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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 November 20, 2009 at 12:19 p.m.

Here is a list of Kansas Counties

RESERVOIRS

CEDAR BLUFF FISHING REPORT - Need a Map? -

Last Updated: 11/20/2009

Species	Rating	Size	Baits, Method, & Location
Crappie	Fair	up to 1.5 lbs.	The stable weather pattern over the last few days has made for some pretty decent fishing and the bite should continue into the weekend given the current forecast. Anglers continue to report quite a few small fish, but have been harvesting 10 to 20 fish in the 10 to 14 inch range on a fairly routine basis. Jigs, small slab spoons, and minnows over the fish attractors are all effective.
Walleye	Slow	up to 7.5 lbs.	No recent reports. The few walleye that have been reported have been caught by anglers vertically jigging slab spoons over submerged roads and steep breaks in 25 to 30 feet of water.
White Bass	Good	white bass up to 2.5 lbs.	Slab spoons or crankbaits fished over edges of points and shelves or over road beds and parking lots in 25 feet of water has been productive.
Wipers	Good	up to 10 lbs.	Wipers often feed alongside the white bass so the same pattern used to catch whites should work for wipers.
Rainbow Trout	Fair	.5 lb. average	Fishing powerbait or corn off the bottom has been best, but casting small in-line spinners have been effective from time to time. Also a few flyrod anglers have been successful casting small hare's ear, prince, and zug bug nymphs.
WATER TEMPERATURE- 49 SURFACE ELEVATION- 2127.35' ----16.65' 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. We recently completed our fall fish population sampling at Cedar Bluff. Nightime electrofishing revealed a spotted bass population that is stable in terms of abundance and size quality as fish in the 12 to 15 inch size range were most common. The smallmouth bass population appeared to have continued it's decline in abundance. Gill net catches revealed a white bass population characterized by a stable, high abundance and increased size quality as more fish in the 15 to 17 inch range were sampled this year versus last. Wipers made a good showing in the gill nets as abundance continued to be moderate. Prior to this past spring, wipers had not been stocked since 2005 and existing individuals continued to grow as fish in the 20 to 21 inch range were common but fish up to 29 inches were available. We stocked 600,000 wiper fry this past spring. The walleye population continued to hang in there as abundance was relatively stable at a moderate level. Natural reproduction was good in 2008 but not 2009 as roughly 40% of all fish sampled were yearlings and only one young-of-the-year was sampled. With the increased abundance of yearlings, angler catches of shorts should become more common. Fair numbers of adult walleyes were sampled with most ranging from 18 to 25 inches, but fish up to 29 inches were available. This fall's gill net sample revealed a channel catfish population that was improved in number and continued to maintain the good size quality characteristic at Cedar Bluff as 20% of the population ranged from 30 to 33 inches in length. Trap net catches yielded interesting results for both species of crappie. The abundance of harvestable sized black and white crappies continued to be low. It was apparent that spawning and recruitment conditions for the 2008 year class promoted the formation of stronger 2008 year classes of especially white crappie than we have observed in several years. The 2008 crappie year class currently ranges from 5 to 7 inches long, and provided good growing conditions, should increase the abundance of harvestable sized crappie within the next couple of years. Generally walleyes and wipers exhibited good body condition as they were able to take advantage of the high degree of carry over experienced by last year's gizzard shad. However, most sportfish that rely on smaller prey utilized small bluegills and crappies as forage this past year since most of this year's gizzard shad grew rapidly during the growing season.

GLEN ELDER FISHING REPORT - Need a Map? -

Last Updated: 11/18/2009

Species	Rating	Size	Baits, Method, & Location
Crappie	Fair to Good	6-13 inches	Anglers are still catching crappie around the Marina boat slips jigging with a variety of jigs including Panfish Assassins. Other anglers have been having some success fishing off the Campground 3 brushpile, off the south bluffs, and under the causeway bridge.
White Bass	Fair to Good	9-15 inches	Best reports have come from anglers fishing the north shore in Marina Cove, Osage Cove, and the north end of the dam. Casting slabs, roadrunners, and small crankbaits seems to be working best. The crappie anglers are reporting catching some whites while jigging around the boat slips.
Rainbow Trout	Fair to Good	10-14 inches	The first batch of trout will be stocked on Thursday, November 19th. We will be stocking an additional 250 fish each month this year on top of the scheduled 850. Last year, the best success was had with Powerbait, small worms, and a variety of lures.
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: 11/12/2009

Species	Rating	Size	Baits, Method, & Location
Channel Catfish	Slow to Fair	Variety	The catfishing should hold in there till the water cools down and it is slow to do that right now. A lot of late fall catfish are taken while fishing for other species. Shad sides and gizzards will work when the water is cold.
Crappie	Fair to Good	Variety of Sizes - mostly 9 to 11 inches	As the water cools down the crappie will move around the brushpiles and the boat docks on the sunny days. Our netting shows good numbers of 1/2 to 1 pound crappie and a variety of sizes so the fall crappie fishing should be pretty good. Have heard of some crappie coming from some of the brushpiles.
Rainbow Trout	Fair	Mostly 10 to 12 inches	The fall season started on October 15 and we stocked 1400 rainbows. The next stocking is scheduled for Nov 19 - he was delayed by other committments this week. Most were 10 to 12 inches but there were some really nice trout up to 5 pounds. If you fish the upper end, you may also catch a few brown trout left over from last year. Get your Power Bait, corn, cheese, marshmellows, lures and flies ready. The entire stream is open to all anglers till Jan 1, then the center portion will be lure fishing only - signs will be posted as we get near that time.
Walleye/Saugeye	Fair	Variety	You guys hauled a lot of saugeye/walleye out of this lake this spring!!!! Slab spoons are the bait of choice in the fall but don't overlook shad colored crankbaits either. Our nets caught fair numbers larger fish and good numbers of smaller fish. We caught quite a few saugeye up shallow in trap nets so shad colored crankbaits thrown around the shoreline could work!!
White Bass	Good	All sizes	Try them off the windy points and the underwater humps and other structure as they are schooling on baitfish. Slab spoons are working now and anglers are catching good numbers of fish. If you like white bass slabbing, now is the time although the drop in water level seems to havwe slowed them down some!!! Our nets were FULL of whites of all sizes - this lake is absolutely full of white bass right now!!!!
Wipers	Slow to Fair	All sizes	The wipers like the windy points in the fall - get those bucktail jigs or slab spoons ready. Live shad would work on the deeper points too. Some guys feel that bucktail jigs will outfish slab spoons fished vertically - might try them too!! We caught a few really nice wipers up to 10 pounds in our nets and there are lots of little guys coming on!!!
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. The lake is now 1 foot below conservation so the USACE can work on the outlet tower in November. It appears that the dropping water level may have shut the good fall fishing down - might perk up since they will not be releasing water while they work!!! I think this years creel is going to show a tremendous harvest from Kanopolis!!! The creel is over and 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!!!!! it was a very good fishing year at Kanopolis and it still is for those who are sticking with it! We are done with our fall netting on Kanopolis - it was one windy and wet sampling time!!! White bass numbers are extremely high, crappie numbers and sizes are good, walleye/saugeye numbers of big fish appear down a bit but lots of little guys coming on, and we caught some nice channel catfish along with lots of little guys. There are LOTS and LOTS of shad in the lake and most are just the right size for feeding the fish into the fall and winter. There are also lots of baby white bass, crappie, drum, and river carpsuckers that are also adding to the forage base this year. It appears that the game fish in Kanopolis this year are in excellent body condition and should have PLENTY to eat this fall - might make them a little harder to catch!!!!!

KEITH SEBELIUS RESERVOIR FISHING REPORT -

Last Updated: 11/18/2009

Species	Rating	Size	Baits, Method, & Location
Largemouth & Spotted Bass	Poor	Various	Did not have any reports of fish being caught this week but would continue fishing in Leota Cove, along the rocks off the dam, back by the flood gates, and in Schoen's Cove using plastics, rattle traps, and crankbaits.
Walleye/Saugeye	Fair	9 to 26 inches	Did not have any reports this week, but would try fishing along the north side of the dam using jigs. Would also try fishing along the point south off the office and along the Marsh dike using jigs. Stocked 600,000 saugeye fry on April 20, 2009. Stocked 66,855 saugeye fingerlings on May 19, 2009.
Wiper	Good	Various	Did not have any reports this week, but would try fishing along the north side of dam and in concrete cove. Would continue fishing along the Marsh dike and in the sandpit casting jigs and using cut bait on the bottom.
Channel catfish	Poor	Various	Did not have any reports of channels being caught this week, but would continue fishing up along the Marsh dike and off the public fishing dock using, shrimp and shad fished on the bottom.
Crappie	Good	7 to 14 inches	Did not have any reports of fish being caught this past week, but would try fishing off the marina slips, public fishing dock, and over the fish attractors using jigs.
General Comments
WATER TEMPERATURE- 49 SURFACE ELEVATION- 2294.30' ----10.00' below conservation Currently, the water level is 0.59 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. Stocked 600,000 saugeye fry on 4/20/09. 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.

KIRWIN RESERVOIR FISHING REPORT - Need a Map? -

Last Updated: 11/18/2009

Species	Rating	Size	Baits, Method, & Location
Walleye	Poor	9 to 24 inches	Haven't heard of any fish being caught this week. Would continue trolling diving lures and using jigs. Stocked 112,500 walleye fingerlings on may 22, 2009. Stocked an additional 58,000 walleye fingerlings on May 28, 2009.
Wipers/ White Bass	Fair	Various	Haven't heard of any fish being caught this week, but would continue fishing along the corners of the dam casting jigs, road runners and trolling diving lures. Also look for fish pushed back into coves and into the corners of the dam on windy days. Stocked 380,000 wiper fry on May 11, 2009.
Catfish	Poor	Various	Have not heard of any fish being caught this week but would continue fishing off the south end of the dam, up in Bow Creek and up West on the North Fork Solomon using shad, gizzards and shrimp.
Crappie	Fair	7 to 16 inches	Did not have any reports of fish being caught this week, but would try fishing over the fish attractors and up in the coves using jigs.
Largemouth Bass	Poor	Various	Have not heard of any being caught. Continue throwing plastics, rattle traps, and crankbaits along the dam and back in the coves.
General Comments
WATER TEMPERATURE- 49 SURFACE ELEVATION- 1730.27' ----1.02' above conservation Currently, the water level is 4.12 feet higher than one year ago at this time. Stocked 380,000 wiper fry on May 11, 2009. Stocked 112,500 walleye fingerlings on May 22, 2009. Stocked an additional 58,000 walleye fingerlings on May 28, 2009. 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 now been lifted and boats are now allowed on the Reservoir. When the water elevation reaches 1722.00 feet the closure is removed. Both the North and South Shore ramps are open and useable. 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. Started releasing water at a rate of 50 cfs to bypass current inflow on 11-03-09 and have bumped it up to 100 cfs.

LOVEWELL RESERVOIR FISHING REPORT - Need a Map? -

Last Updated: 11/18/2009

Species	Rating	Size	Baits, Method, & Location
White Bass Wipers	Fair Fair	7-15 inches 2-10 pounds	We just completed our fall netting at Lovewell and found fair numbers of white bass and wipers. The best concentrations were found around Oak Hill and Cedar Point, but there are also some fish hanging out around the dam and in the river channel off Walleye Point. Most of the white bass were 10-13 inches with the wipers primarily 13-20 inches. There have been a few whites caught by crappie anglers fishing the Cedar Point brushpile using small jigs. Casting off the bank or trolling slabs, Mister Twisters, and Rattletraps could produce some fish in the above-mentioned areas. Remember, there are lots of 1 year old wipers that are 13-15 inches right now and look very similar to a white bass. Please be sure to closely identify your catch and release it if you aren't sure. The daily limit on wipers is only 2!
Crappie	Good to Excellent	8-15 inches	There are currently very high numbers of crappie hanging out near the Marina boat ramp and breakwater, and around the Cedar Point boat ramp and brushpile. Most of these fish are over 8 inches with plenty of 10-12 inch fish as well. Anglers are still catching good numbers of fish near the Cedar Point brushpile using minnows and small jigs. Anglers could also have some success fishing from the bank in these areas using small jigs, inline spinners, or even minnows under a bobber. Don't overlook the deep brushpile on Cabin Point as well.
Walleye	Fair	13-27 inches	We found some of the highest numbers of adult walleye in recent history in our nets this fall while sampling. These guys were found all over the reservoir and there were plenty of fish over 18". Specifically, the best areas now appear to be Cabin Point, Cedar Point, and Walleye Point, but good numbers of fish were also found near the cross, Oak Hill, and the dam. Fish were collected from depths of 8 to 12 feet mostly, but some of the larger fish were found off Walleye Point in 15-20 feet of water. Jigs tipped with minnows or leeches might work best now, but trolling a variety of crankbaits like Shad Raps, Hot-N-Tots, and Thin Fins may also work well. Please make sure to handle the short fish with extra care to assure they survive and grow to reach legal size.
Channel Catfish	Fair	2-15 pounds	I haven't heard of any catfish reports of late, but the numbers and size of catfish in the reservoir right now looks very good. We found fair to good numbers of catfish around the reservoir with the highest number of large channel catfish (10+ pounds) seen in many years. The best area to try now would be the drops near Walleye Point, but good numbers were also collected off the old road bed at Cabin Point. This time of year, catfish will be feeding heavily in preparation for winter so try using shad sides, shad gizzards, and live shad for best results.
Comments
We have completed our fall sampling at Lovewell and things are looking very good out there for walleye, crappie, and channel catfish. White bass and wiper numbers were fair this fall with size structure good. Another strong year class of walleye appears to be present for 2009 and this fishery should continue to improve next year. Very high numbers of 16-21 inch fish were collected as well as fair to good numbers of 13-15 inch one year olds. Nearly all of the fish sampled look very healthy and we caught high numbers of small shad (3-4 inches) in our trap nets so there should be plenty of food out there for the fish to eat heading into winter. 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: 11/18/2009

Species	Rating	Size	Baits, Method, & Location
Rainbow Trout	Good	1/2 to 7 pounds	Stocked the first round of 2100 rainbow trout for the 2009/2010 season that opened October 15. Have been catching fish on kastmasters, power bait and salmon eggs. Will be stocking the next round on November 19.
Channel Catfish	Poor	Various	Did not have any reports of channel's being caught this week but would recommend fishing off the break water's, off the south shore road by Bow City and up to the west end in the river channel using shad, cut baits, stink baits and shrimp.
Walleye	Fair	9 to 28 inches	Did have some reports of short and legal sized walleye being caught along the South shore road bridge, around Old Marina boat ramp and below the bait shop using jigs. Stocked 68,000 walleye fingerlings on May 22, 2009. Stocked another 56,600 walleye fingerlings on May 28, 2009.
Wipers/White Bass	Good	6 to 18 inches	Have had reports of white bass and wipers being caught around the culvert below the bait shop and off the south shore road bridge using jigs. Stocked 332,000 wiper fry on May 11, 2009.
Largemouth Bass	Poor	5 to 14 inches	Did not have any reports of fish being caught this week but would continue fishing along the south shore road using jigs.
Crappie	Good	6 to 15 inches	Reports of fish being caught over the fish attractors, on either side of the culvert just east of the bait shop, along the South shore road and up in Rock Point Cove off the public dock using jigs.
General Comments
WATER TEMPERATURE- 50 Degree's SURFACE ELEVATION- 1894.17' ---- 1.72' above conservation Currently, the water level is 5.44 feet higher than it was one year ago at this time. Stocked 332,000 wiper fry on May 11, 2009. Stocked 68,000 walleye fingerlings on May 22, 2009. Stocked another 56,600 walleye fingerlings on May 28, 2009. Boaters, be aware of submerged rip rap along the Goose Flats boat ramp. Stocked the first round of 2100 rainbow trout into the stilling basin for the 2009/2010 season that opened October 15. The trout contractor said he put in a 7 to 8 pound fish in the load, just to make things exciting. Will be stocking the next round on November 19. 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. Started releasing water at a rate of 50 cfs to bypass current inflow on 11-03-09 and it has been bumped up to 100 cfs.

WILSON RESERVOIR FISHING REPORT - Need a Map? -

Last Updated: 11/12/2009

Species	Rating	Size	Baits, Method, & Location
Channel Catfish	Slow to Fair	Variety	A lot of fall catfish are caught by anglers fishing for other species - often with slab spoons. We caught some really nice catfish in our nets - mostly on the upper end. Caught a few blue catfish too - looks like they are growing good but they have a long ways to go before being legal to take. shad sides and gizzards are good cold water baits.
Crappie	Slow to Fair	Varied	You'll have to work for the crappie in this lake this year!!! Lots of little crappie in our trap nets and the fish are eating them. Check brushpiles and the docks around the lake. We have caught some nice crappie but not in big numbers.
Stripers	Fair	1.5 to 5 pounders mostly	As the water cools down the stripers will move up on the points in better numbers and can be taken on slab spoons and bucktail jigs. The striper catch went WAY up mid-lake in our nets but numbers went back down as we got towards the dam end - did not catch nearly as many stripers as last year. They are in great body condition this year though!!!!!! Wade fishing anglers are catching fair numbers but not doing outstanding!
Walleye	Fair	Variety	Most are catching them in 30 to 40 feet of water - green and orange jigs and slab spoons will be the baits of choice as the water cools down. Rattle traps and shad colored crankbaits will also take shallow walleye. Walleye numbers are up this fall in our nets and the size of the fish is up too - but we did not catch many babies unfortunately! One group of anglers last weekend had better luck on crankbaits up shallow than slab spoons deep - they caught a variety of fish species on the crankbaits.
White Bass	Fair	Variety of Sizes	There are not a lot of white bass in the lake but we are catching a few really nice ones and seeing some smaller ones. Slab spoons should work but if you want a lot of white bass - go to Kanopolis!!!
Black Bass	Fair to Good	Variety	Largemouths are around the flooded weedbeds and beaver food caches and the smallies are up on the points and around the big rocks. The water temp is just about where the bass are going to be shutting down but on the warmer sunny days you should be able to catch them fairly shallow. Had one angler this week who did really well on both LMB's and SMB's.
White Perch	Fair	8 to 10 inches	As the water cools they will bunch up a lot tighter and be easier to catch. Small slab spoons or white jigs fished deep might work if you can find the fish. We did not catch many white perch at Elm Creek but they were stacked up around Duval. Did not catch near as many mid-lake as in the upper end but we found them again down by the dam with some really nice fish. 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 about a foot above conservation. The outflow is still 20 cfs. All the lake boat ramps are certainly usable. 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. Water temp is pretty consistantly in the lower 50's right now. The water is pretty clear on the entire lake!!!! We started our fall netting on Wilson on October 20, starting on the upper end at Elm Creek and Duval. I was disappointed with the catch on the Elm Creek side but we really caught the fish over around Duval!!! Walleye were stacked on the end of the Duval rocks and the white perch were thick in the cove. We caught a little bit of everything and the fish are eating small bluegill, crappie, and white perch!!! All the game fish are in excellent body condition!!! We have seen good numbers of smaller shad, lots of little crappie and bluegill, lots of little white perch and small drum - all of which are feeding the game fish to make them fat going into the winter!!! We netted Hell Creek and did not catch a lot. Then we moved to Nelson point and the stripers and walleye really showed up - same at Minooka. We finished up our netting - Coopers Point, Lucas side, and the dam area. Caught good numbers of walleye at all 3 locations and good numbers of big white perch down near the dam and on the Lucas-Wilson roadbed. Don't know where the stripers are but we did not catch nearly as many as expected at these locations. Netting and electrofishing is complete for this year - Yea!!!! We got done before it got really cold this year and it is time to set in a tree and try to arrow a deer!!!!. 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.

STATE FISHING LAKES

JEWELL STATE FISHING LAKE -

Last Updated: 11/18/2009

Species	Rating	Size	Baits, Method, & Location
Walleye	Fair	12-16 inches	We collected very good numbers of walleye while sampling this fall. They are all betwen 13 and 15 inches, thus most are still under the length limit, but a few will be legal now. They can be found about anywhere around the lake and can be caught on crankbaits, curly tail jigs, and nightcrawlers.
Crappie	Fair	7-10 inches	Over 250 adult black crappie were stocked on September 18. Some of these fish should be of harvestable size already, but most will be in 2010. Look for these fish around the flooded timber, weed beds, and off the dam. Small tube jigs, road runners, and minnows will give you the best chance to catch a few crappie.
Channel Catfish	Fair	10-19 inches	Approximately 1,000 channel catfish were stocked on 9/23/09. This is in addition to the first batch of 2,000 fish stocked in September 2008. A recent report indicated the 2008 fish are growing well and nearly 2/3 of them are of legal size now. The fish feeders are shut down for the remainder of the year, but anglers may still have good success fishing off the dam, rocky piers, and boat dock using shrimp, nightcrawlers, and shad sides.
Bluegill Green Sunfish Redear Sunfish	Fair	4-8 inches	Anglers are catching very good numbers of sunfish now and this would be a great opportunity for the kids. You can find them lake wide and they seem willing to bite on just about anything.
Largemouth Bass	Fair	6-15 inches	The bass were stocked in late August 2008 and average about 1/3 of a pound. They will be fairly aggressive now and you should be able to catch them on small lures like roadrunners, jigs, Panther Martins, and twistertails. An additional 350 bass were stocked in May and June 2009 to boost catch rates.
General Comments
With nearly all of the stocking complete, the fishery is becoming established. Channel catfish, bluegill, redear sunfish, and green sunfish all offer an opportunity to harvest some fish. Largemouth bass, crappie, and walleye should offer some good catch and release angling this year with a few of the walleye and crappie big enough to take home. Given stable water conditions, 2010 should offer some fine angling opportunities for each of these species. Water temperature: 47 degrees Water level: 8 feet low--max depth 14 feet

OTTAWA STATE FISHING LAKE FISHING REPORT -

Last Updated: 11/12/2009

Species	Rating	Size	Baits, Method, & Location
Largemouth Bass	Slow to Fair	Variety	Fall bass like spinner baits, roadrunners, and jig-n-pig. The bass might be active and aggressive on warmer sunny days but the season is about over!!!.
Bluegill	Slow	6 to 8 Inches	The fishing for bluegill is over for the year as they don't like cold water.
Channel Catfish	Fair	Variety	A lot of guys go back to stinky shad sides and gizzards this time of the year. The water cooled down fast so the catfish bite might be about over for the fall!
Saugeye & Wipers	Slow	Some over the 18" legal limit now	Should perk up as the water cools! We saw some really nice saugeye in our fall nets - up to 24 inches but few wipers and those were pretty small. I would think that crankbaits fished around the shoreline and slab spoons fished around any structure would catch some fall saugeye.
Crappie	Fair to Good	8 to 10 inches	As the water cools in the fall the crappie will move shallower along the dam and around the piers. Jigs and small roadrunners should work for fall crappie. The netting showed a lot of nice crappie - up to 1.5 pounds. As the water clears, the fall/early winter crappie fishing could be real good around the brushpiles!!!
General Comments
The new cabin is in and usable. We have it 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!!!!! Our netting showed a real nice fish population - fair numbers of legal saugeye, some real nice channel catfish, lots of crappie from 8 inches to 12 inches, fair numbers of big bluegill, and a few young-of-the-year wipers and saugeye. All the fish were in excellent body condition and it looks like next year will be a good fishing year for this lake!!!!!

ROOKS STATE LAKE FISHING REPORT -

Last Updated: 11/18/2009

Species	Rating	Size	Baits, Method, & Location
Channel Catfish	Poor	1/2 to 9 pounds	Have not had any reports this week, but would try fishing around the fishing pier and off Rainbow Point using worms under a bobber and shrimp or shad fished on the bottom. Stocked 6,700 fish on 8-4-09 that averaged approx. 3 to the pound.
Largemouth Bass	Poor	6 to16 inches	Have not had any reports this week, but would try casting small crankbaits, plastics, and spinners.
General Comments
Water Temp. 48 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 8-4-2009 which were approx. 3 to the pound.

SALINE STATE FISHING LAKE FISHING REPORT -

Last Updated: 10/1/2009

Species	Rating	Size	Baits, Method, & Location
General Comments
On October 1 the gates closed permanently for the winter season and fishing will not be allowed until the lake is opened again in the spring, if there is sufficient water at that time.

SHERIDAN STATE FISHING LAKE FISHING REPORT -

Last Updated: 11/20/2009

Species	Rating	Size	Baits, Method, & Location
Channel Catfish	Fair	up to 5 pounds	There should still be some catfish to be had before the water cools too much more. Fishing cut shad, shrimp, or liver over points and flats is typically best.
Crappie	Fair/Good	up to 13 inches	The fish should be concentrating around brush and other structure as the water temperature continues to cool. Jigs and minnows tend to work equally well this time of year. Vertically fishing lures/bait with a very slow presentation tight to structures such as brushpiles and rock in deeper water is often best.
Largemouth Bass	Fair	up to 4 pounds	Fishing any lure that allows a slow presentation such as soft plastics, swim baits, suspending crankbaits, and spinnerbaits around brushpiles, flooded vegetation, and flooded timber.
Sunfish	Good	6-10 inches	Night crawlers or mealworms under a bobber fished around the brushpiles, rock, or over hard bottomed points.
Comments
It is illegal to release any fish into public water unless it was taken from that, so please discard any unused bait in a trash can. We recently completed our fall fish sampling at the lake. Netting results indicated that a good crop of gizzard shad were produced this past spring that are both numerous and small enough to promote good growth amongst all species and sizes of sportfish. White crappie numbers are moderate, and roughly a quarter of this population are of harvestable size right now. However, good numbers of quick growing short crappies will lend to stability of this population into the near future. We sampled good numbers and a wide size range of wipers this fall. The wiper population consists of three length groups; 8 inchers, 15 inchers, and 20 inchers. Due to a lack of stocking since 2005 saugeye numbers have decreased to moderate levels, but fish up to 25 inches remain. We stocked 2,716 saugeye fingerlings this past spring and did see a few in our fall sample. Hopefully, the 2009 stocking took better than our fall sample indicated such that survival and growth will be sufficient to increase overall saugeye numbers in the near future. Our channel cat sample was disappointing as we only caught one 16 inch fish. However, observations during other sampling efforts earlier in the year indicated that there are a wide size range of catfish inhabiting the lake with individuals up to the 10 lb. mark present. We stocked 1,625 eight inch average channel cats this fall that should help maintain the stability of this population. Anglers who fish Sheridan State Fishing Lake might consider sharing their experiences with other anglers through the public fishing report. If you would like to post a fishing report please go to http://ksfishing.blogspot.com/

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