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Kansas Fishing Report
Submitted by Anglers Like You
April - June 2008
June 23, 2008 - El Dorado
- We were at eldorado 6-21 and 22. Lake is still high
and murky. A lot of campsite grills in about 1-2 feet of water.
Fishing was very slow, we did manage a few small smallmouths,
and a small wiper and walleye. They are releasing water and by
the water line on the trees looks like it dropped about a foot
recently.
 June
22, 2008 - Private Pond in Shawnee, Kansas
9 lbs. 24inches. Largemouth Bass caught in our
private pond in Shawnee, KS
6inch plastic slugo just a few feet from shore
Date: Saturday June 21st around 11:00AM
Angler: Duane Bayless
June 19, 2008 - El Dorado
& Cheney Question - I am curious if anyone has
been to El Dorado lately and if so if they did any good? What
about Cheney? Any new reports from there?
June 19, 2008 - Harvey County East Answer
- harvey co east has a few flathead but they stock
it full of channel cats, and there also are big saugeye in there
if u can catch em they say the dam is the best spot at harvey
co . but iv caught all my saugeye either trolling in the boat
or off a few jetties using black/yellow crappie jigs tip with
nightcrawlers there are nice white bass in there also, i have
caught most of them of the dam using white twister tails.
June 18, 2008 - Harvey
County East Answer - Harvey County East Answer - I
am not postive on it but I do believe that there are a few flat
head in Harvey County East, I have never caught any, all I have
caught out there is White Bass, Crappie, and Channel Cat!
June 17, 2008 - Harvey
County East Question - Does anyone know if there are
Flatheads in this lake or not?
Thanks!
 June
14, 2008 - Cottonwood Falls - This
flathead was caught on worms at the bridge in Cottonwood Falls
last weekend. Other people have been catching flatheads also
from the bridge and below the dam during this past week.
June 11, 2008 - Cheney
- My dad and I made it out to Cheney around 7 on Monday
night, my dad swore we wouldn't catch anything due to the rain
and no wind! Well it was just too nice of a day not to be on
the lake! Stayed close to the marina and brought home a 22 inch
wiper and a 15 inch white bass. We caught another wiper but it
was short! We also tied into a couple other fish but they got
off short of the boat. The wiper were hitting really soft, but
we were also trolling slow for walleye and just hit the right
spot for the wiper. So far this year Cheney has been really good,
brought home a 24 inch walleye and a 23 inch walleye a week ago
too!
Hopefully we will make it out to Marion this weekend and see
what is going on out there, anyone been out there lately?
Later
June 2, 2008 - South Wichita
- Went to my south Wichita "mystery pond" on Sunday.
I noticed lots of little fry in schools along the banks feeding
in the grass. That made me think of using a prop bait like a
Tiny Torpedo or a little buzz bait because during this time they
really seem to excel.
The little props barely turning water somewhat
mimics those little schools of bait fish. ended up catching a
couple on a Tiny Torpedo and the the majority came on a little
1/8 oz buzz bait. All the fish were about 1 - 2 pounds. Occasionally
I'll catch one 3 -4 pounds, but of course not when I have a camera.
Alex Hale, Zeiner's Angler Supply
June 2, 2008 - Milford
Walleye Question - Been to Milford 2 times the last
3 weeks and not had any luck on walleye at all, looking for some
tips or any help on trying to catch some.
Thanks
Chad
May 31, 2008 - Looking
- Got to Marion Reservoir around 9:30am. We were afraid
we were not going to do very good as the wind was from the Northeast;
however it was time to get the boat out again. We headed north
from Marion Cove boat dock trolling in the shallows and we soon
picked up a couple of small white bass and a nice wiper. The
bite was pretty slow but we would pick up a couple now and then.
Once we had all 5 rods in the boat go down at the same time and
we did catch several doubles on the same rod throughout the morning.
We ended up catching around 40 but only took home 20 after finding
some bigger white bass around the cottonwood point campsites.
We probably caught 10 walleye that were all a couple of inches
short and one of the biggest wipers I have taken out of Marion
. It looks like the fish have moved into their summer pattern
and all it will take is some good continuous south wind to bunch
them up on the points. Left the lake around 2:30pm.
Royce
May 27, 2008 - Looking
for Crappie close to Derby - I live in Derby, I am
looking for a short drive to some quality crappie holes, and
place like that come to mind? I am looking to fill the freezer.
Thanks brother.
May 27, 2008 - Watson
Park - Well I finally made it to Watson Park Saturday
evening. I got there about 6:00 and started out with a jig b3ecause
I figured they'ed be on the banks or at I'd least see a few.
Well there wasn't really too many to be seen but I still caught
two. Then I tied on a Rick Clunn 1.5 Wake Bait and managed to
pick off a couple more. Alex Hale, Zeiner's Angler Supply
May 24, 2008 - South Wichita
- I made it out for an hour or so yesterday. I started with
a Bomber Fat Free Shad and caught five "rippin' it"
as fast as I could. Then I changed up to the good ol' 4"
Hula Grub and caught three more swimming it. None of them were
very big (1-2 pounders), but they were fun to catch. Alex
Hale, Zeiner's Angler Supply
  May
23, 2008 - South Wichita - Caught
a nice crappie on 4" Chomper Hula Grub while bass fishing.
Did well on bass on spinnerbaits and Lake Fork Ring Frys. Alex
Hale, Zeiner's Angler Supply
May 22, 2008 - Marion
County - caught limit of saugeye 5-20 at marion co.
all 18-19in . good eatin fishin pal jer
May 21, 2008 - Wilson
Walleye Question - Anything earthshaking before the
weekend on Wilson walleye..Bud
  May 20, 2008
- YMCA Camp Hyde Pond - I took
my daughters fishing at the YMCA Camp Hyde pond on Saturday,
May 17. The water was very clear and so it has a lot of vegetation
below and moss on the surface. I tied on Bass Pro XPS Lazer Eye
Tender Toads (I had to look that name up). I caught the bass
shown in the attached while "demonstrating" how to
fish this top-water frog. The frog lost both eyes on the first
strike; we might look for a better frog. My oldest daughter got
a good strike, but the bass threw the frog after a short fight.
All the bass soon lost interest followed by my daughters.
May 19, 2008 - Antelope
Lake - Jim, we did go to antelope lake yesterday 05
18 2008, arrived about 8:00 am and tried to find saugeye but
I think the bright sun and big moon gave them a case of daytime
lockjaw, however we (2 of us) did pull 31 largemouth bass between
13 and 17.5" long. also caught 5 bluegill on same spinnerbait
as I was using for bass. we also caught 9 crappie. 2 on spinnerbaits
and 7 on small tube jigs. there were at least 20 different boats
on the lake while we were there. some catching fish, some not.
the dedicated crappie guys that stayed on brushpiles w/jigs and
minnows did pretty good. thanks for your response and fish on!
mike
May 18, 2008 - Harvey
County East Lake Question - has anyone had luck for
saugeye or white bass at harvey co east lake the fish report
for harvey co. east never seems to be updated. there are supposed
to be 7 lb 26" saugeye in there i'm lucky if i catch one
or two there that are barely 18" anyone please post here
any info for harvey co. east lake it will be greatly appreciated
fishin pal jer
May 17, 2008 - Marion
County Lake - 5-14 caught limit of saugeye at marion
co. 2 over 20" rest were 18-19in. good eatin jer
May 17, 2008 - Pratt County
Lake - Wed the 14th. Dad, brother, and I first stopped
by kingman with no success. My dad had a nice sized fish on that
bent his pole to the water and then cut the line. I'm going to
guess a pike that snapped his line. Vegetation starting to boom
in the area with the two islands, but still hard to find holding
spots. We went to Pratt and had more success. I used a strike
king fire tiger rattle trap, my dad I believe was using a blue
fox minnow spinner, and my brother was using a white mepps inline
spinner. It was the first time I caught walleye. Had some bass
and bluegill, but nothing to brag about. I had something that
took my line and would not give up. It was a quick bite and then
just straight swimming, but it got free. Hard to tell, but I
would say over ten pounds and either a walleye or carp. I think
I have snagged carp before and they just straight line fast swim
and that force frees them if there is not a hook set. My lesson
is I should have changed treble hooks to some thinner sharper
hooks. My brother caught some good size bass and a few bluegill.
My dad had a slow start until he passed a bend and settled in
a little inward concave of rocky shoreline. He then caught about
everything the lake has to offer. He caught bluegill, bass, crappie,
and channel cats. It seems that lake has been the producer this
year. I haven't tried butler, but I know last year was a challenge
with the vegetation not growing and matting like it has in the
previous years. I'm ready to get back out to try to not let all
the fish get away. Only one other time when my heart was thumping
like that and it was a monster bass at a farm pond. But then
again if we caught ever fish and all the big fish then we will
have no stories of how the big one got away.
Dominic
May 16, 2008 - Question
on Antelope Lake - good morning, have you had any
reports from Antelope lake in Graham county, Kansas?. going to
try and get there on Saturday afternoon. may also try Sheridan
county lake as well. any reports would be welcome. thanks Mike
May 10, 2008 - Question
for Pictures of Crappie -Could you please post where
you caught the crappie and what you were using. You don't have
to give up secret spots or anything, but is always nice to know
what is working and where. My dad loves crappie fishing and would
like to know what techniques are working and where to take him.
Thanks
Dominic
    May 7, 2008
- Pictures of Crappie - Here's
some pics of some crappie I caught, the biggest one is 3lb 10oz,
a couple others are over 3lbs. I kept the small one (just under
a lb) for size comparison. I had one on the stringer that would
have pushed the state record, had and stringer being the keywords.
I learned the hard way about why we call em paper mouths and
why you should use a basket instead of a gill stringer. The image
of her slowly swimming off has replayed in my head over and over
again, and I'm sure it will for the rest of my life. Now it's
just another big one that got away story.
Smiley
May 6, 2008 - Answer to
Question for Mark -I'm using (2) Cannon Electric Mag
5HS. 8 lb. ball. 20 lb. Big game to my 3-way swivel then from
there 30 lb. Big game to my baits. 75' back from my quick release.
Sorry this is short and information is limited. As years progress
at Cheney and the tremendous stocking Fish and Game is doing.
The sizes increasing I'm just limited on info.
...
Will add this to anglers who think live bait is KING at Cheney.
It most certainly is to some anglers. I've seen it work in other
boats. But as i watch the Outdoor Channel and other fishing programs
with trolling ether just trolling or downrigging and there great
catches it is a very productive method to catch HUGE fish at
really any lake. Yes, with fuel at $3.50 + a gal. it's expensive.
If the water level stays good, not like last May, June, and part
of July of last year. Fishing should be great. Hope more post
pictures this year.
Mark.
May 5, 2008 - Question
for Watson Park Poster - Did you notice any certain
areas that seemed to hold high concentrations of the shad, or
were they spread out all over the lake? Might be a good opportunity
for bait. Thanks.
Josh
May 5, 2008 - Question
for Mark -
Mark,
I am interested in purchasing downriggers and the
associated gear to improve my access to deep water fish. I have
a couple of questions about your set-up:
* What type of downriggers do you use
* How heavy of weights (4, 6 or 8 lb)
* What are your favorite 'Cheney' baits to pull
* What line do you have spooled on your reels
* How much line do you usually have between the release and the
lure
May 2, 2008 - Coffey County
(Wolf Creek) - My dad, brother, and I took the boat
out to the coffey county power plant lake. It was rather windy
with gusts hitting above 20mph, which is my kind of fishing.
We did venture into the many boat problems including a battery
that was fully charged the day before and started the boat was
not working to where the button on the trolling motor foot pad
would not pop up and was difficult to troll to it just completely
not working at all. But all in all we caught around a dozen smallmouth
bass and a few white bass. I found a great bait and that was
a gulp shad in black and three inches. My brother and I used
that and did the yo yo technique, which proved very effective.
My dad was using a brown/orange jig and swimming it back to the
boat. It's a very nice lake with many species, but we just targeted
the rock piers since we were producing.
Side note. The poster about Waston park. It's
nice to get a very detailed description of what is working and
the times to fish. I have heard watson is clear and heard some
stories of big wipers in there that broke off his line before.
I always try to post so we all know what is effective and what
might not work as well like the poster with saying using big/noisy
baits.
Thanks.
Dominic
 May 1,
2008 - Wichita Watson Park - Bass
are beginning to move up and hold in shallow water (close to
bank lines) but a majority of them are small males preparing
for the spawn and scouting bedding sites. Big numbers of 6+ pound
carp can be seen skimming the surface of the water (especially
during days of high wind speeds) and might offer some excellent
fishing with the right bait and gear. I have yet to see any fisherman
pull any number of good sized catfish as of yet, but the water
temperatures are still below their preferred spawning temps.
I have been catching good numbers of largemouth
in the early afternoon all over the lake, but mainly on shallow
points and rock banks. All of the fish have been caught with
three common lures 1/2 oz football jig, 1/4 oz to 3/8 oz
willow leaf spinner bait and shallow diving square billed crank
bait. Natural colors seem to be the most productive. These include
Shad, white, crawdad, and green. Subtle hints of red added to
these baits seem to increase the catch as well. Jig bites are
soft and can easily be mistaken for rocks or other debris. If
you are unsure, go ahead and set the hook regardless. A fast
retrieve with a jig will not produce much, therefore I recommend
being extremely patient and working the lure very slow. Be sure
to take multiple jigs along, as the rocks and concrete covering
the shallows of the lake love to eat the jigs as well. With the
extreme clarity of the water, anything large in size or with
extreme vibration is more of a deterrent then an attractant.
Keep it small, keep it natural, you'll find the fish!
I also wanted to alert you to Watson and their
(what appears to be) extremely heavy population of enormous shad.
I have had shad follow lures and hooked bass that are every bit
of 10+ inches in length. And it's not just one or two in certain
areas, its 6-7-8 of them following my lures all the way to the
bank. They are all throughout the lake as well and they have
become a nuisance to me on almost every cast and retrieve, aggressively
attacking my lures.
 April
24, 2008 - Cheney - April 24,
2008 Thursday. Caught my personal best. 11.0 lb. Wiper. She was
full of eggs. Three other ones around 23" and one Walleye
4 lbs. I really had to work at getting what i got. Went out last
Sat. and nothing. Mark.
April 22, 2008 - Cottonwood
above Marion - Picked up the boys from school and
headed to the Cottonwood above Marion Reservoir. We had heard
the spawn was on. My wife, two boys and I fished from 5:00pm
7:45pm ended up with 38 nice White Bass. Most were males
and they were still running upstream so the may be around for
a few more days.
Royce
 April
21, 2008 - Southeast Kansas Private Lake
- She caught this giant largemouth on Saturday 4/19.
It was caught on a small private lake in southeast Kansas. She
was using spinning tackle and a red and white Chatterbait. We
didn't have scales with us so we're not exactly sure on the weight.
I would guess somewhere between 8-10 pounds. She measured 24"
long and 18" around. Just wanted to show everyone you don't
have to go to Texas to catch a lunker!
Thanks
Jason Rawlings
April 17, 2008 - Largemouth
Bass Should Be Stocked in Clinton and Perry Lakes
- On Oct. 1 and 2, 2005, Topeka received nearly 4 inches of rain
and as much as 12 inches fell on areas north of the city in Jackson
and Jefferson counties. Mother Nature's deluge washed an untold
number largemouth bass into Perry Lake. Consequently, in the
spring of 2006, bass angler began catching scores of 1 12 - to
six-pound bass, and that great bass fishing lasted until May
of 2007. Even during the winter of 2006-07, when the surface
temperature at Perry registered 38 degrees, some bass anglers
caught as many as 34 good-sized largemouth during a four-hour
outing.
From this experience and similar ones in decades
past, it is obvious that a stocking program similar to the volume
that Mother Nature rendered in October of 2005 could be replicated
by the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Park. Read
complete story
April 17, 2008 - Comment
on Question on Eureka City Lake - I haven't fished
there myself, but what are you fishing for? If you are thinking
about bass then I would say Eureka would be a good choice. Just
check out the fishing forecast for largemouth and you can see
they sampled good numbers for all sizes and the largest they
got was 6.61 lbs. White crappie got a good rating as well. If
nothing in an hour or two then you can just head over to Woodson,
not much farther. But just depends on what type of fishing
Dominic
   April 17, 2008
- Walnut River - I caught these
beauties on the Walnut River south of Augusta (on a buddies land)
on or around the 2nd of April, 2008. They were practically inhaling
everything I threw at 'em that afternoon! They were plenty fat
and both over 16". They were sure tasty!
Todd Herzig
Augusta, KS
April 16, 2008 - Marion
- April 15, 2008. Windy as heck. Tried the face of
the dam on foot. The fish have not showed up yet. So, seen some
wade fisherman catching fish at the spillway and headed that
way. I've never experienced catching so many 9" to 10"
Walleye. I must have caught 20 in 1.5 hrs. I was not the only
one. It's sad the State raises these fish and stocks them into
the lake to be flushed out the spillway. I can't image how many
of these small Walleye, thousands and thousands are lost out
of the lake this way. Whatever lake this river dumps into will
get them. Fun catching them. Mark.
April 15, 2008 - Comment on Question
on Eureka City Lake - Spend the extra time and gas
money and go out to woodson or either of the 2 yates centers
lakes
April 14, 2008 - Question
on Eureka City Lake - I plan on fishing eureka city
lake sometime this week, has anyone ever done any good on that
lake and if so any suggestions what part of the lake to fish
April 13, 2008 - Boaters
needed for youth event
We are looking for boaters for our 3rd Annual C.A.S.T.
event. Please forward on to others you think might be interested
in helping. This year we are opening up to McConnell children
who have a parent or both serving abroad. We are needing 50 boats
and need your help to make the event a great success again this
year. All major media will be invited again this year. As it
has always been, the boaters/fisherman make this event a success.
I sincerely hope you can help a child "Catch a Special Thrill"!!
Tom Spencer
C.A.S.T. Event Director
tom@castforkids.org
April 11, 2008 - Question
on lake in Leavenworth - Many, Many thanks to Dean
B. regarding the re-naming of the lake in Leavenworth Heims
Lake - now Stella Maris
Randall in Topeka
April 10, 2008 - Answer
to Question on lake in Leavenworth - This is to answer
Randall of Topeka's March 23
question about Heims Lake in Leavenworth.
I found a reference to a Heims Lake in Leavenworth.
It was in a UFO report of all things. Said the lake was now called
Lake Stella Maris. I found a Lake Stellamaris (one word) near
the intersection of Shawnee Rd & 193rd Street in Leavenworth,
KS. Best of luck.
Dean B.
April 8, 2008 - Cheney
tips for Wipers in April - The Wipers should be getting
really close to moving in closer to the dam and other area's
in the lake that are shallow. I'd say within 10 days or so from
past experience. Face of dam, (real close), and red bluffs, (dirt)
West of the East side swimming beach in 10-16' of water. Watch
out for bank fisherman this time of the year. They really put
their lines out far. Early in the morning, (sunrise) or evening
is the best time. Bite normally doen't last long in the mornings.
I can concur with BB rescuing the two fisherman
on April 06. Several years ago on a weekend I too rescued one
lady at Cheney that was going after a hat from a pontoon boat
on a very windy day. After she dived in they could not get the
motor started and the pontoon started moving away faster than
she could swim. If it was not for us seeing her frantic waving
who knows what would have happened. She too was totally exshasted
when we got her into our boat. She had no life jacket on. We
did call the Coast Guard on our Marine radio but by the time
they got to us the resue was over.
Marion Lake too within days should be great for
whites and Wipers on the face of the dam. I use my boat in April
at Cheney and fish from the shore at Marion lake this time of
the year. Past 3 years at Marion Lake this time of the year is
awesome.
April 7, 2008 - Pratt
- Fished pratt's lake Sunday 4-6-08. First time there.
Not bad little lake although broken bottles everywhere. I don't
get it... they have trashcans at every little rock pier. I picked
up a few pieces when i was close to a trash can. Lots of people
out and I didn't see much getting caught. I managed pretty well.
I caught ten bass. All bass where holding on the rocky shoreline.
Two were in the three pound range and I caught them on the windiest
area of the lake. I caught most on the windy shoreline on the
island you can drive on. I then tried Kingman for a little bit,
but only caught one tiny bass. Water was very high and the parks
seem to be trying to improve the crappie habitat since they sometime
within the past week downed some trees and put them by the rock
piers. I also noticed some new rock piers made at the river access
areas, which would be nice if the river gets high. It's nice
to see improvements being made to a fishery.
Dominic
April 7, 2008 - Cheney
- Sunday, 4/6/08
Got on the water about 9am, tried some drift fishing
for a while around M&M area. Started out with SW winds 10-15,
but by 11am they had turned o N-NW winds coming pretty steady.
Whipped up the waves to 2-3 ft swells in no time.
My partner was scanning with binoculars and noticed
what looked like a bass boat about 1/2 mile away that was struggling
against the waves. He
set the binoculars down for a cup of coffee and when he looked
back that direction just a few moments later, he noticed the
boat was gone.
We then noticed a flash in the water - it was the
bottom of the hull. We put our poles up and started heading their
direction as quickly as we could in the waves we were dealing
with. About 1/2 way there, we noticed there were two individuals
in the 48 degree water about 30 yds
from their boat, one with a life jacket and one without. There
was a young boy (10 or so) wearing the lifejacket and a man (not
wearing a
lifejacket). The man was just about completely exhausted when
we got to him. We were able to drag him into the front of the
boat and then went to get the boy, who continued to float away
from the boat. We took off our coats and long sleeve shirts to
cover the two and keep them as warm as possible on the trip back
in.
Park ranger and EMS met us at the marina ramps,
got the two into the marina where they could be checked out and
get warm. Everyone involved did a really good job. Greatest part
was they both checked out OK.
On the way home, we both realized that we had been
thru all that without our lifejackets on - DUMB. Please remember
that when the wind turns and the waves churn up like they often
do out there, put on your lifejackets - you just never know what
might happen.
BB
PS - anyone have any tips on where to catch those
huge wipers this time of year? Any advice would be appreciated.
April 2, 2008 - Cheney
Poacher - Heard a "great" story today about
a guy who caught a stringer full of walleye the other day at
Cheney and kept all of them. Amazing people have the balls to
break the law like that and brag about it. Might as well go shoot
10 big bucks and tell everybody at the bar. On the brighter side,
great crappie
Lee.
April 2, 2008 - Question
- We fished the Dragoon above Pomona today April 1
- Started out fishing for Crappies not bites, switched to fishing
for channels caught ten in short order. Nice day on lake. Fish
not big 4# and down but fun and they tasted good tonight.
--
Bill Brown
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