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Kansas Fishing Report

Submitted by Anglers Like You

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

KS and OK Corps of Engineers Lake Levels | Wichita Lake Info
Three Way Rig Instructions

See Comments and Commentary from Kansas Anglers
Fishing opportunities in Sedgwick County thru KW&P Urban Fishing Program

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Free Fishing Days - Kansas June 7 ­ 8, 2008, Arkansas June 6 ­ 8, 2008, Colorado June 7 ­ 8, 2008, Iowa June 6 ­ 8, 2008, Missouri June 7 ­ 8, 2008, Nebraska May 17, 2008, Oklahoma June 7 ­ 8, 2008 and Texas June 7, 2008

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

March 31, 2008 - Question on Lake Afton - I just wanted to know if anyone has a fishing report for lake Afton. Goddard, KS

March 23, 2008 - Fall River - I just want to take a second to brag about this beast of a Crappie. I apologize for the cell phone photo. I was Jigging with red Squirt and Squirm, catching smaller Crappies most of the day last Friday at the Fall River Reservoir. I took this 17 inch Crappie in about 11 feet of water in a small cove. The fish weighed 4 pounds on the money, and I was using 6 lb. monofilament. The hit was subtle, but the fight was great. I looked over at my new fishing buddy Jordan, smiled, and said "I think this one is a little bigger." All I can say is WOOOOHHHOOOOOO!!!!!! Have a great time fishing, and remember to take a child fishing.

Yours,

Lee Lewis

March 23, 2008 - Question on lake in Leavenworth -As a youth I fished a few times with my father and his best friend at a private lake in Leavenworth Kansas. I recall it being called Heims, Heinz or Heimes Lake but can't remember for sure. I've tried to find info on the net by searching the names or 'private lakes' in Leavenworth and Kansas but can't find any info. Anyone know of such a Lake or remember the name? Maybe it's been purchased and re-named? It has been 40 years ago. Any info would be appreciated ­ thought I might try to find it and go fish it. Thanks!

Best regards,

Randall in Topeka

March 23, 2008 - Clinton - Walleye are slow at Clinton. Been catching large females full of eggs but have been releasing them as we all should. Most productive pattern has been main lake points, breaks and humps. Gulp baits and deep divers have been producing. Water temp is 42.3 at the dam. Craig

March 22, 2008 - Ossawattami - Walleyes are biting great at 8th street fish on the south side

March 19, 2008 - Answer to Question on Water Temps - I have always used surface temperatures to determine fish temperament (on typical Kansas water). Although water temperature is affected by wind, rain, run off, drainage pipes, shade, natural springs, extended periods of sun, etc. I always keep a small thermometer in my tackle bags for times when I'm not out on the boat. It really helps me in determine how close the fish are to spawning.

In Kansas, we have muddy, shallow and windblown water. Therefore we rarely encounter problems with oxygen issues (warm water holds less oxygen then cold water) and lake turnover due to the lack of a thermocline. If you do a majority of your fishing in Kansas water, the surface temperature will (most of the time) be comparable to the water temperatures several feet below it. On extremely windy days, the surface temperature might be the same as water temperatures 10+ feet below it. Although I have discovered that windblown bank lines can be several degrees cooler then opposite bank lines due to the wind and waves.

A little common sense will tell you how water temperatures are being affected as well. A nice rain shower will cool off the surface temperature and the bank lines due to run off. Smaller bodies of water will always warm faster than large bodies of water. Shallow coves off of main lakes will warm slightly faster than the main body of the lake, thus attracting fish during pre-spawn and spawn periods. And (according to Woo Daves) the northeastern part of lakes will warm faster due to solar positioning early in the year.

I hope this helps!

Joe Shreve

March 19, 2008 - Question on Water Temps -
When "they", who ever they is, talk about the best water temperatures for catching fish, at what depth are they referring to? Surface? A foot down? Where the fish should be? Never did have this explained.

March 18, 2008 - More on Tuttle Creek Question - For lakes that have no structure like you're explaining for TUTTLE Creek try drifting when it's windy on the first few warm days we get. The Crappie will suspend in small groups very shallow in the water column and you can catch them easily by drifting through key areas that they are staging for the upcoming spawn. When drifting your jigs can be small 1/16 oz on the first few warm days and when things warm up a bit or when the wind is stronger then you can go to 1/8 oz jigs with minnows attached. To avoid line twist you can add swivel to a leader but you don't have to if you re-tie your jig every so often. This approach works well in lakes that are dishpan lakes with little or no cover. They will hit your jig 30 or 40 feet back from your boat and you will catch the larger crappie using this approach. This approach worked extremely well In the Nebraska dishpan lakes around the Lincoln area. You can motor around and see schools of fish on your depth finder usually and then drift back through them. Keep in mind you need a fair amount of wind for this approach usually which isn't usually a problem in the spring.

March 18, 2008 - Milford Question - Looking for some info on approximate dates for the pre-spawn at Milford for Walleye?? Last year was first year fishing down their and would like some general info on good areas or baits for walleye and wipers.

Chad

March 15, 2008 - Big Hill ABA Tournament - Submitted by Curt Graves - Got 2 bites and shook off fish on a short practice on Friday up the river. With 10-20 mph N wind and rain, I was concerned if the fish would hold in the river. I fished the jig for a good hour without a bite. When I finally got a bite, the fish swam to the left and dropped the jig; swing and miss. This happened 2X's so I switched to a tube. I quickly started getting more bites but missed a number of fish until the temp's warmed and the water got back to 50 degrees in the river (NOTE...the water was 44-47 on the main lake).

I was able to catch 3 small keepers on the tube and 1 nice 3.5# on a crankbait. I lost a giant on the crankbait; should have had size 4 trebles instead of little 6's. Also lost a 3# fish over a laydown on the tube. Floroucarbon line and a Quantum PT 6'10 Heavy rod were used with the tube. I am experimenting with different brands of tubes.

Some are thicker and tougher to get a hook set into the fish; however, these have a different fall. More to come on this subject,

March 11, 2008 - More on Tuttle Creek Question - In reference to the other report about fishing and this one I would like to explain why I 'm catching a few fish. Like all lakes when Tuttle was new we caught tons of crappie. Like all lakes when they get old they don't produce. No structure is the problem! My opinion only: Tuttle had 60 % more crappie in 1980 that it does today. I would catch 50 each day and the spawn would be unbelievable. Those days are gone! No structure! No spawn! You could fish the outlet and catch a 7 inch crappie every cast. Things changed after the flood of 93. We do have some extra large fish in Tuttle but without the structure they are hard to find. The only time you will catch the numbers is durning the spawn. I put in three pieces of a pine tree and thats why the fish are there. It was alot of work and won't last but a few years. What structure we had is dead or covered up with silt. You can look for these crappie for days and not find them. When the spawn arrives you'll be able to catch some nice ones and then they disappear and extremely hard to find after that. I did get lucky today and caught 35 nice fish. We need some warm nights, for what we gain durning the day we lose it at night. Most of us are ready, its been a long winter! RKH

March 11, 2008 - Response to answer to Tuttle Creek Question - Thanks for the update. I am having withdrawals from fishing and it really nice to be able to at least read about the fishing going on back in Kansas . I hope the weather warms up and fishing picks up.

Clark

March 8, 2008 - Answer to Tuttle Creek Question - The spillway at Tuttle Ck has been very poor this winter due to a ruff winter but mostly due to water being released. The tubes have been open all winter between 1200 and 2500 cubic feet. When the water temp gets below 38 they keep out of the current. They don't mind the cold water but they do like it still. The pass few years the tubes have been shut down to 500 or less with a water temp of 38, this year water temp is 33 and to much current. The ice just come off of the lake in the past 10 days. I caught these crappie last saturday on the lake in 33' of water but we need to get a rise in water temp to about 40 before its really takes off.

RKH

March 7, 2008 - Tuttle Creek Question - I am currently deployed in Iraq and have been trying to get an update on the fishing at Tuttle Creek. I really enjoy catching Crappie and Saugeye at the spillway. Do you know when you will be able to update your site. Thanks! (Editor's note - Let's see if we can get him some answers.)

March 6, 2008 - Cheney -As it gets closer to getting out the boats and fishing equipment. All the preparation required, (fishing licenses, batteries, paying for registration, filling up boat tanks, oil, fuel, ext...) I'm well over $300 and have not even gotten the boat wet yet. How much cheaper it would be each year if i just bank fished? As i start bring in those monster fish the biologist are smiling about i suppose the expense wont even come into play.

Mark

March 5, 2008 - Kanopolis - Last week we were out at Kanopolis Lake and there were a lot of walleye and saugeye being caught of of Loaders point. For those of you who have never fished Kanopolis Lake, this is the point on the north side of the lake closest to the dam.

Good Luck All,

John

March 4, 2008 - Answer to question about anchors - In answer to the anchor question, I use the DIGGER ANCHOR. It is by far the best most reliable anchor I have ever used. Cabelas sells them, as well as most sporting goods stores. they range from $49 to $89, and work in most bottom scenerios.
Mike E.

March 2, 2008 - Question about walleye and wiper at Milford - This will be my 1st year at Milford fishing and would like some help on
where and what to use for walleye and wiper fishing?????

March 2, 2008 - Question about anchors - Just bought a 14 foot aluminum, flat bottomed jon boat with 2.5 Mercury motor along with Minn Kota transom and bow mounted trolling motors. Question -- what should we consider for anchors and positioning of the anchors We will fish Lake Shawnee in Topeka (400 plus acres) primarily. Have some experience with mushroom style weights and have not been impressed. Feedback would be appreciated. Thank you!

All the BEST!
Randall and Carolyn
Topeka, KS

February 25, 2008 - Answer to question about walleye fishing - Join the rest of us on the bank of the Dam at dusk, around mid-March casting jigs & shallow crankbaits parallel to the bank. Waders are nice but not necessary. Males show up first, then the females. In a few weeks it's all over. Not a great bite but a nice chance to go fishing and a good chance to catch a big one.

February 20, 2008 - Question about walleye fishing - I don't know about anyone else, but I keep hearing people at work talk about how the walleye fishing will be picking up soon, Is this true? I love catching walleye, however I usually dont start fishing for them until I hear that they are on the flats. I really want to try some pre-spawn fishing for them this year, but I have never done this sort of thing before. Is there a certain time, water temp. or technique that work best? I fish mostly kanopolis and wilson lakes and would greatly appreciate any tips and advice.

Thank you, and keep the reports coming,

John M.

February 12, 2008 - Cedar Bluff - Monday I had good luck with corn just off the edge of ice late in the day along north side

February 11, 2008 - Question for Ryan on Wichita Pond Fishing -Where did you go fishing for the bass? I also live in southeast Wichita and would like to know some easy access spots for bass. Thanks.

MR

February 6, 2008 - Wichita Pond Fishing - Recently, I was really wanting to get out of the house and do some fishing. So, going against all of my own intuition, I went bank fishing at some of my neighborhood ponds, in Southeast Wichita. The water just unfroze and I used a 1 3/4" minnow lure and fished from the bank. Not thinking I would catch anything, because of the water temp and air temp, I was rather lazy about my casting and reeling methods. But, in a matter of ten minutes, I caught three Largemouth Bass, all of them being 3lbs to 5lbs each. It was a surprise to me that they would bite from the bank, but they did and hard. I'm sharing this info, so others could try some of the urban fishing areas around Sedgwick County, for some great Winter fishing!

Ryan

February 5, 2008 - Answer on Milford Blues - When it comes to Milfords record I think its in the late 40's and the reason for that world be its a lot of work and time to get it in the record books. The fish has to be documented by the fish and game and that can take time. I'm sure many fishermen at Milford have caught some large fish but don't have all day to get it recorded. If the fish is 60lbs, it won't fit in the live well so keeping it alive will be difficult. Over the next few years you should see the fish get up to 75 lbs. I would think after that the growth would be slow. The one's caught daily in the Mississippi are not much larger than Milfords but because they been there forever every once in a while someone gets lucky and catches one over a hundred. I catch them at the month of the Mississippi and most are 10 to 60 lbs. I have got lucky and caught one 87 lbs. I don't think anyone knows for sure how big they'll get in Milford. If they have plenty of food, they should keep growing. We can hope for a 80 lb fish someday. RKH

February 4, 2008 - Answer on Milford Blues - First off : its been a long winter and I'm looking forward to getting back on the water. I have spent some time down south since fall catching red fish but ready to get the year started. Milford's largest bluecat range is 40 to 60 lbs. They first stocked blues in 1990 so my guess is that the first ones could be as large as 60 to 70 lbs. Biologist tell me 60 lbs. My largest is 64 and 58,56,55,54,51 and 50. I caught 123 large blues in 2005, 108 in 2006 and a little more than half in 2007. I fish madison north and they were not in large schools like the years before. In 05 and 06 I would catch 10 in a morning from 27 to 48 lbs. I do think sometimes its the bait. I had an easier time in 05 and 06 getting fresh shad daily. 07 was tough for me getting enough large shad for bait. I wish I knew the answer on why it was so tough in 07. They might of stayed south in deeper water and not made they way north like they have in previous years. I can say for sure that the fish were not north of madison like they were 3 years ago. In 05 I caught over 100 wipers 10 to 17 lbs fishing for blues in the spring and 5 walleye 8 to 10 lbs fishing the drops off for blues with live bait. Nothing in 2007! You could have a point on them going upstream but where I fish which is in the river channel that would of made fishing better. Blues travel in search of food and do not store fat like other catfish. They eat everyday to maintain there weight. There on the move all the time. Speaking of the inflow in water, the reason I caught so many blues on Tuttle CK was we had water coming in all year. Every year seems to be different and we need to try different methods to catch these fish. Depending on what kind of water we have blues are different than channels. Since they stay suppended try different depths. I've caught many on bobbers fishing 2 foot off the bottom. When fishing for blues after daylight you need the wind to disguise you. If its calm they know your there. The wind also keeps out the light. Fish as far away from the boat as you can. Shad would be the first bait choice, small mouth buffalo next and carp third. Hopefully in the next 6 weeks it will all begin. We need a 6 degree temperture rise to get the blues and walleye up in shallow water. I'm hopping we had a good shad kill! I wish I had the answer why 2007 was slower than prervious years but I have no clue. If we have a lousy 2008 then maybe were short on fish but as for now we need to give it one more year to make that assumption. I think were in for a good year! I just bought a new boat and ready to hit the water! No matter how much you fish its impossible to figure them out. I know this doesn't answer your question but maybe this time next year we will have a better answer. RKH

February 3, 2008 - Question on Milford Blues - My question is to RKH, I was wondering what Milfords lake record blue is? I also fish the lake alot for channels/blues and and agree that 2007 was slow on the big cats. My friend and I cought 11 one night between 19-37 lbs. in 2006. and strugled in 07 with maybe a good fish every 4-5 trips. Do you think that the high in flow in the spring caused alot of the big fish to swim up currant? If you would please drop me an e-mail at rgnagy@att.net. (Editor's Note - Please send us the answer also so we can post it)

January 30, 2008 - Melvern Heated Dock Question - Has anyone ever fished the heated docks at Melvern? My buddy and I are planning a trip up there this weekend and we were hoping that we might be able to get some tips from you crappie anglers out there. we would like to know if it would be better to use jigs, spoons, or live bait? any help would be greatly appreciated. I just wanna catch a few of those little guys for the frying pan.

Thanks,
John

January 29, 2008 - Ice Fishing El Dorado - My dad and I went out to El Dorado on Saturday to catch some white bass through the ice one last time this year. Started about 8am and ended about 4. We finished the day with 54 fish and another guy out there ended with 17. Decided to go back out Sunday and give it one more shot. Fished from 8 until noon and caught 43 more. All fish were caught in about 8-14 feet in the river channel. It was fun but I am ready to get the boat back out. Good luck fishing this year and keep the reports coming.

Chad

January 28, 2008 - Ice Fishing Question - Hi everyone, just wanting to know how ice fishing has been going on the lakes the past couple of weeks. I heard great reports from kanopolis lake on crappie in the marina cove brush piles, but other than that I have heard absolutly nothing.
Have a great week,
jm

Editor's Note: Sorry, somehow all the reports in this section were lost because an old page was uploaded instead of an updated one.

November 25, 2007 - General Report from Guide Mike Cook - Despite the lack of fishing reports and short stories it has been a great year of fishing on the local reservoirs. That is if you throw out the high waters that we had during summer. For now though the channel cat is over for me unless I can get an ice out pattern going. The flathead is over until we get some warmer water in April. But there are always those big blues at Kaw which is what I'll be doing and the jig fishing for let's just call them scaled fish. Since you never know if it's going to be a crappie, wiper, white bass or walleye that you are going to reel up at this time of year while fishing a jig or spoon.

I'll try and get more postings next year. It was a difficult year for me off the water for many reasons. Hopefully those issues are left in 2007. 2008 is promising a brand new year with a lot more time on my hands which means more time to spend on the water and at this keyboard. So I'll see some of you on the water in December and January and see you at the shows in February. By the way , if you fished with me and liked my boat, it's for sale. I'll be buying a Weld Pro.

See ya'll soon,

Mike Cook

November 21, 2007 - Perry - fought the cold off and scored huge on white bass. wind at our backs and throwing rooster tais into the shore on rocky points and retrieving back to about 6-10 foot of water. white bass were hitting as hard as i've experienced in a lot of years of fishing perry lake. 6 going better than 18 inches, most were around 15 inch but plenty strong. we released 19 in 2 hours of trolling. total lake time was 3 hrs. 1-4 p.m.
it was also the coldest day i have ever had on perry lake!

November 10, 2007 - Fishing 2007 - As the season ends for me thought i would add a few comments. I took a few trips to Marion Lake early summer and really didn't do well on Wipers or Walleye. Due to the massive flooding in the Fall River area i was not able to get out once to fish that lake this year. I was really disappointed in that. It's one of the best kept secerts on catching huge White Bass.

Made two trips this summer to Beaver Lake, Arkansas, (a place I'm shooting for to move to some day) and as always did well with the guides.

Now for the BIG picture, (Cheney Lake). This season was "the best I've ever had on Big Walleye" and many of them. Many in the 6 lb. range. This season was "the best I've ever had on Huge Wipers". Almost all over 21" and in the 6 to 8 lb. range. The 21", (2) each creel limit "has" really paid off. I hope they keep it at this length and creel limit for years to come.

Thought I'd add this. It's been many years since I've been to Wilson Lake. It's 2 hrs. from my home. Five years ago or so i could make the dive and only spend $30-40 on gas total. Now it's more than $130. Yes? that's the prime reason I've not been to that beautiful lake. Thank goodness I'm only 40 mins. to a hour to several "good" fishing lakes.

Mark.

November 7, 2007 - Tuttle Creek & Milford Report 2007: Since the catfish season is coming to a close in the next few weeks I will share my views on 2007. I spent more time on Tuttle CK this year than previous years due to all the water coming down the river from the north. Compared to last year it was a better year even though the fish were a bit smaller than last year. Most channels caught were 3 to 11 lbs, largest this year was a new record for me at 26.4 lbs. Broke my old record of 24.lbs. caught in river pond below dam in 2003. There were many mornings I caught 20 to 40 fish in 4 hours. This was a worm year more so than shad, fresh water coming in makes worms the best bait. When the water comes in from the north you can't find any better fishing anywhere. I mentioned last year about our bluecat population and how it should get better and better. I had a great year with a total to date at 321 bluecat from 3 to 12 lbs with the largest at 20 lbs. It is not Milford but in a few years you will catch many blues over 20 lbs. I know Tuttle is nothing but a mud hole and the silt is heading south more each year which makes the mouth of the river tougher to fish but it still is full of channels and blues and offers some excellent fishing at times. For those who want to brave the cold you will catch a few blues if you fish the river channel during the winter.

I spent about 50 days on Milford this year and found the catfishing somewhat slow compared to the past 3 years. I caught mostly blues and very few channels and not as many big blues as in years past. I fish from Madison north in the river channel and never found the large blues coming by in large schools. I did break my own personal record with a 64 lb fish caught in June but didn't catch any in the 50's like last year. I also found that the wipers were not there like they have been in past years. Usually in Apr and May I catch some extra large wipers (11 to 17lbs) fishing on the bottom with shad. They were not around this year. I know that some say that were short on large fish now, that to many have been kept but I think its to early to make that assumption. I found it to be a very different year and you had to work harder this year to find the fish. In a year or so we will know the story. I think that Milford still offers some great bluecat fishing and there getting bigger each year. I don't know what were going to do when they get 80 lbs, I had a hell of a time with the 64 being by myself and guaranteed not to fit in any live. Hopefully next year we will see more large fish caught. RKH

November 2, 2007 - Walunt river Winfield dam - 24 OCT - 1 NOV - Water level is now about normal and the temp was at 55. Now we can start catching White bass, Wipers, Walleyes and Crappies! Caught several large White bass through out the week and on 1 NOV I lost one large Wiper at my feet (you need to be patient when you are using 4lb test and ultra light rods), but all was not lost when I caught a 6lb Walleye. I think I would have done better if there would have been some cloudy days during the week, Walleyes stay deep when its sunny.

Mark

October 26, 2007 - Shawnee SFL - Went to the shawnee state fishing lake today 10-25-2007 with a dual agenda. took advantage of the hunter education shooting range that was open to the public for a nominal fee. so i sighted in my 270 for the up coming deer season. since i was right there at the lake i decided to take the ole poles with me to fish too. managed to catch a perch that i used for bait and then the other 2 poles i used night crawlers and slugs. 4 hours and not one bite. maybe the cold spell? wrong time of day? not sure but my sholder is a little sore after 20 rounds out of the high power rifle. that my friends is what i am sure of. good luck all.

Jason Porter
topeka kansas

October 19, 2007 - Perry - 10-19-07 lots of channell today in flooded shollows. lake is about 4 feet up. the channel were hitting pretty much any thing we threw at them. hot dogs, worms and cut shad. caught a good number of crappie around 20+feet of water fishing 6-10 feet down. minnows were definitly more effective than jigs. trolled the shore 8-10ft of water off banks for about an hour with rooster tails and rattle traps. caught 7 white bass. 5 of those going better than 2 lbs. got dark and then cold and called it a day. cleaned 9 chanell, 5 white bass and 12-15 crappie. I'd say not a bad day at all!

Almost forgot mama's flathead. she got em with a minnow on her crappie rod.4lb line.

October 16, 2007 - Fall Fishing - Mike Cook - Four Lake Guides - Summer fishing was trying at best for me. I just couldn't pattern anything with all the high water. The last few weeks has been back to the wonderful fishing that one expects from south central Kansas.

The channel cat has been fantastic. The crappie fair and improving. The wipers good. But the walleye have still been pretty tough for me. Things should continue to improve with the cooling weather. I'm still seeing a lot of fishermen out there.

More than in the past years, so word is getting out on fall fishing. It's the best.

Talk to ya''l soon.
Mike Cook

October 15, 2007 - Cheney - I finally had a chance to try out Cheney, left on thursday the 11th and fished 3 days. The weather made it a tuff go to say the least. We did finally find the fish in very shallow water 2-4' with the birds chasing shad. Mostly small wipers. The bite wouldnt last long primarily early in the morning and in late afternoon. Cold front and rain probably had alot to due with it.

Last day around 1pm noticed some surface action out deep 22' and finally found the big fish. Didnt last long but catching a couple of those big wipers sure put a smile on my fathers face... He is 74 yrs old.

I thank the Kansas Fish and Game for stocking such a quality fish and giving us the oppurtunity to catch them. My 2 yr boy stayed at cabin with his Mom because the wind but I look forward to having both him and my Dad in the boat next time....

Thanks,
John

October 15, 2007 - Greenwood County Pond - October 14 - It was a cloudy windy day as we left some rain showers back home at Wichita. We were finally doing what we'd set out to do months earlier but just couldn't find the time. Glad we went. My buddy Pablo and I caught and released about 50 largemouths including the 2 pictured (the date on the camera is wrong). Black & blue jig and pig and Tiki wave worms accounted for 90% of the fish. They were definitely on a fall feeding binge! Moral of the story if you can get away on a half way decent day GO! You don't have much time left.
Denny G.

October 4, 2007 - Cheney - October 03, 2007 Wednesday evening. A little slow this trip. One 6 lb.Walleye, one 8 lb Wiper. Could not locate any schooling. Heard M & M point was the place last night. Several schoolings located and anglers did well. Just need to be in the right place. Lots of fall anglers out last night. That's nice to see. I read were in the U.S. that they are loosing hunters by 10% each year. Number of folks not going out anymore to hunt. Anyone hear if fishing is the same? I know it can be expensive. Mark.

October 3, 2007 - Cheney - Boy, did Mark hit into a big school of wipers. I was near the same area and saw the explosion by his boat - a really cool sight to see! Congrats Mark - you are the wiperman as far as I am concerned. Caught this one 9/8/07......my personal best (so far)

Bob-o-link

September 27, 2007 - Cheney - September 27, 2007 Thursday. Had a excellent evening fishing. Very slow at first. Thought we were going to come home with just a few. Caught a few here and there. Could not find any schooling of shad and fish. Then at 6:30 pm. all hell broke loose. We were just trolling in one area. Not really catching too much. Then off the boat say, 30 yards. Hundreds of Wipers broke the surface and scared the heck out of us. It was one sight to see them coming out of the water chasing the shad. We made a turn for them and went thru them and wham fish on. This lasted 15 mins. and they were gone. Total was 15 Wipers with one 6 lb. Walleye. Most of the Wipers were 22-23". We were in the right place at the right time or we would have only come up with just a few. That's the ticket for me in the fall. Right place at the right time. Did clean our limit for two people. Mark.

September 25, 2007 - Cheney - Went out to Cheney (9/22) and drifted for catfish again. Once we caught our bait had no problem finding the fish, didn't start fishing until after 4pm. They were staged around 14-16 ft deep on the flats. Had good wind for about 2 hours and caught 8. Four of them went over 5lbs. Took the 5yr old nephew out and let him reel in the smaller ones. He did have the Snoopy pole go down and the line broke when he set the hook. It was fun; hopefully we can get out once or twice more before hunting season rolls in.

Chad Maness

September 25, 2007 - Butler SFL - Took the boat out Sunday to Butler. The sun was high and clouds only started to move in closer to noon time. The bass were holding very tight to cover. I was side casting a lake fork tube under the brush and letting it fall. I baoted three bass with the heaviest being around three pounds. Put the boat up and tried the back creek really quick and had one bass on a square billed crank, but lost it before I got it on shore.

Went to a farm pond later that day and bought some shiners. Caught plenty of bass on the live minnows with the biggest being five pounds.
Cooler weather should help bring the bass out of hiding. I was surprised that Butler got very little vegetation growing this year in the back areas.

Dominic

September 24, 2007 - Marion - (9/21)
Ran up for a little evening fishing. It had been 4 weeks since we had been able to get out. Started fishing at 5:00 and quit at 7:15 with 25 in the icebox. The summer pattern is still holding with the strong south winds and warm weather we have been having. We ended up with a couple of nice size wipers and the whites were good size also (around 1-1 <#). We caught a couple sets of doubles and several times had multiple rods down at the same time.

Royce H.

September 22, 2007 - Cheney - Here a pic of a 37# flathead caught at Cheney Lake on Sept. 1 2007. It was caught on a shad rap while trolling with a bass rod with 12# test line.


Jim Lair
Wichita

September 21, 2007 - Thanks for answer to question for Mike or Mark on three-way rig - Many thanks to Mark and Mr. Wiper your suggestions will be put to the test soon. Mr. Wiper I to would like to find time to get to Cheney, It's seems a crime to let Mark have all those hogs to himself. Good luck and please let us know how you do. One more question, how far into fall have you guys found this presentation to be effective? Thanks again Jason

September 20, 2007 - Answer to question for Mike or Mark on three-way rig - I've ran the 3-way swivel rig for many years now and found it best to keep the deep diving lure length of line apprx 18-24 inches with the trailer being about 36 inches. The deep diving lure has to be shorter than the trailer length. A lighter weight for the jig head helps also but for striper and wipers you still need a sturdy hook. With a 3-5" squirum worm you can use a hook only with no lead head, the lure pulls it down.

Ive also found that 3-5" squirum grubs work better then sassy shads for line twisting and will catch as many fish.. If you have to use sassy shads use the ones with jig head built into the body.You also should place a swivel on each the deep diving lure and the trailer this will eliminate any line twist. I hope this helps, like ive said ive ran this rig for many years at Texoma and many local lakes. You can also run a silver spoon on the trailer which is excellent choice but a swivel on spoon is needed.

Guys Ive heard all I can take about Chenney good wiper fishing I will be heading that way this weekend....lol

c ya there,

Mr Wiper

September 16, 2007 - Answer to question for Mike or Mark on three-way rig - Not sure if Mike E. is going to answer. I talked to him, via e-mail a while ago and he is still alive and out fishing, (and doing well fishing). I have same problem with my sassy shad. Your description of the length of line to bait is identical to my length. I don't seem to have that problem as quick as you. I can go about one fishing trip and my line starts to "twist" with the sassy shad. What I do is change my line below my three way swivel, (30lbs. Big Game) after each trip. I do at times continue to fish with it twisting and sill catch fish. The bait is there and they grab it anyway. I also change my sassy shad each trip due to it being shredded up with catching so many Wipers. Hope this helps. Mark.

September 16, 2007 - Question for Mike or Mark on three-way rig - I started using the three way rig with some success on Clinton Lake the wipers are not huge yet but seem to love this rig. The problem I'm having is line twist. I seem to recall the crankbait line being about six feet and the shad line about three. After two or three fish the shad seems to want to twist around the crank line. Am I using the wrong swivels or should lines be different diameters or what? I love fishing this way but any help with this annoying problem would be appreciated. Thanks guys Jason

September 13, 2007 - Cheney - September 13, 2007 Thursday afternoon. Fish are in there fall mode. Fish caught were in 2-5' of water close to shore and submerged humps. Observed at list 4 schools of shad being chased by hundreds of fish. I would troll through them and the action was furious. At times 4 fish on two poles. Summer time hot spot not holding fish for me now. Caught a 5, 6, 7 lb. Walleye and 10 Wipers all but one under 21". Lots of action. Had to move around LOTS to find the shad being chased. Look for seagulls. Mark

September 8, 2007 - Cheney - September 08, 2007 Saturday afternoon. The fish just keep biting. And there huge. Had a wonderful time with my son and a friend and his son. It was hot. 92 degrees in the boat with very little wind. Started at 4:15pm. Right off the bat fish on. Funny, seen very little fish on the electronics but the bait fish was there and the fish were feeding on them. Like they were on the outside perimeter of the bait fish just waiting to attack. And they did. My boy would set up front with his favorite pole along with our two downriggers. And he just killed them up front with his fire tiger deep diver and just loved it. All poles seen action. At times doubles on two poles. Both boys out fished the "dad's". Two of the big ones were a 10.8 lb. Wiper and a 11.7 lb. Striper. Total was 16 to 18 Wipers. That included one 10 lb. Flathead, the one Striper. Surface temp. 81. At 8pm. dropped back to 78 degrees. With the forecast ahead, that will change. Mark.

September 4, 2007 - Cheney - September 04, 2007 Tuesday evening. Did real good. Got to the lake at 5:30pm. fished till 8pm. At first very windy. Storms in area. Then they passed and wind came down some. No one on the lake. Had all by ourselfs. That's a first. All fish, Wipers, very large. This young man his biggest Wiper ever of 10.1 lbs. His dad had to help him hold it up. The Wiper darn near took the pole out of his hands. He barely could get it out of the downrigger rod holder. It was a blast watching him do it all himself. Then he pulled in another one of 9.5 lbs. right after that one. Total was 8 with 4 getting off. It just does not get any better. We all had a blast. Mark.

September 4, 2007 - Cheney - Sept 3, 2007 - Went out to Cheney and decided to do some summer time drifting for catfish. Went up to the north end of the lake and drifted in 12-14ft. Finished with 23 and took home our 20. Another good day at Cheney.

August 28, 2007 - Question on crappie at Toronto and Big Hill - HAS ANYBODY STARTED CATCHING CRAPPIE AT TORONTO OR BIG HILL YET? I THINK IT MIGHT BE A KITTKE EARLY, BUT YOU NEVER KNOW.

THANK YOU
CLAYTON

 

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