of mainlake points and shelves too. The majority of fish caught have been in the 16 to 18 inch range.
White Bass/Wipers	Fair/Good	Whites up to 17 inches Wipers up to 13 lbs.	Anglers report catching fewer white bass this past week. But anglers are catching fish trolling crankbaits off the edges of mainlake shelves and points or casting various jigs over shallow flats and points. It shouldn't be long before white bass start feeding on hatchling shad at the water's surface. Look for fish slurping at the surface early and late in the day and cast small surface lures into surfacing fish. Casting a small fish imitating fly like a Clouser minnow with a fly rod can be very effective for surfacing whites this time of year. Anglers are catching wipers are catching wipers drifting live sunfish over large points or flats in about 20 feet of water.
WATER TEMPERATURE-73 SURFACE ELEVATION- 2120.05-23.95' below conservation pool ATTENTION: An established zebra mussel population has been documented at this water making Cedar Bluff an ANS designated water. With this designation a few new rules are now in effect primarily aimed at discouraging water containing microscopic zebra mussel larvae from leaving the property and establishing in new waters. Any time one leaves the reservoir it is best to clean mud, vegetation, or attached zebra mussel adults off of boats and other equipment, drain any thing on a boat or other equipment that holds water, and allow boats and other equipment to dry completely before using them at another body of water. It is now illegal to use wild-caught bait from Cedar Bluff at any other water. Live fish are not to be taken off the property. And all livewells and bilges must be drained prior to leaving the property. It is illegal to release fish into public water unless it was taken from that water. So please discard any leftover bait in a trash can. Cedar Bluff District Newsletter: A biannual newsletter detailing fishing related prospects and activities in the Cedar Bluff District, which includes such waters as Cedar Bluff Reservoir, Sheridan and Scott State Fishing Lakes, Antelope Lake, and other public fishing waters in northwest Kansas are available. If you would like to subscribe to this newsletter you can go to the following link to get on the mailing list. The link is: http://kdwp.state.ks.us/news/KDWP-Info/News/Newsletter-Request-Forms/Request-a-Newsletter-for-the-Cedar-Bluff-Fishing-District

GLEN ELDER FISHING REPORT - Need a Map? -

Last Updated: 6/2/2017

Species	Rating	Size	Baits, Method, Location
Crappie	Fair to Good	8-13 inches	The crappie spawn continues as fish have been observed in 2-3 feet of water in several of the main lake coves. This action should continue over the next couple of weeks. These fish will be susceptible to being caught on minnows and jigs fished under a bobber. In addition, anglers have reported a few crappie in 12 feet of water toward the west end using minnows fished near the bottom.
Walleye	Good	14-24 inches	Same as last week. Anglers have been reporting good to excellent success catching walleye on the west half of the reservoir in 18 to 22 feet of water. Jigs and crawlers and jigs and minnows are both working equally well.
White Bass Wipers	Good	11-18 inches 19-27 inches	The white bass spawn continues with water temperature in the 60's. As a result, anglers should look for these guys along the Cawker City causeway and in the river channels west of the causeway. Anglers will also catch some along the dam and trolling along the river channel on the lower half of the reservoir. There have been reports of a few fish up the rivers as well and that should continue over the next week or two. Wipers have been caught on the north side of the lake, especially in the coves on days with a strong south wind. Rattletraps and slab spoons are working best. Anglers have also reported catching wipers off the old road bed near the golf course. Walleye anglers have also had good success while fishing along the river channel with jig and worms on the western end of the reservoir.
Black Bass	Good	10-19 inches	With the water warming up, the bass fishing is picking up as well. The smallmouth can be found in their regular spots along the dam, the north shore between the dam and Granite Creek, and along the south bluffs. Largemouth bass should be targeted in Mill Creek, Schoen's Cove, Osage Cove, and Walnut Creek. Slowly fishing soft plastics can work well, but half ounce white and chartreuse spinnerbaits are hard to beat for spring bass angling.
Channel Catfish	Good	All Sizes	The catfish spawn in getting close and the fish will move to the rocks shortly. Granite Creek and the Cawker City causeway are usually the best areas to try, but the south bluffs and rip rap in the state park will all attract spawning catfish.
Anglers can now find GPS locations for each of the brush piles located in the reservoir. Simply click on this link Good Fishing Spots and select the individual brush pile. As we enhance these brush piles throughout the year, we'll make a note under each individual location. Current water temperature: 64°F Current Water Level: 2.9 feet above conservation Please discard of leftover bait in a trash can, even baitfish. Remember it is illegal to release any fish into public water unless it was taken from that water!

KANOPOLIS RESERVOIR FISHING REPORT - Need a Map? -

Last Updated: 6/13/2017

Species	Rating	Size	Baits, Method, and Location
Channel Catfish	Good	16 - 21"	Good. Few reports and the water temp is good for the catfish bite; try small cutbait and worms from 4 to 10 foot of water or shallower after lunch and toward the evening.
Crappie	Fair	10 to 13 inches	Good. Water temps have risen to the low 70s. Folks are catching fish on brush piles and in Marina Cove.
Trout			NOTICE: Trout season is over but a few fish survive the summer temps.
Walleye/Saugeye	Fair/good	14 - 22"	Fair. Few keeper (18") fish being reported. There are some reports of fish over the new 18" length limit near Loder point and tower but most being caught are less than 17". A few fish are shallow near flooded vegetation. Try 6 - 14' depths on wind blow points and the dam.
White Bass	Fair	All sizes - up to 17 inches	Fair. Try white bass on the river channel edges, rocky points, and the dam.
Wiper	Fair	All sizes	Fair. No current reports from anglers. Summer reports documented fish up to 11 pounds and limits being caught off points and deeper flats near river channel. Try live minnows and trolling soft baits on shallow flats near the river channel or wind-blown points.
General Comment
Elevation: Water level is 4.7' above conservation pool and falling. Water Temperature: 78 degrees Current lake elevation and water temperature is available on the location page linked to this fishing report. It is updated daily by the Corps of Engineers. This is a general winter fishing report. If a hot tip is received, the report will be updated. Otherwise, weekly fishing reports will resume in March.

Last Updated: 5/25/2017

Species	Rating	Size	Baits, Method, Location
Walleye	Fair to Good	12-24 inches	The walleye will begin to migrate toward the west end of the lake and can be caught using a jig and crawler or jig and worm combo. The 2-mile road area is popular among anglers as well as the river channel near Oak Hill and as far west as Pawnee Point. 1.5 million walleye were stocked on April 3rd at Lovewell!
White Bass/Wipers	Fair to Good	7-13 inches 14-23 inches	Same as last week. The white bass spawn continues and the best place to look for these guys is along the dam and other rocky shorelines. Casting roadrunners, Mister Twisters, and Kastmasters are all good lures to catch a few whites with some wipers mixed in as well.
Channel Catfish	Fair to Good	3-12 pounds	Catfish prefer to move up into coves and creek channels in the spring to feed on incoming food washed into the reservoir. Using fresh shad is the best bait, but stink baits, shad gizzards, and chicken liver can also produce fish this time of year. Anglers have reported catching blue catfish on the upper end recently using cut bait. These fish are less than the legal length limit so please release all blue catfish that you catch. There is a 35 inch length limit on blue catfish. All blue catfish less than 35 inches should be returned to the water immediately. Please handle these fish with care if you do catch one.
Crappie	Good	7-13 inches	There are a lot of crappie in the reservoir now, but most of them are one year old fish less than 10 inches. There are, however, a fair number of fish between 10 and 13 inches for anglers to target. Fishing around the deep brush piles off Cabin Point, Cedar Point, and the Marina will be good places to start, but fishing around the marina boat docks can also yield some fish. The crappie spawn is on and anglers will have some success once they can locate their spawning grounds. Minnows fished under a bobber work great, but jigs 12-18 inches under a bobber can be dynamite for catching spawning crappie when slowly retrieved over their nesting areas. Look for these fish in Marina Cove, Cabin Cove, Inner Mill Creek, and Montana Creek.
Comments
Anglers can now find GPS coordinates, descriptions, and histories of some of the major brush piles in Lovewell. Simply follow this link Good Fishing Spots and select the individual brush pile to find out more information. Current water temperature: 64ºF Current water level: 2.5 feet above conservation Please discard of leftover bait in a trash can, even baitfish. Remember it is illegal to release any fish into public water unless it was taken from that water!

Last Updated: 6/13/2017

Species Rating Size Baits, Method, Location

Crappie Poor 10-14 inches Poor. Crappie numbers are very low and no reports of fish being caught yet but fish are likely moving towards shallower rock and cover to feed prior to spawning. Coves towards the upper end of the reservoir and Otoe in Hell Creek are your best bets.

Striped Bass Fair 2-15 pounds Good. There were reports of a few 15+ lb. fish being caught and released. They are beginning to relate to deeper structure on the main lake. Look for stripers from 10 - 30' on ledges and drop offs near the river channel. There is an abundance of stripers in the 16 - 18" range. These fish have excellent body condition compared to the last few years.

Walleye Fair to Good 14-25 inches Fair. A few more reports coming in of a few fish being caught. Warming water has a few being caught at shallow to moderate depths (mostly shallow flats). Fish late evening and early morning on shallow wind-blown points and rocky shorelines. Most shoreline right now is covered with reed grass so try swimming jigs and spinners in the vegetation and on the outer edge.

Channel Catfish Fair 2-10 pounds
Fair. Try cutbait and worms near the river channel and off points such as Minooka, Lucas, etc. Look for fish to move shallower (<8 feet depths) towards sundown. The channel catfish population in Wilson has been a nice surprise the last few years. Water temps are reasonable for a good catfish bite.

Be on the lookout for blue catfish which are also in the reservoir. They are not legal size yet so make sure and take care to return them to the water. There is a 35 inch minimum length limit on blue catfish at Wilson Reservoir!

White Bass Fair 12-18 inches, up to 3 pounds Fair. There are low number of white bass but locate shad and try spinners and live shiners around Minooka and rocky points.

Black Bass Good 14-18 inches Good. Many smallmouth are being caught by casual anglers and tournament anglers up to 3 lbs. Largemouth are also being caught but in much less numbers. Use slow/moderate presentations with crawfish colored or chartreuse crankbaits. Also try texas and carolina-rigged soft plastic tubes, craws, or worms off of rocky shorelines or reed grass margins.

White Perch Fair 9 to 13 inches
Fair. Some are being caught up to 12" in size. We found moderate numbers of white perch around the upper end of the reservoir as well as Hell Creek. The lower end of the reservoir didn't have nearly as many. The fish we collected seemed to be targeting the river channel and moving up and down it while feeding. The west end had the biggest white perch I've seen in some time with 12-13 inch fish common. Anglers might try spoons and spinners off of the river channel near the bluffs towards Minooka - IT IS ILLEGAL TO HAVE A WHITE PERCH ALIVE IN YOUR POSSESSION - IF YOU CATCH IT AND WANT TO KEEP IT - IT HAS TO BE DEAD IN A COOLER OR LIVEWELL. THEY ARE NO LONGER LEGAL AS LIVE BAIT FOR STRIPERS OR OTHER FISH!!!!!

The white perch numbers are down in Wilson right now which is the goal of managing aquatic nuisance species. While this species will continue to thrive and reproduce in Wilson, they are still an ANS species and KDWPT has managed the predator base in such a way to limit their numbers. The hope is that the white bass will be able to make a comeback at the expense of the white perch numbers declining.

General Comments

Lake Elevation = 2.0' ABOVE conservation pool and falling slowly. USACE has increased outflows.

Surface Temperature = 75 - 78 degrees.

BOAT RAMP UPDATE: All boat ramps are useable. WEAR YOUR LIFE JACKETS and be courteous at boat ramps!

We have two Aquatic Nuisance Species - white perch and zebra mussels and have joined Cheney and El Dorado as lakes with both species. The law now says that if anyone leaves the lake with water in your livewell or boat, you are subject to a ticket for transporting Zebra Mussels since they will spawn and the microscopic little mussels will probably be in every drop of water in the lake. Make sure you drain all water from the boat before you leave the boat ramp area!!! We have been taking veliger samples and the samples were high so be sure to drain and dry everything!!!!!!

Last Updated: 6/2/2017

Species	Rating	Size	Baits, Method, Location
Crappie	Good to Excellent	8-11 inches	The crappie population is dominated by three and four year old fish in the 8-10 inch range as we collected many of these during our 2016 fall sample. There are also a few 11-13 inch fish as well, but they are not as common. This 2013 year class should provide a boost to the crappie numbers as they continue to grow. Anglers will have success fishing crappie around the deep brush piles using jigs and minnows. The crappie spawn is underway and anglers should be able to have good success over the next several weeks catching spawning crappie in the shallows. Look for them off the end of the jetties or in protected coves with ample vegetation. A jig and minnow is the best way to catch these guys, but jigs fished under a bobber also work well.
Channel Catfish	Fair to Good	11-25 inches	The catfish numbers look very good right now based on fall netting and anglers should be pleased with the numbers of cats in the lake right now. Many of these fish are in the 3-5 pound range, but there are also a handful of larger fish between 7 and 10 pounds. Traditional baits like stink bait, shad sides, and chicken liver should all work for catching some catfish now. Anglers are encouraged to target them in shallow coves and areas of inflow. The upper end could be a great place to try as the water warms up during spring.
Bluegill Green Sunfish Redear Sunfish	Fair to Good	6-11 inches	The bluegill numbers appear to be stable right now with fish between 4 and 7 inches dominating the catch, but fish up to 8 inches were collected this fall. Redear sunfish are thriving very well right now with fish up to 11 inches collected this fall. There are two size groups with good numbers of 6-9 inch fish and fair numbers of 10 to 11 inch fish.
Largemouth Bass	Good	10-21 inches	We recently conducted our annual bass sample and the numbers look much better compared to the 2016 sample. Good numbers of 16-18 inch fish are available with fish up to 21 inches or 5 pounds collected. There are also several younger year classes of small fish which will help the population in the next couple of years. White and chartreuse spinnerbaits are hard to beat, but slowly fishing soft plastics including Senkos can be productive. Smaller baits like roadrunners and Panther Martins will also catch a fair amount of fish. The bass currently spawning which means the males will be found shallow and aggressively guarding their nest. This can be a great time to catch some nice bass, but remember to handle these fish with care.
General Comments
Water temperature: 65°F Water level: FULL KDWPT is conducting a creel survey on Jewell SFL from March to October 2017. Please take a few minutes to speak with the creel clerk as your information and opinions are used to help guide our management activities on our public waters. Thank you for your cooperation!

Last Updated: 6/2/2017

Species	Rating	Size	Baits, Method, Location
Largemouth Bass	Fair to Good	up to 4 lbs	We collected improved numbers during the May 2017 sample with fish up to 19 inches represented. The fish were found along the west shore from the middle jetty south to the boat ramp as well as in the two shallow creek arms. The fish are in excellent shape and should provide some nice bass angling. The bass are currently spawning and the males are sitting on beds in shallow water. They are aggressive at this time and will attack most lures that come through their area. This is a great time to fish plastics in likely looking areas. The bass fishing should be very good through May and June.
Bluegill	Fair	4 to 6 Inches	Look for bluegill around the rocks on the piers and around any brush in the water. Worms and small jigs are a good bait. These guys can be caught throughout the year using a variety of techniques. We stocked 3,000 adult bluegill in October!
Channel Catfish	Good	10-22 inches	Good numbers of stocked channel catfish are available to anglers using typical catfish techniques. In the spring, the fish can be found lakewide and will often bite on chicken liver, shad sides, shad gizzards, and stinkbait. We observed very good numbers of catfish in 1-3 feet of water during the May 2017 electrofishing sample. We stocked 5,000 additional catfish in August!
Saugeye	Fiar	12-24 inches	Saugeye numbers are good, but most are less than 18 inches. Our fall 2016 sample included 75 saugeye of which only 8 were over 18 inches. Most will be caught on shad imitation baits, or jig and a worm. We found the best numbers on the upper half of the reservoir in 4-5 feet of water last fall while test netting. Anglers should be able to find saugeye nearly lakewide. Look for them along the creek channel and near any areas with rapid changing bottom topography. We stocked 5,000 saugeye last spring!
Crappie	Good	Most 8-11 inches	Crappie numbers are stable, so angling will be fair/good on jigs and minnows along the dam and near brush/rocks. There are a lot of 8-10 inch crappie right now, but fish between 12 and 14 inches can also be caught. Same as last week. The crappie spawn is on and this may be your best bet to catch some fish. Some anglers have been reporting crappie coming from the bank using jigs placed about 18 inches under a bobber and slowly retrieved near the spawning grounds.
General Comments
Water temperature: 65ºF CAUTION: LONGER BOAT TRAILERS MAY FALL OFF EDGE OF BOAT RAMP WHEN WATER IS LOW The cabin can now be rented - call the Hays Regional Office - 785-628-8614 - for reservations or more information.

Last Updated: 11/6/2014

Species	Rating	Size	Baits, Method, & Location
PUBLIC SALVAGE			DUE TO THE LOW LAKE CONDITIONS WE ARE ALLOWING ANGLERS TO TAKE FISH BY THE MEANS LISTED BELOW AND YOU ARE ENCOURAGED TO KEEP ALL THE FISH YOU TAKE.
General Comments

The area is open for walk-in traffic but the gate will remain locked and the vault toilet locked. THE LAKE IS NOW OPEN TO PUBLIC SALVAGE - ALL LENGTH AND CREEL LIMITS ARE OFF. YOU CAN NOW TAKE FISH WITH ROD AND REEL OR BY SNAGGING, SEINE, GIG, OR BY HAND. Please comply with posted signs!!!!!

Last Updated: 6/15/2017

Species	Rating	Size	Baits, Method, and Location
Crappie	Fair	Up to 13 inches	Minnows under a bobber around fish attractors has produced fish.
Largemouth Bass	Fair/Good	Up to 4.5 lbs.	Fishing soft plastics or suspending jerkbaits around flooded vegetation, brush, and shoreline oriented brushpiles.
Saugeye	Fair	Up to 3 lbs.	Fishing fish imitating swimbaits along the dam, other rocky shorelines, and along edges of submerged shelves and the creek channel.
Bluegill	Fair/Good	Up to 8 inches	Fishing nightcrawlers under a bobber in shallow water especially along shorelines with flooded rock, vegetation, or brush.
Channel Catfish	Fair/Good	Up to 19 lbs.	Live and cut sunfish or worms fished along rocky shorelines.
Wiper	Fair	Up to 4.5 lbs.	Casting white bucktail jigs lake-wide along windswept shorelines.
Comments
It is illegal to release any fish into public water unless it was taken from that water, so please discard any unused bait in a trash can. Cedar Bluff District Newsletter: A biannual newsletter detailing fishing related projects and activities in the Cedar Bluff District, which includes such waters as Cedar Bluff Reservoir, Sheridan and Scott State Fishing Lakes, Antelope Lake, and other public fishing waters in northwest Kansas are available. If you would like to subscribe to this newsletter you can go to the following link to get on the mailing list. The link is: http://kdwp.state.ks.us/news/KDWP-Info/News/Newsletter-Request-Forms/Request-a-Newsletter-for-the-Cedar-Bluff-Fishing-District