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Kansas Fishing Report - Region 1 Northwest Kansas

Help The Angler keep others informed by emailing reports to us. Include your name in the message part of your report if you'd like to receive credit for the report.

Source: Kansas Wildlife and Parks, Local marinas and bait shops, Kansas Anglers like you. Send us a report.

Kansas Reports Region 1 NW KS | Region 2 NE KS
Region 3 SW KS | Region 4 SCen KS | Region 5 SE KS
Kansas Reports from Anglers | KS and OK Lake Levels

REGION 1
Update dates are shown at the top of the report of the individual lake.
State reports last checked September 3, 2010 at 12:48 p.m.

Here is a list of Kansas Counties

RESERVOIRS

CEDAR BLUFF FISHING REPORT - Need a Map? -

Last Updated: 9/2/2010

Species	Rating	Size	Baits, Method, & Location
Crappie	Slow/Fair	up to 1.5 lbs.	Minnows, jigs, and small slab spoons vertically fished over the fish attractors during the day or night. Minnows have been working best, but fish can often be caught on artificials too. High numbers of fish haven't been reported, but anglers are usually able to catch enough good quality fish in the 10 to 14 inch range to make it worthwhile.
Channel Catfish	Fair	up to 15 lbs.	Cut and live bait on setlines fished near the river channel in Duck Flats and near the creek channel toward the upper end of Page Creek has been the most popular method and locations. There have been some recent reports of nice 10+ lb. fish being caught.
Walleye	Slow	up to 10 lbs.	Vertically jigging slab spoons or drifting minnows on the bottom over mainlake points and submerged roadbeds in 20 to 25 feet of water.
White Bass	Fair/Good	up to 2.5 lbs.	Trolling crankbaits or vertically fishing minnows or slab spoons over submerged roadbeds or over well defined mainlake points at depths of 18 to 25 feet. Generally, anglers have been catching lower numbers than in the past, but the quality has been good with fish ranging from 12 to 14 inches making up a respectable portion of the creel.
Wipers	Slow	up to 12 lbs.	A few fish are being caught by anglers slabbing for whites, but generally the wiper bite has been tough.
In general fishing has been pretty slow due to the prevailing hot weather and the presence of an abundant crop of gizzard shad produced this past spring. The majority of the young gizzard shad range in length from about 1.5 to 3.5 inches long so using live shad or shad imitating lures that approximate this size will likely be key to catching fish at this time. WATER TEMPERATURE- 75 SURFACE ELEVATION- 2130.92' ----13.08' below conservation. 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. New for the 2010 Fishing Season: 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, will be available soon. 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: 9/1/2010

Species	Rating	Size	Baits, Method, & Location
Crappie	Fair	8-15 inches	Anglers have been catching crappie while trolling along the bluffs, dam, and near the river breaks off the state park shore. Fishing the brushpiles off Harrison Point, Campground 3, and the swimming beach should also yield some fish. Another place to try now is fishing over the outlet grate with the reduced flows. The number of young 7-9" fish has increased since the spawn so anglers will have to pick through more of these guys to get those 10"+ keepers. The good news is those small guys equal a bright future!
White Bass Wipers	Fair to Good	10-16 inches 14-23 inches	There hasn't been quite as much surface activity lately due to the high winds, but on calm days anglers will still have some luck around the bluffs, off the dam, and off the state park area. Trolling and slabbing around Walnut Creek is still producing some fish, but it has slowed a little compared to last month. Also, fishing around the north end of the dam and along the state park main lake points has been pretty decent for both whites and wipers. The north end of Osage and Marina coves can be excellent this time of year when the wind is blowing out of the south.
Walleye	Slow	14-21 inches	There are still a few keeper walleye reported here and there, but for the most part anglers are targeting other species now. Usually the walleye will start to show up shallow in 3-6 feet of water around Walnut Creek and Sandy Beach this time of year and can be caught casting or trolling crankbaits. There have been a few more walleye reported recently, but most of them have been sublegal. Anglers have been catching these trolling a variety of crankbaits along the channel breaks. We stocked over 7 million walleye fry this year.
Smallmouth Bass	Good	14-21 inches	Topwater baits like Zara Spooks are working very well early in the morning and toward dusk when the reservoir is calm. Once the wind kicks up a little, try throwing a variety of crankbaits in 4-8 feet of water near rocky areas for your best results. Fishing some of the deeper rock piles and structure may also be effective for some 18"+ smallies.
Channel Catfish	Fair	All Sizes	With the water starting to cool down a little, the fishing has dropped off on the chum piles. There are still a few anglers catching them with this method, but it's about done for the year. We normally see good numbers of catfish up the river channels and off the shallow flats feeding on shad this time of year. The outlet area below the dam might also be a good spot to try now with the reduced flows.
The Lovewell and Glen Elder district newsletter is now available online. If you want to find out more about these two reservoirs, simply click on this link and sign up to receive the newsletters. This issue includes the 2010 fishing forecasts for Glen Elder and Lovewell Reservoirs, a calendar of 2010 fishing events, age and growth information for both channel catfish and crappie, an article about habitat work at Glen Elder, and much more. Sign up now to assure you get all of this useful information. Anglers can now find GPS locations for each of the brushpiles located in the reservoir. Simply click on this link Good Fishing Spots and select the individual brushpile. As we enhance these brush piles throughout the year, we'll make a note under each individual location. Check for the recent updates! For current water temperature and reservoir elevation, simply click on the "Glen Elder Reservoir" link above this report. 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: 9/2/2010

Species	Rating	Size	Baits, Method, & Location
Channel Catfish	Good	Variety	Summer catfishing is here and chumming is working - hearing good reports of limits of nice fish coming from the humps and around the brushpiles. Sponge and dip baits are often the baits of choice when fishing chummed areas. Remember, float line fishing is legal in Kanopolis from July 15 thru Sept 15 if you want to try that technique. Trot lines and set lines are still legal - be sure to mark them well with name and address.
Crappie	Slow to Fair at Times	Variety of Sizes - mostly 11 to 13 inches	You'll need to check out the deeper brushpiles to see if you can find them. Sometimes in August/Sept the crappie will move up shallow to take advantage of the food - look for them around any brush or logs laying in the water. They also might move in around the floating docks in the marina and in Yankee Run as the water temp cools down.
Walleye/Saugeye	Slow to Fair	Variety	Slab spoons will work from now through the winter but I have not heard any good reports yet. Anglers are catching lots of short fish this year- make sure you throw those back under 15 inches - it is the law!!!! You might try trolling around the shallows in 7 to 10 feet of water - that is working at Wilson.
White Bass	Good to Excellent	All sizes - lots of 9 to 11 inch fish	White jigs and roadrunners are good baits in the summer as are trolled shad colored crankbaits. Slab spoons are working now too!! The whites are chasing shad in the main lake, around the rockpiles, and windblown points should be the ticket. The shad spawn was good but the shad are getting pretty big already. Anglers are catching a lot of small white bass and wipers - be sure you know the difference if you are keeping them - white bass no limit, wiper limit is 2 fish per day!!!
Wipers	Fair	All sizes	Might try live shad now as they should be easy to get - slab spoons might work now too. They are catching some small wipers - be sure you can tell the difference between them and the white bass if you plan to keep them. We seined recently and there are LOTS of baby wipers - the stocking we did this spring really took!!
General Comments
Current lake elevation and water temperture is available on the location page linked to this fishing report. It is updated daily by the Corp of Engineers. All boat ramps are usable. The lake is 77 + degrees and the level is normal for summer, about 4 feet above conservation. The 2009 creel showed a good harvest from Kanopolis!!! I want to thank all you anglers for sharing your information with the creel clerks and helping us better manage the fish in the lake!!!!! You guys took 6867 saugeye/walleye that averaged 2.12 pounds each, 15422 white bass that averages 1.07 pounds, 5780 crappie that averaged .48 pounds, 602 wipers that averaged 3.51 pounds, and 7435 channel catfish that averaged 2.13 pounds. We estimated that 16,688 anglers fished the lake from March thru October. Of those anglers 23.1% expressed a preference for channel catfish, 52.4% for walleye/saugeye, 16.5% for white bass, and 4.1% for crappie. Anglers came from all over but Salina anglers accounted for 38%, Hutchinson 10.3%, McPherson 9%, and a lot of smaller towns in the area contributing 3 to 4 % each. Male anglers dominated with 62% between 16 and 64, 21% over 64, and 5% under 16. Female angler acounted for only 13% of the total anglers. Lets all hope we have another good fishing year in 2010. August seining on Kanopolis - we seined recently and found some interesting results. We did not seine up large numbers of shad and those we caught were all pretty big for this time of the year. Most were around 4 inches already, not really what we want to see in early August. We caught way more small 2 to 4 inch white bass and wipers than we did shad. These small whites and wipers are certainly high in numbers and are probably providing a lot of food for the larger game fish. We also found quite a few small channel catfish indicating a very good spawn of those. We also saw moderate numbers of small drum - they too will be chowed upon by game fish. Overall, it looks like we have a lot of food in the lake for our game fish, just not the shad that usually make up the bulk of the forage. NEW NEWSLETTER AVAILABLE NOW: A district newsletter for the Ellsworth District is available at this link site now. It will be updated at least 2 times per year, perhaps more often if time allows. If you would like to subscribe you can go to the following link to get a copy e-mailed to you. http://kdwp.state.ks.us/news/KDWP-Info/News/Newsletter-Request-Forms/Request-a-Newsletter-for-the-Wilson-Reservoir-Fishing-District

KEITH SEBELIUS RESERVOIR FISHING REPORT -

Last Updated: 9/3/2010

Species	Rating	Size	Baits, Method, & Location
Walleye/Saugeye	Fair	9 to 23 inches	Did not have any reports of fish being caught this week. Would look for them around the Marsh dike, Concrete Cove, and river channel using night crawlers on the bottom. Stocked in 800,000 saugeye fry on 4-13-2010. Stocked 69,565 saugeye on 5-18-2010. Stocked 50,889 saugeye fingerlings on 5-24.
Wiper	Good	Various	Did have reports of some nice fish being caught along the dam using surface lures. Look for fish to be surfacing for shad in the calm mornings and calm evenings. Stocked in 101,250 wiper fry on 5-3-2010. Stocked 19,148 fingerlings on 6-9.
Crappie	Fair	7 to 14 inches	Did have a few reports of fish being caught at the public dock early in the morning. Look for fish to be around the fishing dock and fish attractors using jigs and jigs with minnows.
Channel Catfish	Fair	Various	Have had a few reports of some nice fish being caught on limb lines and trot lines. Also had some reports of some nice fish being caught near the spillway channel. Several fish have been caught on trot lines and limb lines at the west end. The best bait's to use this time of year are shad, shrimp and night crawlers.
Largemouth/Spotted Bass	Fair	Various	Did have reports of fish being caught in Leota Cove using crank and spinner bait's. Also had reports of fish along the Dam and in the spillway channel.
General Comments
WATER TEMPERATURE- 75 SURFACE ELEVATION- 2297.31' ---- 6.99' below conservation Currently, the water level is 3.30 feet higher than it was one year ago at this time. Approximately 90 additional cedar trees have been added around the Public Fishing dock, the mid dam fish attractor and the fish attractor South of the swim beach. Remember it is illegal to release any fish into public water unless it was taken from that water! Therefore, please discard leftover bait in a trash can. The boat ramp on the South side near the Spillway is now open. The fish feeder near the public fishing dock is now up and running every 3 hours. Hope everyone has a SAFE and Memorable Labor Day weekend. COMING SOON: A Webster District newsletter that will include Webster, Kirwin and Keith Sebelius Reservoir's will be coming out soon. 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-Webster-Reservoir-Fishing-District

KIRWIN RESERVOIR FISHING REPORT - Need a Map? -

Last Updated: 9/3/2010

Species	Rating	Size	Baits, Method, & Location
Walleye	Fair	9 to 24 inches	Did not have any reports of fish being caught this week, but would try using crank baits below knob hill and around the North side of the dam. Would try fishing the humps, drop offs, and river channel using jigs and night crawlers. Stocked 5 million walleye fry on 4-3 & 4-5. Stocked 125,408 fingerlings on 5-19 and 5-26.
Wipers/ White Bass	Good	Various	Had reports of several fish caught using crank baits and spinners. Look for fish to be surfacing and feeding on shad during the calm parts of the early morning and late evening. Stocked in 200,000 wiper fry on 5-3-2010.
Crappie	Fair	7 to 16 inches	Did not have any reports of fish being caught this week. Would try fishing around the North and South fish a attractors using jigs or minnows under a bobber.
Channel Catfish	Fair	Various	Have not had any reports yet, but would try fishing up the river arms with shad and would also look for them up in the shallows of coves. Best baits to use would be shad, night crawlers, shrimp, or stink bait.
General Comments
WATER TEMPERATURE- 75 SURFACE ELEVATION- 1728.42 ---- 0.83 feet below conservation Currently, the water level is 1.35 feet lower than one year ago at this time. The Comprehensive Conservation Plan (CCP) has been put into effect at Kirwin, so if you have any questions contact the Service at 785-543-6673 or stop by their office at 702 Xavier Road. The seasonal boat closer has been lifted and boats are now allowed on the Reservoir. When the water elevation reaches 1722.00 feet the closure is removed. Remember it is illegal to release any fish into public water unless it was taken from that water! Therefore, please discard leftover bait in a trash can. Irrigation releases were shut off on 9-1, therefore no water is being released at this time. Water in the spillway is very low so bowfishers have a great opportunity to shoot some fish. However, please do not return any fish into the reservoir. COMING SOON: A Webster District newsletter that will include Webster, Kirwin and Keith Sebelius Reservoir's will be coming out soon. 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-Webster-Reservoir-Fishing-District

LOVEWELL RESERVOIR FISHING REPORT - Need a Map? -

Last Updated: 9/1/2010

Species	Rating	Size	Baits, Method, & Location
Walleye	Slow	15-25 inches	The walleye fishing is generally fairly slow this time of year, but anglers are usually able to find a few while trolling crankbaits along the dam and around Walleye Point and Cedar Point. There are usually some nice walleye hanging out in 3-6 feet of water along the dam, even in the middle of the summer so casting Rapalas toward the bank may also yield some fish.
White Bass Wipers	Good	10-14 inches 15-24 inches	Anglers continue to catch fish at both the inlet and the outlet with one usually being better than the other on a given day. Casting shad, roadrunners, slabs, and Panther Martins all seems to be working good now. Also, trolling off Cabin Point and Walleye Point has been good for white bass with very few wipers mixed in.
Crappie	Slow	8-13 inches	There are probably a few crappie hanging around the inlet and outlet right now and anglers may happen upon a few while fishing for other species. Fishing the deep brush piles off Cabin Point and Cedar Point with minnows would probably be the best place to target crappie right now.
Channel Catfish	Fair	15-31 inches	The inlet and outlet areas are probably the best locations to try for some catfish, but anglers also do very well drifting the flats around the cross and Oak Hill using shrimp and live bullheads and bluegill. Heard one good report of an angler catching 14 channel cats over 24" drifting shad between the dam and Walleye Point.
Comments
Lovewell Reservoir is again open to full recreational activity within the confines of existing Kansas statute and regulations, effective August 26th, 2010. Swimming, jet skiing, water skiing, and all other legal activities are now permitted. Anglers are reminded to use common courtesy and keep the inlet and outlet areas clean while fishing there! Law enforcement personnel have been handing out lots of warnings for littering and wanton waste of shad that are left on the bank, but they are going to start writing tickets for any violations. So, please pick up your trash and do not dump extra shad on the rocks. The shad you catch should be placed in a bucket or left in the net in the water if you are planning to use it. Also, keep in mind the limit on wipers is only 2/day and channel catfish is 10/day. You will be ticketed if caught with over the limit on any species. The Lovewell and Glen Elder district newsletter is now available online. If you want to find out more about these two reservoirs, simply click on this link and sign up to receive the newsletters. This issue includes the 2010 fishing forecasts for Glen Elder and Lovewell Reservoirs, a calendar of 2010 fishing events, age and growth information for both channel catfish and crappie, an article about habitat work at Glen Elder, and much more. Sign up now to assure you get all of this useful information. Anglers can now find GPS coordinates, descriptions, and histories of some of the major brushpiles in Lovewell. Simply follow this link Good Fishing Spots and select the individual brushpile to find out more information. For current water temperature and reservoir elevation, simply click on the "Lovewell Reservoir" link above this report. 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!

WEBSTER RESERVOIR FISHING REPORT - Need a Map? -

Last Updated: 9/3/2010

Species	Rating	Size	Baits, Method, & Location
Wipers/White Bass	Good	Various Sizes	Had reports of fish being caught at the mouth of Old Marina cove, the corners and along the dam and Lakeview area. Look for fish busting the surface as they chase shad on calm days and evenings. Stocked in 148,000 wiper fry on 5-3-2010.
Crappie	Fair	6 to 15 inches	Did not have any reports of fish being caught this week. Would try the North and South shore fish attractors using jigs and jigs with minnows.
Walleye	Fair	9 to 22 inches	Did not have any reports of fish being caught this week. Would try the river channel using jigs and worms. Would also try casting crank baits along the submerged road beds and tree lines. Stocked a total of 3,714,900 fry on 4-5 & 4-13-2010. Stocked another 93,051 fingerlings on 5-19 & 5-26-2010. Stocked 92,546 fingerlings on 5-19 and 5-26.
Channel Catfish	Fair	Varies	Had a few reports of bowfishing in the river above the lake and below the stilling basin by the tubes. Several fish were reported caught at the Stilling Basin using worms.
General Comments
WATER TEMPERATURE- 75 Degree's SURFACE ELEVATION- 1888.95 ---- 3.50' below conservation Currently, the water level is 4.68 feet lower than it was one year ago at this time. Boaters, be aware of submerged rock piles along the East side of the Goose Flats boat ramp. The trout season is over and a trout permit is no longer needed to fish for trout. All you need is a fishing license if you are between 16 & 64 years of age, however, the 5 fish creel still applies. The fish feeder located in Old Marina cove just West of the Coyote shelter is running every 3 hours. The fish feeder in the Stilling Basin is working and goes off at 7 am and 8 pm. Remember it is illegal to release any fish into public water unless it was taken from that water! Therefore, please discard leftover bait in a trash can. Irrigation releases were shut of on 8-31, therefore no water is being released at this time. 51 trees have been added to the south side fish attractors and 49 trees to the north side fish attractors. Hope everyone has a SAFE and Memorable Labor Day weekend. COMING SOON: A Webster District newsletter that will include Webster, Kirwin and Keith Sebelius Reservoir's will be coming out soon. 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-Webster-Reservoir-Fishing-District

Last Updated: 9/2/2010

Species	Rating	Size	Baits, Method, & Location
Channel Catfish	Good	Variety	Worms, liver, shrimp, dip baits, and live baits will work as summer progresses. Chumming is working now too if you want to try soaked grains heard some good reports recently about nice, fat fish between 2 and 8 pounds. Remember, float line fishing is legal in Wilson from July 15 thru Sept 15 if you want to try that technique. Trot lines are still legal - be sure to mark them all well with name and address.
Crappie	Slow	Varied	Look for them around the deeper edges of the flooded weedbeds or around the deeper brushpiles now. There are a few cruising around the weedbeds and as the water cools down there might be more crappie moving up shallow.
Stripers	Slow to Fair	1.5 to 5 pounders mostly	The stripers will likely be where the baitfish are -generally pretty deep this time of year! Slab spoons should kick in soon. You might try the mouth of Deer Run Cove - often stripers are caught there in late summer. As fall approaches and the water cools down the stripers will move up onto the points and will like the windy sides of the lake. As soon as the water cools, Milford Hatchery will be bringing about 75 excess brood fish stripers that average between 20 and 25 pounds each.
Walleye	Fair to Good at Times	Variety	I am still getting reports from bass anglers catching a few walleye along the edges of the weedbeds on white twister tailed jigs, crankbaits, and roadrunners. Also heard several reports of catching them trolling along the weeds - some limits being caught in 7 to 10 feet of water.
White Bass	Slow to Fair	Variety of Sizes	The fish should be on the main lake points and in around the flooded weedbeds now. Try chrome colored Rattletraps or white twister tailed jigs on windblown points. Should be schooling on baitfish at calm times. Whites are not numerous but seem to be scattered around the weedbeds where bass anglers are catching a few.
Black Bass	Good	Variety	The largemouths are in the backs of the coves around the flooded vegetation and they will hit spinner baits or topwater baits now. The SMB's are also around that flooded vegetation and on the rocks too. Try white twister tailed jigs, small wacky worms, or smaller spinner baits in these areas. Topwater action is good at times and should stay that way thru the summer. The recent bass tournament guys said that the bass are relating to weeds and rocks, not wood right now! That might change as the water cools down.
White Perch	Fair	8 to 10 inches	As fall approaches the perch will move shallower and school up on the breaks - you'll need to drag a worm, small slab spoon, or jig across these areas to find them. The most recent report was that they were stacked in Elm Creek - right out in front of the stumps. Lots of smaller perch this year but keep them all and the fillets will add up quicker than you think!!!. Continue to keep all you catch and remember - IT IS NOW 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!!!!!
General Comments
The lake level is now slightly above conservation. All boat ramps are available. The water temp is getting on up there into the upper 70's now lakewide. Some muddy water running in at times so take advantage of that for catfish. The current lake elevation and water temperature are posted on the location page daily by the Corp of Engineers - it is linked to this fishing report page for your convenience. We shoreline seined recently and did not find any gizzard shad nor did we find many small white perch. We found lots of small bluegill and some minnows. The forage seems to be up in the weeds - the bass anglers reported seeing schools of shad in the weeds and they also reported seeing shad spawning up in the weeds. So, maybe we'll be getting a late spawn on shad that will help going into the winter. There are some big schools of fish showing up on depth finders and I assume they are shad - most are in deep water. Right now, the forage situation looks a little bleak but we'll see how things shape up this fall. Got a report from some boat anglers fishing the river above the lake and they say it is chuck full of shad around 2 inches in size - so it sounds like there is plenty of forage up there - bet there are fish up there eating them too!!!! We had a fish kill in the Kids Pond in the Park - looks like we lost everything. So, if you plan to take the kids fishing, better concentrate on the lake as the Kids Pond will not have much for fish till next spring!!! The big news right now is that Zebra Mussells have been found in Wilson - they have apparently been here for a year or so and they are well established. That means new signs are going up and the phrase 'CLEAN, DRAIN, AND DRY' will be the busswords around the lake for all boaters, anglers, duck hunters, etc. We need to be extra diligent in cleaning our equipment and not spread those little suckers to any of the other surrounding lakes!!!!! We now have 2 Aquatic Nuisance Species - white perch and zebra mussells 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 July samples were high so be sure to drain and dry everything!!!!!! We are running a CREEL SURVEY on the lake from March thru October and Art Leonhart from Hunter will be running the creel this year. Please welcome him to the lake and provide him with your fishing info so that we can get a good handle on the fishing this year. He will be handing out Zebra Mussel brochures and will be encouraging anglers to harvest a lot of white perch so we can keep those little guys under control. He'll be measuring your fish and asking questions about what you have thrown back. NEW NEWSLETTER AVAILABLE NOW: A district newsletter for the Ellsworth District is available at this link site now. It will be updated at least 2 times per year, perhaps more often if time allows. If you would like to subscribe you can go to the following link to get a copy e-mailed to you. http://kdwp.state.ks.us/news/KDWP-Info/News/Newsletter-Request-Forms/Request-a-Newsletter-for-the-Wilson-Reservoir-Fishing-District

STATE FISHING LAKES

JEWELL STATE FISHING LAKE -

Last Updated: 9/1/2010

Species	Rating	Size	Baits, Method, & Location
Walleye/Saugeye	Slow	13-17 inches	The fish will likely be found in deeper water and can be caught on jig/crawler combos or a variety of crankbaits. Fishing minnows on slip bobbers could also be an effective technique now.
Crappie	Slow	7-10 inches	The crappie numbers are still fairly low in the lake, but anglers might chance upon a few while fishing with minnows or casting jigs toward the flooded vegetation. The crappie can also be found around the deep brushpiles.
Channel Catfish	Fair to Good	12-23 inches	The catfish bite has slowed a bit in the last couple of weeks, possibly due to thinning of the numbers. There have been a lot of cats caught out there this year, but there should be enough to provide a good fishing trip. It may just take a little more patience to catch a limit now. Anglers have been doing best using a variety of baits including chicken livers, shad sides, hot dogs, nightcrawlers, and stinkbait.
Bluegill Green Sunfish Redear Sunfish	Good	4-8 inches	These guys are very active now with the warmer water temperatures. They can be found just about anywhere around the lake. Fishing with small worms under a bobber is the best method to catch them now, but fly fishing or casting small jigs and spinners could also work.
Largemouth Bass	Fair	6-15 inches	Anglers have been catching some fish with just about any small lures working now. Roadrunners, Beetle Spins, Panther Martins, or small jigs will all catch bass now. There are probably not any legal size fish out here yet, but they can offer some fun catch and release angling.
General Comments
A small fish kill occurred over the weekend of August 20th. We picked up about 50 dead bluegill (4-8") and 25 dead walleye (14-17") on Monday, August 23rd, but did not see any dead crappie, bass, or catfish. The lake is very stratified right now with little to no oxygen below 7 feet of water. Also, the water temperature ranged from 82 at the surface to 67 on the bottom. Anglers fishing on the bottom in deep water will probably not find many fish due to the lack of oxygen. Try targeting the upper 6-7 feet of the water column as most of the fish should be hanging out at that depth. As temperatures cool into the fall the lake will turn over and mix. We will be conducting a creel survey in 2010 at Jewell State Lake. If you are fishing the lake, you may be approached by the creel clerk, Al Snyder. He will simply ask you a few questions about your fishing that day. Your cooperation is greatly appreciated as we continue to gain more information which can help us better manage the fishery. Water temperature: 75 degrees Water level: 1 foot low

OTTAWA STATE FISHING LAKE FISHING REPORT -

Last Updated: 9/2/2010

Species	Rating	Size	Baits, Method, & Location
Largemouth Bass	Fair	Variety	Try topwater now or large spinner baits that have lots of flash in the ealry mornings or late evenings - plastics during the day. There are not too many lily pads but you might try topwater or plastics around them. As the water cools down the bass will be more active during the daytime around the shoreline. The lake is full of small shad now so that might affect the bass bite - throw shad colored lures.
Bluegill	Good	6 to 8 Inches	Worms or small grasshoppers or crickets under a bobber will be the best bait to catch bluegill. Might need to go deeper around the brushpiles to find bigger fish but as the water cools down the bluegill fishing should get better for a little while.
Channel Catfish	Fair	Variety	Worms, liver, shrimp, dip baits, and prepared baits will work and the fish will be dispersed all over the lake. The fish feeders are working fine and are places to find cats at 7 AM, 1 PM, and 7 PM. There are a lot of shad in the lake right now so that might affect the catfish bite. Best report is floating a large gob of worms under a bobber right near the feeders when the feeder goes off - catching some really nice fish. We recently stocked 5000 more channel catfish that averaged about 3 per pound so you might catch a bunch of smaller fish now.
Saugeye	Slow	Some over the 18" legal limit now	We saw some really nice saugeye in our fall nets - up to 24 inches but few wipers and those were pretty small. These saugeye eat shad all year round so shad colored crankbaits will work too. We saw some nice saugeye up to 20 inches when we were bass electrofishing. Anglers were catching lots of sub-legal saugeye so make sure you get those thrown back that are under 18 inches. Should improve as the lake cools down.
Crappie	Slow	8 to 12 inches	Try deeper water around the deeper brushpiles with small jigs and minnows. When the water starts to cool down the crappie will move back towards the banks.
General Comments
The cabin is rentable now - get ahold of the Hays Regional Office - 785-628-8614 - for reservations or more information. Starting January 1, 2007 there has been an 18 inch minumum length limit on saugeye and wipers to protect both species a little longer so that they will do their job of chowing down on shad and crappie. We have stocked both these species the last 4 years and there are fair numbers of saugeye over 18". The wipers have not done well at all - very few are recruiting to larger sizes!!! So, catch and release fishing will be in order for a while longer. Have heard that anglers were catching both species and doing a good job of returning the sub-legal fish to the water -THANKS!!!!! NEW NEWSLETTER AVAILABLE NOW: A district newsletter for the Ellsworth District is available at this link site now. It will be updated at least 2 times per year, perhaps more often if time allows. If you would like to subscribe you can go to the following link to get a copy e-mailed to you. http://kdwp.state.ks.us/news/KDWP-Info/News/Newsletter-Request-Forms/Request-a-Newsletter-for-the-Wilson-Reservoir-Fishing-District

ROOKS STATE LAKE FISHING REPORT -

Last Updated: 9/3/2010

Species	Rating	Size	Baits, Method, & Location
Channel Catfish	Fair	2 to 10 pounds	Had several reports of some 6-8 pound fish being caught in the early mornings. Also reports of some nice fish being caught using shad along the dam and east side. Had reports of fish being caught on the South point using worms. Stocked 6,700 fish on 8-17-2010 that averaged approx. 3 to the pound.
Largemouth Bass	Good	6 to 16 inches	Have had reports of some fish being caught using jigs, crank and spinner bait's along the Dam and along the shoreline. Also using night crawlers under a bobber. Alot of short fish are being caught so remember the 18" length limit.
Bluegill	Good	5 to 10 inches	Had several reports of fish being caught on worms and jigs off the jetty and on the bank just north of the jetty. Several large fish are being caught on the south end. Also had reports of fish being caught using worm and bobber on the walk bridge.
General Comments
Water Temp. 76 Stocked just over 400 adult bass ranging in size from 9 to 16 inches, as well as 22,250 bluegill ranging in size from 2 to 6 inches. Stocked 6,700 channel catfish on 8-17-2010 which were approx. 3 to the pound. COMING SOON: A Webster District newsletter that will include Webster, Kirwin and Keith Sebelius Reservoir's will be coming out soon. 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-Webster-Reservoir-Fishing-District

SALINE STATE FISHING LAKE FISHING REPORT -

Last Updated: 9/2/2010

Species	Rating	Size	Baits, Method, & Location
Channel Catfish	Fair	Variety	Summer baits are generally liver, shrimp, dough type baits, or dip baits. Worms will probably work too. We stocked 410 channels that averaged 1.4 pounds each on July 7 so the catfishing should be better. We stocked another 300 fish that averaged just over a pound each on the 18th of August so there should be some good fall fishing. This will be the last stocking of the year.
Other Species	Not Sure		There are other species in the lake - largemouth bass, crappie, and sunfish. You'll just have to try it and see what you catch!!
General Comments The lake has gotten several shots of water and it is nearly full again. That means the fish will be scattered and the water is surpisingly clear.
The gates opened on April 1 and fishing will be allowed from 6 AM to 10 PM. The lake has come up with the recent rains - water is up to the bottom of the boat ramp. We have now stocked catfish in the lake so there will be some fall fishing but the lake is going down pretty fast again. The water is down quite a ways from the boat ramp now. All normal fishing regulations will apply at the current time and we will evaluate the lake in the spring to see how things looks then.

SHERIDAN STATE FISHING LAKE FISHING REPORT -

Last Updated: 9/2/2010

Species	Rating	Size	Baits, Method, & Location
Channel Catfish	Fair	up to 8 lbs.	Liver, shrimp, and prepared baits fished lakewide. Haven't heard any reports of any lunkers lately as most fish have been running in the 13 to 17 inch range.
Crappie	Slow	up to 13 inches	No recent reports. But minnows around deeper brushpile would probably be the best bet..
Largemouth Bass	Fair	up to 4 pounds	Topwater baits around flooded structure early and late, or soft plastics around the deeper brush piles.
Sunfish	Fair	6-10 inches	Fishing nightcrawlers deep under a bobber around the brushpiles, off the fishing piers, and off the dam face.
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. New for the 2010 Fishing Season: 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, will be available soon. 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

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