Kansas Fishing Report - Reports from Anglers - April

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Source: Kansas Anglers like you and from KWP angler blog
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June 24, 2009 - Cheney - Took my sis and bro-in-law fishin on cheney sat, we got to the lake 3pm, I already had the perch caught, and as soon as we got in the boat, the wind changed to the north. It was just a couple of minutes into the north wind, we got to the spot, I put a nice sized bluegill on my hook, handed my pole to my sis and told her to drop the perch over the side. It was about 5 seconds and she screamed.. then the reel screamed...she screamed some more..the reel didnt quit screamin.. and for that matter of fact she didnt either.. I dont think ive ever seen her so excited! Finally the fish came up, and we all said WOW! she really let out a holler then, and she wet her pants. Yeah, she really did. It was a beautiful 12lb wiper... it took awhile to take pictures and rebait and by the time we got back to fishing, the bite for the most part was OFF! The wind changed, the fish closed down for awhile. We went across the lake, up the lake and finally back and ended up catching 7 wipers. The wind was really blowing from the north and we called it quits. Here she is holding her fish.

June 24, 2009 - Question on chumming for wipers - I was wondering if anyone has any information on chumming for wipers. I was at Milford fishing for wipers. I was next to a couple of charters that were literally hauling in tons of wipers, only 50-100 feet away using the same bait as us. They appeared to be scooping some type of chum over the side periodically. Any info on what they might be using and how to do it would be greatly appreciated.

SAK

June 23, 2009 - Question on bluegill - I am glad you cleared up the part that you know how to catch bluegill. I was a little worried..:)

This is the first year I have tried using bluegill to catch wipers on cheney. I was sitting on my boat at my dock one day, watching some people catch bluegill on the rocks. and I remebered about 25 years ago talking to some people who had massive success using live bluegill and perch at lake sebelius in northern ks. They caught lots of large Wipers using them.

So .. I caught about 15 or 20 and headed out. I rigged up the usual 3 way rig but instead of the lure and sassy shad, used a bell sinker on the long leader and a 2/0 circle hook on the short leader. I located a school of fish on my depth finder and hooked a bluegill in the lips and dropped him. As soon as he hit the bottom, the fight was on.

I went through all my perch in about 45 minutes. i called a buddy and he met me at the dock, we caught 30 more perch and went back out and used up all of those, and then started catching them on spoons. I just located the school of fish, dropped the perch and drifted over the school. Thats basically all there is to it. I have done this several times this summer, not always successful, but at least it is fun catching the perch! I did catch my largest Wiper to date on cheney on a live bluegill, and had several others break me off.

June 22, 2009 - Gardner Lake - I was back at Gardner Lake on 20 June and the largemouth were hitting very specific presentations. I was using both red and blue crayfish-shaped plastics with sparkles in them on a ½ ounce green and yellow jig head. They were hitting in water no deeper than twelve feet. Most strikes were in about eight feet of water. If I switched to any other colour of the same plastic that did not have sparkles I could not get a strike. Most fish were taken along weed beds by the dam. The largest fish of the day was just under five pounds. Average fish was two pounds. Fishing has been pretty decent for the last few weeks and looks to continue that way. Also, a friend and I were out in the middle of last week and we pulled a number of very nice fish late at night. Please see the attached pictures. The catfish was caught in one foot of water along the seawall by a friends dock. It was 32” and 11.5lbs. It originally hit a small crappie jig and was then taken on stink bait.

June 21, 2009 - Milford - Mark, thanks for the info previously on Milford walleye, we did not get down their this week due to weather at home, do you have any current info on walleye or wipers at Milford, will be going down Friday morning??
Chad

June 19, 2009 - Cheney - June 19, 2009 Friday morning. Things are picking up a little for me. Caught a total of 5 with two getting off. Few short Walleye and Wipers. No particular area of lake. Had to keep on the Westside of lake. Winds were out of the Southwest up to 30-35 mph. with some light rain. Summer pattern not up to full swing YET. Mark.

June 18, 2009 - Cheney - Went to Cheney from 6AM-11AM for channel cat. Started at river on north end. Nothing. Worked my way down along east side on down to marina fishing rip rap and still nothing. I used Sonnys, liver and bait shrimp. Very disappointed.

June 17, 2009 - Harvey County East Lake - Went to Harvey County East Lake Wednesday the 17th from 7AM-11AM. Caught 3 2lb channels on west side by the stick ups. Several small stocker size too. Used Sonny's dip bait.

June 15, 2009 - Gardner Lake - Largemouth around 12-15 inches were hitting three inch lipless lures (Heddon Lucky 13’s-- green fluorescent crawdad) being presented with popping action all over the lake on 14 June, 2009. Most hits were between six and fifteen feet from the shore and mostly around docks. Water depth was no more than eight feet deep. No hits were received on any variety of lipless lure.

June 15, 2009 - Bluegill question clarification - Thanks for posting my question, but I guess I didn’t state my first question correctly, I know how to catch Bluegill. Please elaborate on how and where you fish for the wipers with the Bluegill.

June 11, 2009 - Milford for Walleye - FISH DOWN ON THE SOUTH WEST END OF THE LAKE OFF THE POINTS. 6 FOOT IN THE AM AND MOVE OUT TO 10 FEET AFTER LUNCH
MARK

June 9, 2009 - Cheney Question - I have a question for Mike E. How do you fish with the bluegill for the wipers? Do you anchor and throw out your line? Also, where is the best place to troll for Wall-eye? Went to Cheney 6/07, fished for catfish around the edge (rocks) with shrimp. Hooked several large ones, broke our lines.

June 8, 2009 - Cheney - only caught 4 wipers sunday. 8, 8.5, 11 and 17 lbs. all on live bluegill.
Then my throttle stuck open on my boat and had to quit! THAT SUX!
you can catch bluegill all over inside marina cove on small hook w/ worm. along rocks. they are everywhere. sailboat marina on westside has tons of them also. Perch are even better if you can catch them. here is my biggest wiper sunday
MIKE E.

June 8, 2009 - Milford - Fished Milford 3 days over the weekend and caught 3 short walleye, found a lot of nice sized white bass using small jointed Rapalas. Anybody got in tips on finding the walleye?? We tried jigging around flats and some humps and trolling but no keepers.

June 8, 2009 - Wilson County Pond - June 1 My buddy and I put on a Wilson County pond about 2 hours before sunset. The wind was about 15-20 mph. My buddy was running the trolling motor and it kept him pretty busy since I forgot the rudder to stabilize the back of the boat. In spite of that he put me on this real nice bass that hit a Tiki Wave worm right on the edge of a drop about 8 foot from the bank. What a brute! very strong fish! As always the fish was released to fight another day!

June 6, 2009 - Cheney - 6/5/09 Got to Cheney at about 6pm and fished till dark. Pretty windy but was able to fish. Started trolling at m&m point with nothing so I moved up to Wichita point. Got a 17 inch walleye and then nothing. Pretty much trolled the entire east/north side of the lake after that with no luck. Came back to Wichita point and got a 10 inch walleye. Mike E. sure must know something more than I do because I haven't even seen a white perch, white bass, wiper, or striper let alone caught one. I'm about to the point where it's not worth it to drive out there and get nothing. Not a single keeper anything in 3-4 trips so far....
Greg in Derby

June 6, 2009 - Butler SFL - Blaze wanted to go fishing for his birthday so we went to butler sfl with our crappie poles 4# test gotta luv the fight

June 5, 2009 - Cheney - In response to MIKE E. about Cheney....
Congratulations on the awesome fishing! I would also like to try live bait for the first time at Cheney. Problem is I don't know where to get it from. The only live bait I know of that's sold close is near the west gate and they only have medium/large minnows and perch. What would you recommend? Should I just use the large minnows? Not sure about the perch either. Where do people who use live shad get them from or where do people get most of their live bait from for use at Cheney? I will also just have to use a large cooler with a battery powered pump. Any other ideas for keeping live bait alive without a bait tank? Any tips would be very helpful. Thanks all!
Greg in Derby

June 4, 2009 - Fall River - Caught these May 23rd in a creek off of Fall River on green perch. 35# and 17#. We caught 5 other smaller ones, good night of fishing.

June 3, 2009 - Cheney - Went to Cheney on Wednesday night and after the wind calmed down the fish really started biteing. Ended up leaving with 2 wipers 24 and 26 inches and 2 walleye 22 and 25 inches.Caught multiple more all different sizes jigging a crawler.

June 2, 2009 - Cheney - One other note. Hit bottom several times trolling. Each time i reeled in and it had a rock or a weed on it. Zebra Mussels were completely covering each item. It is terrible. Mark.

June 1, 2009 - Wilson - Hello everyone,
I am going out to Wilson Reservoir again this coming weekend. June 7th. I have been fishing and drifting around Minooka for walleye and white bass. but this weekend i would like to go fishing for channel cat. Can anyone out there tell me if they have been catching any and if so where about could i look for the biggest concentration. What i guess i would like to know is if they are up around the dam spawning yet. any info u have would be appreciated. we haven't caught any yet. We only managed one keeper walleye and one white bass last Sunday drifting the north side across from Minooka, it was a rather disappointing day. Rod

June 1, 2009 - Cheney - Amazing morning fishing............but the 3-way would not produce. Spoons/castmasters/jigs were the bait of choice. Caught numerous fish all sizes and all kinds all morning till the wind got too high to keep boat trolling over the schools. Lake looking better, great fishing days head!

Mike E - congrats on the huge wiper. Cant wait to see that pic at the marina store. Be sure to keep monitoring the weights, state record is 22 1/4 lbs.

Also believe a really good chance for state record walleye this year from Cheney. What a great lake for trophies.

May 31, 2009 - Cheney - It was an awesome day at cheney sunday. I tried some live bait and loaded up on Large wipers. I caught around 30 Wipers the largest being just short of 20lbs. She was a monster. Many were 8 to 10 lbs. caught them all on Bluegill. I read the note from greg from derby from sat and he didnt catch anything. dont feel bad greg, I didnt catch much sat either. I caught one small wiper. Today however was simply amazing. I was by myself for most of the day, and when i caught the "big one" i couldnt take a picture of myself holding it, so if you want to see it go to the marina. Then a buddy came out and fished from 6 to sundown and we caught lots more.
MIKE E.

May 31, 2009 - Cheney - May 30, 2009 Sat. morning. Morning fishing till 11am. Caught 5-6 Walleye trolling. 10", 15", 18", 19" and one 22". It's been a long time since I've caught Walleye at Cheney at different lengths. That's good news. The young Walleye seem to be going great. No Wipers for me on this trip. BUT, did get a very reliable report Sat. THEY ARE BITING and there BIG. Give the lake time to clear up and watch out.

May 31, 2009 - Cheney - Went to cheney on Saturday for walleye ended up catching 12 but all shorts. It's good to see the different classes of fish in this lake. Left about 2 due to being HOT. We did try crawlers and trolling. Didn't see many caught.

May 30, 2009 - Herington Lakes - Herington old lake has been fair for channel cat and some flathead. Crappie has been fair while Largemouth is still poor. Request KDWP to stock the old lake if possible for Largemouth.

Herington New Lake wiper and white bass have been excellent all over on rooster tails and jigs. Walleyes have been fair on worms and bluegill. Channel cat have been excellent on worms while flathead have been slow. Flathead are starting to move. Crappie have been fair on jigs and rooster tails. Again unfortunely Largemouth bass is poor.

Jeremy from Herington Kansas

May 30, 2009 - Cheney - I got to cheney at 5am on Friday 5-29-09. Saw one other boat with 3 guys leaving the east ramp at the same time. Wonder if they got anything because I sure didn't find anything big that I was looking for. I fished M&M point, Wichita point, the face of the dam, refuge, west side, up north, and even the middle of the lake! I could not find the fish. I only got 3 very small walleye north of the refuge. I trolled deep with the 3 way (big norman crank bait with a sassy shad), I trolled mid water with all sorts of lures, I tried spoons thrown toward humps. Just couldn't get any help from the fish. I was going to stay all day but went home mid afternoon defeated.... I just don't know how you guys find these bigger wipers at Cheney but I would sure like to. I think I have been there maybe 10 times now including a few years ago and have only got 1 keeper wiper. Getting frustrated.
Greg in Derby

May 28, 2009 - Wilson advice - To Mark that had no luck on Saturday, we fished Wilson by drifting jig and worm on Sunday and did manage to catch about 3 keeper walleye and many short walleye in that same location along with several other boats just directly across from Minooka on the north side by the mud point. also had some luck by drifting the shoreline on the south side about a half mile or so from boat ramp just to the west. Sorry u couldn't get into them . We also got into a nice school of white bass just past the fish feeder west of the boat ramp on the south shore approximately a mile or so away. If i had my gps on my boat turned on i could give you the gps coordinates but i am nowhere near it right now. Rod

May 28, 2009 - Milford help request -I was Milford last weekend and only caught 1 short walleye over 2 days, anybody have any help? Going back down on June 3rd and looking for some advice???

May 28, 2009 - Cheney -Went to Cheney on Tues. the 26th. I drove the boat while my wife and granddaughter trolled. We caught a half dozen short walleye, nothing big enough to take home. So far this year short walleye are about all I've caught at Cheney. That bodes well for the future, but I'd like to catch a few keepers this year. Did anyone have any success at Cheney over the weekend?-----Bob

May 27, 2009 - Wilson -Yes, Tom we did drift with jig and worm directly North of Minooka Park. Must have been 6 boats out there trying there luck. Also tried right off of Minooka Park directly to the East of the boat ramp 1/2 mile were camp site are right next to the water. That's been a good area in past years. What a beautifully lake. Clear water and all. Living in Sedg. Co. i just cant fish that lake much and get to know the hot spots. Thanks for the responds. Did see two boats at the NICE fish cleaning station that's provided. So,it looked like some folks did catch some Sat. Not complaining too much. Still a wonderfull place to take the boat even if we came up empty handed. Mark.

May 26, 2009 - Wilson - In response to Mark trying Wilson. If you put your boat in at Minooka park west boat ramp and head almost strait across the lake to the north side there is a point that sticks out way into the lake you cant miss ityou can fish right around the point but if you fish just to the EAST probably 100 yards or so off the point there is two humps that come up to around 10 ft or so depends on the lake levelUsually this time of year that area produces good walleye. Just wondering if you tried that particular area and still didn't get any fish that lake makes you work hard to find the fish but once you do then its worth it.

Tom K

May 25, 2009 - Wilson - May 23, 2009 Saturday. Headed to Wilson early in the morning. Very nice day. Very little wind, but some chop on the water. Used jig and worm and drifted for hours for Walleye. Nothing. Trolled for some Stripers for hours. Nothing. Very unusual. Normaly come up with a half dozen or so of some nice fish. Not good. Mark.

May 25, 2009 - Kaw River - The flathead (29 lbs)I caught on the Kaw River, just downstream from the weir dam at 435 highway, on live goldfish. It was Fri. May 15th. The blue (27 lbs) I caught downstream of the same weir dam on a flat above a sand dredge hole on cut asian carp on Fri. May 22nd.

May 24, 2009 - Cheney - We got to Cheney about 6pm on 5/23/09 with the new boat. Water level was a little high but has gone way down. We trolled a couple 3 way rigs all over M&M point and found nothing. Decided to move up the lake a bit past the refuge I think (was getting dark and it had been a while) and found a nice little change in depth. Turned around and trolled in about 8-10ft of water with shallow running lures back to that spot and got 1 short walleye. This was my first time back fishing the lake in a few years because I had to sell my boat. I'm sure I will be there very often now though with reports. I'm really really wanting to get into some of the big wipers Cheney has to offer! Any more help with info would be great!
Greg in Derby

May 17, 2009 - Cheney - High Water and Zebra Mussels - The water level at Cheney is in flood stage and fisherman obviously will be going to other lakes to avoid the high water.

Personally, I love fishing at Cheney, but since the Zebra Mussel infestation, I have not been back due to the chance that I might spread the infestation to other area lakes that are still Zebra Mussel free. It's not just the boats but also the boat trailers that have to be checked and cleaned after having them in the water at an infested lake.

We all need to do our part and follow the KDWP recommendations on how to avoid the spread of Zebra Mussels.

May 15, 2009 - Cheney - Thanks Mike E. for the pictures of Cheney. From what you sent yes i've never seen the water that high. It seams i can only make about one trip to Cheney in April and wham the lake floods. I think it's three years in a roll now like that. I'am seeing though each year, and this year is no different, the fish keep getting bigger at Cheney. I'll wait till the waters gets way back down before i even attempt go back out to Cheney. That could take up to a month. Might slip out to Wilson Lake and try my luck next week. The water reports are very good for that lake. And untill then, it's back to mowing evey four days due to all this rain. rains. Mark.

May 14, 2009 - Milford - May 8th 2009 Friday We caught 5 walleye fishing rocky points on the upper end of the lake. The largest one is 8 lbs. They were caught off two separate points a mile or so apart. The water in the first location was super clear and the second location was muddy. Structure appeared to the key as we fished both locations from a boat setting over about 40 feet of water near the bank. We were casting jigs into the bank using a slow retrieve to allow the jig follow the bottom back towards the boat. Most of the hits seemed to occur in about 10 feet of water.

May 11, 2009 - Cheney high water - boat ramp parking lot and the fish cleaning station on east side of cheney. High as i have ever seen the lake and its still rising! all campgrounds are flooded cannot get into m&m you can actually drive your boat up to the picnic tables, have a little lunch. Fight the carp off though. they are pretty hungry!
Good luck!!
Mike E.

May 5, 2009 - Where are the crappie? - I have been out 10 times total to Clinton, Pamona, and Melvern, and have yet to catch a crappie. Anyone have any advice? Oh and I have been fishing on shore so that might be it too.

April 29, 2009 - Cheney - Sweet walleye of life I found you. Running up by the noirth end of the lake. Wipers in area. Ones I caught were under length so back they go. Still lots of fun. Biting on worms, sassy shad, and rattletraps.

April 28, 2009 - Cheney - April 24th 2009 Friday
Fished 7am-10:30am. Trolling face of dam. Caught one 12lb and 10lb Wiper full of eggs. One Walleyee 7.4lbs. Will attach pictures soon.
Mark

April 27, 2009 - Cheney - I caught this flathead at cheney lake on 4-21-09 using 10lb line on a shad swim bait. It weighed 30lb. Thanks.

Caley Ediger

April 27, 2009 - Hargis Creek Lake - Saturday April 25, 2009 - Took my daughter and brother in law to Harrgis Creek Lake in Wellington. We threw every jig and rubber worm we had from west bank. No interest on fishes part at all. Daughter was teaching worms to swim under a bobber with same result. Weather was overcast and windy. Water was stained/dirty. All in all a washout, but we were fishing. That made it alright. Next time maybe a small boat and get to the trees out in the lake.

Sheldon

April 27, 2009 - Spoonbill at Marais Des Cygnes - hello, are the spoonbill paddlefish swimming up the Marais DEc Cygnes River yet? im from omaha ,ne. thanks

April 22, 2009 - Hillsdale - My dad, youngest son and I went fishing down at Hillsdale, by the Antioch boatramp, on Tuesday and caught 17 or 18 crappie, a couple of white bass and lost one large mouth. 11 of the crappie were between 10 and a half and 14 inches and the white bass were about 12 to 13 inches. Caught all of them on minnows fishing around trees. We were fishing in about 4 to 8 feet of water with the minnows about 2 and a half to 3 feet deep. It was a wonderful day to be out there and they were mighty tasty.

Josh

April 14, 2009 - Cheney - Was fishing off the bank on west side by the dam from 10 a to 5 p. We only caught small white bass (2). My son and I tried 32 different lures, worms, and shrimp. Too much wind I guess. Changed spots 5 times. Real slow. Will try next week.

April 3, 2009 - Region 2 Action - Does anyone have any reports for region 2 area. In particular Melvern, Clinton, and Pomona.

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