Use this article to comment on the Fishing in Region 5 or Southeastern Kansas.
KDWP Region 5 Fishing Reports can be found HERE.
The list of Lakes and Reserviors in Region 5 can be found HERE.
Please limit comments to fishing information only. Comments not containing fishing information will be deleted.
139 comments:
looking for anything on fall river and toronto. planning a day of fishing mid to late week (thursday or friday) depending on the weather. what is biting? and where? will follow up with report
Has anyone been to John Redmond? How is the river? Is it flooded?
Looks like everyone is still posting on the 2007 screen. Dont know why.
This is the first I had seen here. Nice to have a fresh start. I haven't been on in a couple of days. I hope to go to Toronto Sun. and get into some crappie and white bass up the walnut. The lake is up a foot from last night but I am not sure how much it rained above the lake. Anybody know?
Hey does anyone know where the riffles are up Walnut Creek on Toronto?
Does anybody know the laws on the use of float tubes on the major reservoirs?
Had three different outings this week, no real luck. Tried morning, evening and afternoon, finially caught a few crappie and small bass on 5-3. Fished strip pitts and farm pond this past week. I'm gonna try and get some river worms next couple days, any word from the Neosho River from Oswego-south??
catman,
took the boy out this weekend to pits by scammon only caught two channels that were over the 15 inch limit. Next weekend might hit the pits closer to brutus. As for the river the wife had a customer come in to her work in oswego and said they were catching nice cats on neosho river using rod and reel and live bait. no details though of location etc.
Went to Lyon SFL this afternoon. Didn't have a bite. Water temp was 61.9. I threw everything in my tackle box trying to catch bass but gave up and went catfishing which didn't produce.
My mom caught a 15 lb channel cat around 10 o'clock monday night at woodson lake on worms. And they have been catching a few small ones.
Fished for catfish at Pomona on May 3 and caught 20" striped bass with worm and liver mix on bottom.
Water was muddy from all the rain.
Are crappie biting at Pomona?
Buddy and I fished this a couple of creeks running into some strip pits. Used night crawlers, liver and blood flavored dough bait. Caught four channal and one drum. All baits produced. No keepers by the state of Kansas' standards.
First and foremost hope that all made it through the storm saturday okay.
Been told that pit 41 is good for channel when water is up. Went Friday and did not get a bite. was down on south end where overflow out of pit is.
Saturday was fishing by scammon but had to leave due to tornadic activity.
Sunday fished pit by scammon only caught 2 both under lenght limit.
Melver5-12-08 Fished the banks most of the morning,Very Slow! Caught only 5 keepers using jigs, it became very windy.
went to Toronto on 5/9 didn't do to good. Only caught 10 - 15 mix of baby crappie and white bass. I did get my lunch and dinner eaten though. Something probably a big old catfish nailed my bobber and minnow. The drag on my light/medium action rod/reel buzzed has line was effortlessly ripped from the spool. Then snap! The eight pound line didn't have a chance. I guess I could of had a bad spot in the line since I was fishing in the trees at manns cove but it sounded like a little 22 rifle when the line gave out. The whole ordeal lasted about 4 seconds.
Most likely was a big catfish. I have caught many like that. Sure does make it fun when you don't expect it. I have always got them in though. Water is still pretty high at Toronto. I am afraid the crappie spawn will do what it did a few years ago when the water got so high SUCK! They will try to get shallow, drop thier eggs and then the water level goes down and leaves the eggs frying on the bank. Most of the time when the water gets high they will spawn out in open water around Duck Island.
Is anything happening in Elk City Reservoir? I'll be staying in Independence Monday night and was wondering if I'd have a chance at catching some crappie from the shore. If so, where would be my best bet?
I hear the pits on star valley road east of HWY 7 is good for crappie can anyone confirm this?
I've caught crappie in the pits east of #7, but never lots of them.I know of people who have caught good #'s. They are good for catfish. Be careful, 2 buddies of mine caught a feller who broke into their truck on May 10. Ran him down, got tag # and DL info, but local sheriff said they good do anything since he hadn't stolen anything yet. He's from Scammon and still out there "window shopping". Thanks CK County Sheriff Dept!
Wife, kids, and I fished a pit SE of Scammon the evening of the 16th. Caught some small bass, and really lg. bluegill. No crappie. Tried artificials, but caught everything on minnows, and nightcrawlers. Hoping to hit Neosho River this coming weekend if water level is safe enough to fish.
Fished melvern from a boat. Caught Nothing, Nada, zip, zero.
5/16 11:00 pm pomona spillway small cats on worms and liver~~~5/17 1:00am pomaona drygoon creek by highway 75 shad close to bank lots of hits one goodone all missed proubly little cats again with one goodone that I should of had...
fished the little osage river in bourbon county on sunday evening. caught a few small crappie.
three nice channel cat on fresh shad...
Melvern-5-19-08 Fished the bank using jigs, caught crappie 20 inches deep. Caught quite a few little crappie, we kept 15.
planning to do some catfishing at toronto or redmon next week... anyone have an reports from these places they'd share.....
thanks
Planning on trying the lower Neosho river over the weekend, IF it's safe. I've been watching the flow charts on the Corps. website, but does anyone around J Redmond know what's goin' on up there. My wife and two girls will be with me, so SAFTEY first!
looking to go to Fall River or Toronto Fri & Sat any info will be appreciated. For instance, lake level? crappie spawn over? catfish biting? etc...
Fished in Manns cove on 5-18-08 and caught about 30 crappie and 10 White Bass. I caught a crappie that was 9 ounces from being the state record. These were mostly females and they all still had eggs in them. I do not think most of the crappie spawned do to the water fluctuating so much. It was a very good day to be out on the water. Only saw two other boats out. Was using jigs and minnows.
We went fishing for bass at that Mound city lake last night. Caught 3 good channels but most of the bass were i the slot. But they were good fighters. Water was up and still cool.
Fishing at the Linn county park by one of those feeders. When it went off wow what a show.
Catfish and carp. caught some channels but lost the big one around their anchor. I am trying to bowshot some carp this weekend
Wife and I fished a little strip pitt north of Sherwin last night. Caught 10-12 channel, all just under the length limit. Nice and fat healthy looking fish, they'd look good swimming in lake Crisco!! We were using chicken livers. Wife was suspending them 2ft below a slip bobber, I was on bottom with no weight. Action lasted about an hour right around dusk.
Wife and I fished the same general area of the pits last night as we did Fri. evening.Different results, only caught one short channel. We fished the same pattern as Friday, but the wind really picked up out of the Southeast. I don't know.? Pretty inconsistant right now.
fished timberhill boat dock friday and sunday (after 10:00 p.m.) caught numerous crappie. sunday night was a lot of fun until the storm rolled in.
Fished over @ Chetopa city park this morning. Caught 4 blues, 2-3 #'s apiece. Was using crawlers fishing eddies. River coming up FAST!! I had to move to higher, drier ground twice while down there. Some guys across the river were having pretty good success. They appeared to be using worms also. I suspect by Wed. morning, you'll be able to fish in the grass in the park.
Drove through Chetopa today. water is still in the park.
Fished in the park at Chetopa this morning, caught one little blue cat and two drum. All on night crawlers. Water was dropping FAST! No wonder fish were biting for me.
Fished at Pleasanton City Lake East, on Wed evening June 4. Between two of us we caught 12-15 bass, but most were small, but the action was steady. Swim jigs in the water willow were our best bait.
John Redman & Melvern-The last three days we have been fishing for channels below the dam at Burlington-we kept 6 small channel each day. We also tried our luck on crappie the last two days and found them still with eggs and fishing two feet deep at Melvern, VERY windy from the bank. Kept 11 today.
Has anyone been fishing for channels at Toronto? I am planning a trip June 16 to 19 any info would be appreciated.
If they are not letting out to much water I would go below the dam on Toronto. I used to fish it all the time and did good. I don't catfish much anymore but if I did that is where I try.
Me, my wife and nephew just left Spring River at Baxter. We brought home four channel. All couple pounds apiece. Also caught a few drum, whoopie!! All we used was night crawlers and "Scruffies" secret beef blood bait. My uncles and cousin did well the last couple nights on flatheads down there, we had no luck with the flatheads.
Melvern- 6-10-08- Changed of pace, we fished for walleye today. We kept 3 keepers, caught in12-16 feet of water on jig and worms or minnows. We also kept 9 crappie, all females.
We fished Melvern on the 10th... Nothing to write home about..Question... (if you don't mind) Where on the lake. We marked a lot of fish at the depth you mention 12 to sometimes 24... But no taker,,, thank you
Fish over at Chetopa this morning, caught one small flathead (about 12 inches). Saw some one with about a five pound flathead, and another guy with about a five pound blue. Lots, and lots of HIGH water.
Toronto-FallRiver-John Redmon-6-11,12-08 Wed. we fished below the dam at Toronto for channels,NO luck. We went to FallR. fished below the dam and caught some nice channel. We thought we had 3 yellow bites but we missed them. Both places had just the pipe opened. Thurs. we fished below John Red. caught smallkeeper channels.
Fished Pomona State Park in an area with lots of debris from high water. Although tricky to fish and had to use floats, caught numerous channel cats on garden worms and nightcrawlers. Also caught one small crappie and several drum. Largest cat was about two pounds.
Fished Pomona outlet area on Sunday and caught two catfish within one hour. One at 1 pound and one at 17 pounds. Great fun and had numerous bites with cut fish as bait. Fished with bobbers at a depth of around 12".
We fished the Neosho above Chetopa this past weekend. Caught 2 flatheads and 4 blues all on sunfish using limblines and loglines. Biggest was just shy of 10 pounds, the six weighed right at 40 pounds. Water was up a little, and muddy. Caught every thing in holes on outside bends, wood structure.
Just came in from an evening of bass fishing(letin' the cats rest a bit). We caught 7 bass, I didn't think that was too bad for all the rain we had earlier. Was using purple plastic worms fish weedlines in 6-12 feet of water. Had a few more bites, but everything was slow. No big fish. we fished the strip pitts NW of Columbus.
I was fishing out at Crawford Lake near Girard and right off the side the bridge real low to the water i caught a channel cat using worms. it was about 6". not to big but i caught it in February.
I went out to Yates Center lake caught 3 bass and a couple of channel. Nothing to brag about. I would go more but it just keeps raining and raining.
Just got home from a weekend of setlining on the Neosho River above Chetopa. Fishing was GREAT!! We cleaned 16 fish that totaled just over 80 pounds. We caught 2 flatheads, the balance was blues and channel cats. We also went up river rod/reel fishing, and caught 3 of the blues. My wife caught a small flathead and about of 15 # carp. Now that was a fight. My nephew had a flathead just over 15 pounds, he also lost another flathead, and blue at the boat on jig poles. I also caught a gar about 4 feet long. Probably 75% of the the fish we caught this weekend was during the hottest part of the afternoon, 1-4 P.M.. Even my nephews flathead and the biggest blue cat we had came between 1-3 in the afternoon. Everything caught on rod/reel came on nightcrawlers, the setlings we used green sunfish.
A few days ago on boat ramp number 3 at Pomona State Park on the south side of Pomona Lake. I went fishing with a nightcrawler
and fished on the bottom of the lake and I caught a big monster Drum. It was 21 1/2 inches and was almost four pounds.
Has anyone fished Bone Creek Lake for bass lately? If so, any tips?
does anyone know when the feeders are programmed to feed in the sports mans pits. in particular the one at deer creek trail (think that is the name of it anyway)
Bass fished the strip pitts around Hallowell last evening.We boated four small bass. Had quite a few bites, but they were quick to let go of the worm. We threw plastic worms, blue ones, black ones, and purple ones. Might have caught more, but when your die hard about plastic worms, you pretty much don't to throw anything else!!!
walked to the feeder at deer trace canoe trail in sportsmans pits. tall weeds more then a few ticks and no fish caught. this was mid day 7/20/08.
Fished Club House Pit Saturday in the heat of the day. On the 3rd cast (June Bug plastic worm), caught a 21 1/2 inch bass that was 5lbs 9oz. Didn't catch a lot, but was worth the trip. (By the way, Neely got SKUNKED!!!)
Fished the DU tourney at Redmon on Saturday. First three place caught eighty plus pounds. My boat had 59 pounds we caught most of ours drifting fresh shad.
This is a fun tourney 50 bucks per boat. Will worth the entry fee.
Toront7-31-08 First time drifting this year. Slow start, very little wind(0-5 mph). Many shad, just right for drifting. We ended up catching 17, lost 5. The largest was 10 pounds. Water temp. was 82 and stain. VERY good day!
Wife and I took girls bass fishing yesterday evening. Hot and sticky, no wind. We boated 14 bass, using purple plastic worms and black buzz bait. Wife had the biggest and the most fish, she had a 16 incher about 2.5 pounds. All the fished looked healthy for this time of summer. Wife was a little upset with the slot limit. She wanted some bass fillets for the skillet. We are probably gonna chase some catfish next weekend. We fished the strip pits west of Columbus. Would have kept fishing, but the skeeters ran us off the water.
The automatic fish feeders are out at Pomona. Caught 3 nice catfish minutes after the feeder turned on.
My buddy and I fished Cedar Creek in Bourbon county. A nice looking lake, lots of timber, any ideas of where to fish there. We didnt stray far from the boat ramp, it all looked good. We looked for drop offs, and threw jigs and worms for bass. We caught 3, but it was slow. Any ideas are appreciated!
Columbus Catman what pit where you fishing at?
My last report on bass fishing, we fished one of the pitts in area 42.
Toronto-8-12-08 Fished below the dam,7 gates@ 1.7 feet each. We had no luck for yellows or channel but a person probably can catch channel in the cut.
Melvern Lake 8-13-08 We caught many small crappie 11 to 16 feet deep. We were only able to keep 6 legal size crappie. Our first time out since June.
John Redman-8-14-08 Stormy when we arrived.Waited a couple of hours and went after shad, no problem getting them by the dam. We drifted fish with variable winds. Caught 6 nice channel, largest 10 1/2 pounds. Lake up 7feet.
Hey Columbus Catman!
How are the boat ramps in the strip pitts? The last time I was down there, many didn't look like you could launch an 18 ft bassboat.
Is that still the case?
Bass Buster, with all the rain, the pitts came up a lot, but are down just a little since it got hot. I just have a 16 foot Big Jon. Over the years, I've seen some big boats in the pits, even some pontoons. The bigger pitts would probably be your best bet. When the water gets low in dry years, that's when you'll have trouble. The family and I when catfishing at Brutus Pitt Sat. evening. Pretty slow, wife caught one short channel, we had a few more hits. we used D.K.'s punch bait fishing in 2' to 25' feet of water. The one fish came late in shallow water. Nephew went to Crawford SFL over the weekend, he said everything was slow there also.
John Redmond 8-18-08 Fished for channel using chicken livers and shad up on the lake. We fished 6-12 feet of water. We caught our limit the largest being 8 1/2 pounds.
Is anyone fishing Toronto for crappie? We are planning a trip next week on Tue or Wed. Any info would be greatly appreciated.
columbus catman,
Is the motel in Oswego still open? planning on coming down third weekend of Sept. to do some bass fishn.
Bassmaster345, I'm not for sure about the motel in Oswego. The motel in Columbus is open, don't know where you are coming from. Friday evening wife and daughters and I went catfishing south of West Mineral, slow. I caught one channel, 3-4 pounds, then everything just quit biting. We were using chicken livers. I did catch the biggest green sunfish I've ever seen. It was probably close to 12 inches long. Stupid me, I threw back instead of getting it weighed. Stupid, stupid, stupid!! I caught it on liver also. Saturday evening went fishin' at a farm pond. I just helped. My 2 1/2 year old caught her first fish, a small bass. Talk about an excited little girl, and a proud daddy. Then she had channel cat break her line at the bank, rats. Wife and oldest daughter also caught some bass and sunfish, using nightcrawlers.
Huntnfish,
Do you have any recent information on Crappie fishing at Toronto?
We are planning a trip there tomorrow. Any info would be greatly appreciated.
Toronto-8-25-08 Fished for channels drifting shad. We caught 16 by noon. Largest was 7 pounds. Lake up 2 feet and they still are catching nice crappies in Mann's Cove. Water temp. 77 degrees.
Fished for channel cats Friday evening, didn't even have a bite.Is anyone catching any crappie in the strip pitts around Hallowell or up at Crawford SFL?
Toronto- 9-05-08 FOGGY, found shad by Duck Island and south boat ramp. NO wind, we managed to catch 6 channel(small). From 11 to noon we fished for crappie, caught 3 keepers( turned them loose the largest was 1pound 15 ozs.). Water temp.70.
headed down to fish the strip pits for second time over the weekend of 9-20 9-21 any advice which pits are good for bass
If you've got a smaller boat, or your walking the banks, I'd try the smaller pitts. The trout lake is a bigger pit that can handle bigger boats, it is a GOOD pitt for bass. Just remember you have to have a trout stamp to fish for any species in now. The Brutus pitt is also good. Has anyone started catching crappie in the pitts??? I haven't been in a couple weeks thanks to the weather.
anyone have any good advice for catchin good bass at la cynge, bourbon state fishing lake or any of the mined land ponds
Melvern-9-22-08 Drift fished for channels, hard to find shad. We caught 6 small channels and two legal size crappie. Windt, water temp. 71.
I have fished LaCygne for about eight years now. What I have learned in a nutshell is this. If they are bitting there THEY ARE BITTING!!! If they aren't you will catch two fish all day! If there is an east wind. Don't even stick your toe in the water its not worth it go somewhere else. Night fish in the summer and Hot water outlet in the winter. Good luck.
Hey all. Making the trip down to Big Hill this weekend. Anyone been on the lake lately? Any bass or crappie reports would be appreciated.
Melvern 9-25-08 Fished for crappie, used jigs, minnows and shad. Caught crappie right off the bottom, anywhere from eleven feet to twenty-two down. Kept only 12 but we had a good day.
Largemouth and White Bass fishing is really good right now at Big Hill. Caught a mix of 74 on Saturday with all coming on topwater or on rattle traps in deep water near the creek channel. Fish were suspended about 5' down chasing shad. Many threw up shad when we got them in the boat. What a day.
Fished Melvern Sunday, lots of anglers out. We were bass fishing, but ended up catching mostly whites. We caught them on a variety of baits. The whites we caught were very nice sized. We caught 14 whites, 3 smallmouth, 1 largemouth, and a 7lb drum, so we had good action!
fished melvern yesterday caught 20-25 fish kept 10 most ten inches 2 12+
Fished Melvern 8/16 and 8/17. Caught nice crappie around 20 to clean threw back 20/30 nice day on the 16.
Back out the 17 wind was 2X stronger than forecast made for tough fishing caught around 20 crappies we could have kept a dozen but caught and released all.
fished melvern sat and caught a lot of crappie on a white jig. lots of fun
went fishing today at killer point and caught a 3 pound crappie on a white jig in 3 foot deep water right by a boulder. I was surpised to catch that big a crappie in such shallow water this time of year. I caught several nice white bass and smallmouth. Geez, i guess i was in the right spot at the right time. I am going back tommorow and see if the spot is still hot. I will let you know if i slay them again.
hi
how is the fishing at fall river at ladd bridge
Fall River- The fishing is good but there are quite a few fisherman. We caught 14 fish Weds. that had a total weight of 20 pounds, the largest being 2.4 pounds.
Killer point- what lake?
anyone know when they stock the trout at the minedland wildlife area unit 30 in the trout lake?
I believe there is a stocking schedule elsewhere on the website. I don't think it gives the exact day and time, but I'm not for sure. They used to stock the pit every two weeks during the winter months.
Bi-weekly stockings of 935 fish resumed on October 9th, 2008. Most rainbows are 10 inches in length when stocked, and average 1/2 lb. each. Five percent of each stocking is comprised of 14-inch or larger fish. Trout can live year-around in this unique strip-mined lake, so fish in the 3-5 pound range are occassionally caught.
kansas fish and game,
why do thr rules for the paddlefish snagging permit have 6 tags and the limit is 2. I am very busy in the spring and I can't take off "when the waters up" last year I didn't buy a tag because it wasn't worth it. Anyone else have to comment.
trout biting on corn and powerbait. caught one brown but was underlimit so returned it to water. mined wildlife area
I agree with the above post about the paddle fish permits. I've thought ever since this was implemented, it's just another way for the state to nickle and dime us to death. First of all, as far as I know, all paddlefish migrate into KS from other states,except for a stocked population in John Redmond Res. Before long, will we have to have white Bass Permits for fish coming from Oklahoma???What is the state doing with this money off these permits?? I am sure the city of Chetopa would like to have some to help with upkeep of the riverside park.You're right the stars have to pretty much be inline to get the good run, that might last one -two days, or even 12 hours, who knows. The last thing I'd want to mess with is having to by another state permit. I don't even snag anymore because of a bad back, but I still like to be down there among the action as a spectator. Kinda funny, they started the permits the same time they spent all that money on these new automated venders.!?
catfish and peacons are some of the only highlights of chepota. except i like eat the chicken at debs, ok back on subject. riverside park is a nice little place. what i want to know if if the pattle fish make it up to chepota during high water why can you not fish for them at the oswego low water dam or the other low water dams that go up the neosho river? i would be down for that
Went to Fall River 12/24/06. Ice was honeycombed in front of dam real bad...good 5 inches thick. Crappie fishing was slow.
were you ice fishing or can you get a boat on fall river? does anyone have current status of ice for either fall river or toronto? is it possible to get a boat on either one of the lakes? want to take my terminally ill father-in-law crappie fishing and need a report. we have a trip planned for this sunday, 12/28 so any info would be helpful.
Went to Fall River and Toronto today. Ice covered both lakes-some fishermen were onthe ice at Fall River by the dam. All the boat ramps were socked in with ice at both lakes BUT the main part of the lake at Fall River was starting to break up( small patches).
i agree withthe comments about the spoonbills. its that and 5 bucks for another crappie rod ect. just another way for them to enhance the revenue. i bought a lifetime license years ago, and thought i'd be protected from fee hikes. that our state at work for us. pay to play. we set the rules.
I agree with the previous post about fee hikes. I understand it takes money to maintain the areas we have. Ok, if our rates have to increase, raise ours just a little, and pass the buck onto the nonresidents. It's like that when we go to another state to fish or hunt. I bought a combo lifetime license when I gradutated H.S. in 1996 thanking the samething about fee increases. I guess we were both wrong. What really gripes me, I can go to Oklahoma, and buy a nonresident lifetime fishing license cheaper than a KS resident can buy a lifetime fishing license. Go figure. I just read in my new KDWP magizine that in Jan. there's going to be a meeting concerning license/permit increases for 2010. Here we go again. Thanks, Mr. Hayden.
Fall River- Lovely Day- but the fishing was real slow. Had to break ice at the ramp but it was thin. Water temp.32.6-36.4 degrees. We kept 24, the slowest day we have had in 6 weeks.
Melvern-We fished around Eisenhower cove. Water temp.33-34, winds North to Southeast 3-7 mph. We kept 39 crappie that we had to measure 90% of them, 1 was 15" long.
Melvern-We had to break ice from Eisenhower Park to where we fished, basically the whole lake was covered with a thinlayer of ice. We kept 30, threw back that many more. Pink jigs and hair jigs about 18 to 26 feet deep.
The paddlefish issue is just one more example of the many ways Mike Hayden has used his incompotence to run the agency. The state has spend thousands and thousands to bring cabins to the lakes because he is so hot to bring in the outsiders from other states. Anyone heard about his dove hunting blunder at Topeka? The state purchased a tract of land for youth dove hunting within the THE ZONED CITY LIMITS no less. So you fire a gun in the city limits? Go figure. There is a reason why he lost his election as
Governor being the big spender that he is. Its time for a change in Wildlife and Parks also.
Mr. Hayden's plans with these cabins could have been thought through a little better. The cabins within the boundries of an actual park, a good idea, in my opinion. I know a few residents who use them for both hunting and fishing trips. Now, anyone who is familiar with the strip pits in cherokee county knows these are a bunch of reclaimed mining pits in the middle of nowhere. Why have a cabin there, where there is no park patrol throughout the night to look over things. Gee, perfect time for vandals to tear the cabin up, so we will have to foot the bill for repairs. I believe this cabin is solely for nonresidents.It is at the "trout lake", which in order to fish this pit, you have to have a trout permit. Trout permit? Why should I have to have a trout permit to fish for bass, or catfish in this pit. I really don't care for the trout, but I understand that alot of people do, and that is great. But the state made a lot of enemies when they came up with this regulation. After all, last summer, did Mr. Hayden go put unleaded gas in his truck, but then paid the price of diesel fuel?? Why should we pay for something some of us won't use?! Enough on this tangent, anyone catching any crappie at the pits now that hunting seasons are winding down?
Melvern- Beautiful day but fishing was slow! We fished from Arrow Rock to west of Turkey Pt. and we're only able to catch 10 keepers. We fished 18 to 24 feet deep.
mr catman, I am here in parsons, we should go fishing sometime, ever go to cabelas in kc or bass pro in kc springfield or tulsa? ok back on topic, the strip pits are good place to fish, a state record came out of a pit in 2008. i have fished in the trout pit and the one by big brutus,
The trout pit on lawton road gets a lot of fishing pressure when it is being stocked. If you like trout and have young kids it is a blast for them since the trout usually bite fairly good and are more exciting for the kids to catch then Perch. Kids do not have to have a trout stamp but have a creel limit of 2. In addition be aware that even if the adult is not fishing you must have a fishing license (and thus a trout stamp)or you could be fined.
mr catman I do not have a boat and so far have not had any luck catching crappie from the bank (including previous years) do you have a suggest of a pit to try out. I normally just fish the pits for channel but would like to catch some crappie.
John Redmond-Toronto-- In the last week we have been to both these lakes and if you are interested in seeing Eagles they are there. At Toronto lake we counted 19 and at John Redmomd we counted 13.
Hey guys thanks for blogging me.Mike from Parsons, I have been to both Cabela's and Bass Pro quite a bit, but not this past year. If you fish at Oswego, Chetopa or the pits much you may have seen me, my boat trailer has a tag on it which reads "CATMAN". I haven't wet a line in '09, but I'm itchin' to. The magority of the pits in CK county have crappie in them. One right off the top of my mind that you can walk too is the pit just north across the road of the trout lake. Go to the county road west of the cabin at the trout lake,("T" intersection)go north maybe a 1/4mile, there is a little creek that dumps into the pit. Fish there were it goes into the pit. I've had a lot of success there. Usually, I just drive out to the pits, then I'll remember a spot and try to fish it. I have to be out to jog my memory. I was reading the new regs online this week. I see KS is having a trial jug fishing season this summer(I've done a lot of juglining in OK, what a blast!)But, guess what, you have to buy a "Floatline" permit. Let's see here, you have to pay to jugline, have a
3rd. fishing pole, snag spoonbill, a permit to noodle, a bass pass, on top of your fishing license. Give me a break! Also a trout permit, which pays for the trout program. I got to thinking, maybe there wasn't enough participation at the trout lake in CK County to pay for the program. Is this why last year they made the regulation to fish this pit, you have to have a permit period. What do you guys think?
catman, thanks for the information I will try it out this spring. I have noticed a worn trail that heads north on the east side of friends church (across street from trout pit) and have been thinking of walking it to see what fishing area it led to. I have transferred to a weekend schedule so have 4 days off during the week so I might see you at the pits sometime. Just as information to anyone who is interested in the trout pit but does not know where it is located. Drive east out of oswego or west out of columbus and turn north on 100th (paved) or 110th rd. turn on Lawton rd (west if on 100th or east if on 110th). the dock for the pit is located on the south side of road you can't miss it. I have also had good luck fishing the east end of the pit (for trout)located on 110th rd.
Jim, I would follow that path and give it a try if I was you. Just be careful later in the spring, there will be a lot of turkey hunters in the pits.If I'm fishin' and not chasing turkeys, I'll even where a blaze orange hat. I might look a little goofy, but I don't want to take a load of #4 shot. The pit you mentioned has some good walleye in it. Good Luck.
catman I have seen a lot of turkeys around there including the ones with feathers :)
I live in columbus so the pits are my main fishing area. I appreciate the information. The wife is already getting grumpy something about I spend all day in the field for deer season (archery and rifle) and now fishing season is starting to kick in.
It is better to be safe then sorry so don't worry about what you look like. I myself have been seen at big hill at 2:00 am with ice on the dock and wind blowing wearing an assortment of clothing to try to keep warm and to top it off have yet to catch anything there.
I'm pondering a trip to Fall River come spring. I was wondering just where is this Ladd bridge the state talks about on their fishing report. Does Fall have some depth to it. We tried Toronto last spring and caught it when it was way high. It was cold and windy to, we launched our boats in a parking lot, not off a ramp. I've read Fall is good for crappie? Toronto looked good, but I was told at normal pool level, it is really shallow. Fall River just seems tempting this spring.Thanks.
Here is a link for the boat ramp at Ladd bridge. You should be able to just copy and paste I think.
http://www.kdwp.state.ks.us/news/KDWP-Info/Locations/Wildlife-Areas/Region-5/Fall-River/Facilities/Ladd-Bridge-Boat-Ramp
P.S. Don't take Kyle with ya, He'll jinks the whole trip!!!
Thanks for the info.If I do any good, maybe I'll invite Kyle to a fish fry.
Toronto isn't that shallow when at normal pool. Just up towards the rivers and around the Northwest side of Duck island. It averages about 12-16 foot. You just have to worry more about the trees under the water. Ladd Bridge is just east of Climax if you just follow the road from Climax you can run right into it. I have caught a lot of nice fish there and a lot of tiny ones as well. Fall River is a pretty good fishery for Crappie but is doesn't hold the monsters like Toronto does.
Thanks Clay, now you have me torn between the two. I guess when I decide to go, I'll just have to point the ol' green Ford toward the two and see where I end up. I enjoy fishin' for white bass also. The these two lakes have some good ones?
At this moment is there any ice on Fall River or Tornonto? More specifically, any ice on the creeks/rivers feeding the lake: Fall River (proper), Walnut Creek or the Verdegris River?
Any info would be much obliged.
They have ice them now! Toronto has had ice on the creeks for awhile. Not enough current flow to keep it open. Fall River is open but don't know for how long. It was patchy at Ladd Bridge. The boat ramp had ice but you could break it up to get in. It around the edges.
Clay...........
Thank you for the info. Do you frequent either of these 2 areas often? I am looking for a reliable contact in that area, especially in this cold weather. Me and my boys live in NE Kansas. Boys are 12and twins are 11. It sure is a long way to drive to find out the ice will prohibit fishing. If you or anyone needs info for NE Kansas, I will sure try and assist. Clay, let me hear from you again.
New handle:
bustaslab
Bustaslab....
I live in Eldorado and I have a Cabin over at Toronto Lake. I go there alot. I don't fish that much over at Fall River but I have people that call me and go there quite a bit. The main River is open thru the middle of it but I don't know since this real cold weather came upon us. I fished at Ladd Bridge a few weeks ago and caught 14 but they were mostly small ones. I check this site everyday so if you have any questions let me know. I have been spendin most of my time these days callin bobcats and coyotes. I start gettin pretty seriuos about fishing the middle of next month.
Couple things:
1) Does anybody know if Toronto or Fall River lakes are open as of this morning (Sat. Jan. 17th)?
2) Clay..........drop me an email at backpackpublications@yahoo.com I would like to chat with you about a few things about the Toronto/Fall River area. If that is not your style, that is fine too.
Fished Melvern thru the ice kept 8. Not a bad day but not excellent. They sure tasted good. Lake appears mostly iced over as of yesterday the 17. I will be going by there today and will check the ice.
I will not be on the ice again until/if it gets colder.
Anything happening at Toronto or Fall river??
fished cottonwood river in emporia this morning found a nice place to fish close to sodens grove I was there 10 minutes and caught a huge flathead!!! I took it home and fillet it out got a total of 19 pounds of boneless meat off it!!. I am going to go back later today and see if this was a one shot deal or if i can cotch more
Clay,
Any update on Toronto? Is there any good ice that can be fished? Is the anyone doing any ice fishing?
Blackdog...I don't have a clue. I was up at Hillsdale over the weekend coyote callin and the ice up there was thick towards the upper ends. On my way back I went across Eldorado Lake and it was pretty frozen as well. The rivers at Toronto should be frozen real good. If you get a Chance call Hilltop Bait and Cafe and ask. Thats at Toronto. I meant to get over there over the weekend but friend called and said lets go hunting. I no they have been catchin them in front of the Dam.
Fished La Cygne 1/31. We got there late and had some boat issues so only really fished maybe a couple hours at best. We trolled Rapala Shad Raps looking for white bass and hopefully wiper. We ended up with 8 white bass. Nice to get out but WINDY!
We were at Toronto Lake last weekend and only got bites...no fish....sure was beautiful though. Caught up on conversation with each other.
Looking to see how flooded and muddy the camping spots are up on the river at Toronto. Planning a trip for Monday and Tuesday. Also anyone catching any catfish up there?
Saturday 6-29-10 just past midnight cought a 45lb flathead at Howard lake. Used a perch and dropped it in the channel by boat towards the east end of lake. 43" long with a girth or 28"+
Post a Comment