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126 comments:
I found an alligator in ford co. lake!!
I hope everyone has a great 2010, good luck to all
How is the trout fishing at cimarron grasslands? Thinking about going? Thanks.
Is there still ice on pratt county lake,just wondering
I wish someone could explain the fishing forecast numbers for clark lake. Each year they are getting worse. I know there are many factors that go into it, but 3 years ago the lake had incredible numbers. Now on paper it looks horrible.
Is beymer pit dry? Haven't heard anything about it for some time. Thanks.
Pratt County Lake does still have some ice on it but much of the lake is open water.
Tom Lang
Fisheries Program Specialist
KDWP, Pratt
620 672 5911
beymer pit does have water in it and there has been alot of people fishing it
My name is jeff carge and I am wanting to take my eighty year old dad out fishing for his birthday this weekend, the sixth. He can't get out on a boat and any hints as to where I could get him onto some crappie once more it would be gravely appreciated. He would really enjoy this so any help or tips are welcome. Thank you.
Went to cimarron grassland pits this afternoon. Fished for 3 1/2 hours from 2-5:30pm and only caught a little bullhead catfish. e. Didn't see people catching much. A couple of trout here and there, but I heard about 12-1pm the trout were bitting really good, and I saw some people who were leaving when I got there that had a stringer of trout. It was still a fun day, and beautiful weather. Just thought I would let everyone know how the fishing is over there.
reports of nice crappie along the dam and the north dock at clark have been reported to cinnamon river outdoors.
Has anybody tried the dam or rocky points at scott lake for walleye?
anyone ever fish kiowa SFL in Greensburg?
my kids and i fished kiowa state fishing lake quite abit last summer we caught alot of nice channel,sunfish and crappie and an ocasional lmb. i caught a couple channel over 10 lbs. we've been there a couple of times this month but no luck yet. It is a great lake for kids they can catch aloy of sunfish
A note to Jeff Carge_ I know this is late but Clark SFL has a wonderful handicap dock on the east shore easily accessible by anyone with limited mobility. We fish off of it alot as my grown son is disabled and has problems with balance so has difficulty on a boat or trying to move over rocky ground. There are deep brush piles off of the north and south ends of the dock and crappie fishing can be a blast! We have been out there with an 82 yo man who stops by, and he teaches us alot about where and how to get the crappie, he says it is the best place for him to fish. Hope you can take your dad out still and I hope you get the chance to meet "Mr. Walker" he is a deep well of information! We have appreciated so much getting to know him!
can i have some of your stuff
why can't we catch anything at meade anymore?
thanks for the report on kiowa... i am starting a new job in greensburg in the fall. we'll be moving there and my kids love to fish...
hey the trout are biting real good on spinners at vets lake!!! almost every cast on the windy side. the crappie are starting to bite in the deeper holes. this is a good lake to take a kid fishing. have fun fishing!!!! mike loughner
because some little ppl that look asian put everything in the bucket, response to meade.
Thats what must be going on at scott lake too the last 2 weekends havent caught anything before that could always run into some crappies but not the last 2 weeks it's like some one turned the light switch off on there feeding habbites
ake a kid fishin a ves lake. all hey need is worms and a bober. the crappie are starting to bite. there are a lot of crappie in this lake. i have cought a few 10-12 inchers but most of them were8-9 inches. someone needs to go out there and help thin out the numbers so we can have bigger fish. bass and bluegill are biting good. the trout wont stay off the line. if you fish the windy side. you will have your limit in less than a hour. it is so quick it feels like you dident fish.its like plucking from a barrel. if anyone has time please take a kid fishing. they will remember it there whole life. have fun fishing. weeeeee! mike loughner
Please take your time when writing comments, people who read a mispelled word might get frustrated and think you are illiterate. and please do take kids fishing..... weeeee!
Hey, this is Mike Loughner. I did not know i was writing a resume. Someone went through a lot of trouble to make sure my spelling was correct. Why dident you leave something about fishing. I would like to here reports on fishing. Not on how to present my self on this page. what if i was illiterate would you hold that against someone. Please keep your comments about fishing not my grammer. Does anyone have any reports on the fish at Pratt county lake. I plan on taking a fishing trip that way and was wondering what type of tackel to bring. Veterans Lake is fisherman friendly right now. If you are in Great Bend anytime stop by the lake for some action!!!
Punks at Scott Lake made me so mad last Friday night. I don’t know how long it’s been open but there was a keg party at the open public cabin all night long. Noisy teens, trash everywhere, general disrespect and disgusting language was observed by me with no patrol or enforcement. Mr. Hayden, what are you going to do to control this?
Hey fellow fishermen and woman, I took my trip to pratt lake and my wife and i had a blast, we caught 24 crappie, 2 walleye, one small wiper, and a whole ton of blueguil. 12 of the crappie were over 11 inches. the walleye, one at 22 and one at 23 1/2. that made for a good fish fry! we caught them all on 1/8 oz jig head with a wiggle tail. we were just tightlining, slow reeling. it was awsome. pratt lake rules for fishing. hope this helps someone. mike loughner. take kids fishing!!!!
Whats going on out at clark anyone heard i've been wanting to go up there just havent made it yet
I have fished Clark the last 3 weekends and have had no luck. I've tried soft plastics, crankbaits, live bait in combination with soft plastics. I can find fish on the locator set up on them stealth like dangle live bait in front of them nothing. I don't get it, all the northern and eastern lakes have taken off but Clark hasn't. There has been many boats and people their but no fish being caught. I've fished for them all. Last weekend I did hook a 3 to 4 pound bass on a shad colored gulp minnow but lost it at the boat.
Wow that is disapointing i had my hopes up for clark i've been fishing scott like that and havent had any luck. I did go up north to glenn elder and i couldnt keep the fish off of my line. I've just got the worst luck around here but always did pretty good at clark
Really windy & pretty cold Friday April 23rd, but I went fishing at Dodge City Lake Charles after work anyway. Caught 1 lg mouth bass about 8" long, 2 skinny crappie about 5-6", and about 6 bluegill from 3-7" in about an hour or hour & a half. I used a bobber and garden worms about 2' down, fishing downwind side of the bridge. Nothing to brag about, but you can't catch any sitting on the couch as the only other person I saw there said.
Ford county lake, 4/27/2010. Pretty calm, night fishing mostly. caught 7 bullheads, about 8 to 10 inches in length. Healthy looking. Chicken livers and trout worms on trebel hooks off the bottom. Didn't have any luck with prepared baits.
caught a few crappie lastnight on white colored crappie jigs at scott lake, caught one keeper walleye finally. the bite seems to be a little ways off yet on the walleye, the crappie seemed to be biting about 5 foot off the rocks around the bits of structure in the lake.
My wife and I went to pratt county lake 2 days ago and hammered the crappie. We had to stop and count them to make sure we did not go home with more than our limit. We ended up catching our limit! Then we started upgrading. What a blast! We caught tons of blue gill and some keeper size large mouth! We don't eat bass so we let them go. The tacle we used was 1/8 oz jig with a twisty tail. Tight lining casting sideways along the rocks and brush piles. It is deffinatly worth the trip! Have fun and take a kid fishing!!!! Mike Loughner
Me and my dad cought both are limts of crappie plus more that we had to thro back at ford co. Lake alone the northeast side of the lakeabout 10 feet south of the fish feeder
I alway do fair at Clark County Lake BUT went 2 weekends ago & the lake was just dead ! There was a small bass tourney at the same time and I heard that 6 teams only caught 3 bass !! It's gonna get better but this weather here is not cooperating.
I've noticed that Beymer Park at Lakin isn't listed in any State information anymore. Yet a lot of dry holes are listed, like Finney, and Concannons. Beymer still has some water, and bluegill fishing is good. There are also some big carp which are always fun to catch. But is there really anything else in there? The sign at the entrance says bass, crappie, catfish and trout. I've fished there for twenty years and have never seen a bass or crappie taken. The catfishing used to be really good, but I don't do much of that anymore. By the way, if you need a license, Dillons doesn't sell them. The State lists them as a vendor.
Finaly got into some crappie up at scott me and a buddie caught 47 the other day off the bank after a half doz other trips where we never caught anything. All we where using were minnows about 2' under a bobber
i have noticed that when the cotten trees start shedding cotten the fish are bitting like crazy. mike loughner. weeeeee!!!!!
Did kdwp stock the buffalo refuge sand pit in Garden City and Beymer park in lakin any info appreciated
went out to check out concannon and the thing is full is there any plans on stocking it with anything or is the state going to let it sit and see what happens with it
Was there fish stocked at the Buffalo Sandpit and cocannons
There have been a few channel catfish stocked in the sand pit at the buffalo refuge. Beymer sand pit has not been in the CFAP program for several years and therefore KDWP does not stock any fish there. Concannon recently got some rain and we are waiting for the water quality to improve and stabilize.
Lowell Aberson
Fisheries Biologist
Thanks for the info Lowell. What species does kdwp plan to stock at cocannons?
We have been going to clark county SFL the past three sets of my husbands days off and did well on crappie with live minnows. Caught some nice bass as well, one female was legal limit to keep but she was FULL of eggs so we put her back. Yesterday my son caught a nice catfish in the shallows next to the boat dock on the entry to the east shore, it had some kind of string coming out of it, which my daughter thought was going to produce and egg sack, she pulled it out and another and another, OMG the thing was FULL of tape worms! the strig changed to a ribbon and was wigglin'!!!! So My question to Lowel are our fish safe to eat and what other species of fish can get these nasty critters?
Lowel, We noticed also that the moss was full of eggs last week, wonder what was laying there. Seen a lot of shad, kids were scooping them with a net and using them to catch fish. Was it the shad spawning or feeding?
Also caught some crappie that seemed somewhat deformed behind the top fin.... Whats going on in our favorite fishing spot?
6/6/10 Barber SFL bass fishing was bad only two dinks and had to watch out for Hobie Cats whats next PWC
When fish become available for Concannon we will stock bluegill, largemouth bass and channel catfish.
Terri, I spoke with Officer Gamble this morning and he showed me the photo of the crappie. It was hard to tell from the photos on his phone but the damage to the crappie almost looked like some type of old injury. Also after visiting with one of our hatchery guys that handles a lot more channel catfish than I do each year, he did not feel that the tapeworms in one catfish was anything to be to concerned over.
Thanks Lowel....would it stand to reason that if one fish has them that many others will too? We will be watching closely when we filet our fish. Cooking kills the worm eggs but still, eeewww.
The area around the lake is looking good, looks better maintained than in the past. My kids went "exploring" up the hills and ended up with poison oak rashes. Noticed a few small patches of it amongst the shoreline rocks too. One of the hazards of being outdoors, I guess. It won't stop us from spending as much time as we can out there though!
The fishing at Clark Couty Lake is getting better. Nobody will believe me but my fishing pardner & I caught 30 walleye in one day. I will say that we only could keep 5 !!! It's been very hot temperature wise; but we are still catching a few.
I've had days like that, but I think it's tough for people to comprehend what you are telling them. I got to thinkin'- if they believe what you say, good. If they don't, they don't. Good going!
jetmore city lake is hot for bass in the slot. also get channels on spinnerbaits
Does anyone on here fish Scott State fishing lake? If so, is it worth a trip from Wichita area?
It is a nice little lake but i wouldnt waste my time
Is anybody fishing clark? Any whites?
I'm not fishing clark but noticed it's 3 ft low. All those crayfish gotta hide somewhere. If you're a bass fisher person, go with a crawdad pattern of some sorts. Whites/wiper- find deep thin growing weed beds. walleye- make long cast over deep water. What to use is anybodys guess. And try to do all that before 9:00 a.m.
I agree with the comment about partying at Scott Lake. Wildlife and Parks puts a comment in Scott County record about stepping up nightly patrols to curb underage drinking. However I camp up their with my two young sons and always have to try and explain the loud profanity, the sound of busting beer bottles, and the splashes of who knows what be thrown in the lake. Scott lake is no longer an enjoyable place to take my sons!!!!
question to anyone at kdwp ..i was just wondreing if there is walleye/saugeye in the river by pratt co lake , right by the kdwp offices .. i catch good walleye in the stream behind the lake that flows from the river, so im guessing thats were those fish in the stream come from i also catch nice wiper there to, and smallmouth bass, also i think im catchin what looks like sauger can someone post some more info on this thanks ...fishin pal jer
Find their wintering hole(s) and fish them whenever you get the urge.
You'll know when you catch a sauger. One reason will because it isn't a walleye. Another reason will be that after examining fish after catching, that it's not a saugeye either. (lack of orange/red tinges on fins) The only other fish left is the sauger. The 3 shaded saddles dipping well below the lateral line and relative stockiness (upper back) will tell you that you have caught a sauger. Congratulations because not everyone will catch one (sauger) during their times of fishing in Kansas.
ya ok , i think i am catchin sauger they dont get as big as walleye and they have what look like black freckled spots all over them, ive never seen that on just a plain walleye or saugeye,if so thats what im catchin i have caught a couple dozen some have been up to 18 inches but most i release back ,a fellow fisherman told me they only have to 15 inches to keep out of the or nissescah river by pratt county lake does anyone know if this is correct ...fishin pal jer
there should be a length/creel sign around where you launch the boat. black bass and walleye, saugeye and sauger should be in aggregate. Those still could be walleye you are catching from ninnescah.
there are only a few resivors in the state like melvern or perry with sauger that i know of and holton banner creek ..but im catchin them somewhere else not many people know about...till now ..lol..i just like helpin the fellow fisherman out ,,but i dont know how many sauger are in the place where im fishing they could easily be caught out quickly if none get thrown back, i myself like to catch and release most my fish . i only keep whats legal size of course and i only keep enough to feed me and my family no excess or keepin more than i need...fishin pal jer
yes i catch just plain walleye there to and smallmouth bass also, the walleye have none of those black freckled spots all over them and a white tip on there tail, also there a little bigger and not much yellow or gold color in there fins , the fisherman i talked to said everything is in that river cause the fish and game throw what they have left over from stockings in ther thats why i catch everything there from wiper to smallmouth bass and walleye/sauger or saugeye ,i once caught a 2 pound goldfish on a jig and worm to ...lol
i saw a one pounder caught once. A two pounder would be a something to see. Maybe those are f2walleye (inbreds) or similar that weren't acceptable enough to be stocked elsewhere since you can't figure what you are catching.
There's more than just melvarn and perry with sauger populations. All rivers will have them in Kansas and almost all res. and state lakes. Thing is if the fish stay bunched up in a 20 ft. x 20 ft. area their entire lives and feed at 3:00 to 4:00 a.m. only, they won't offer much sport. Introducing new stock every once in awhile can't do any harm but results from new/sustained stock spawning will take time.
well i had to double check for myself i went on youtube and looked for any sauger videos..lol.. and i think i did see those black freckled spots on the sauger in a video ..
Sounds like Fishinpaljer is catching oversized creek chubs and is mistaken them for suager instead.
haha . i doubt it ..its spelled sauger i will try take a pic of sauger sometime and i will post on kansasangler.com ...lol. there not creek chubs , chubs are bait ..i did catch a goldfish on a jig though ,the 2 pound goldfish actually bit my jig ..haha
just seeing if you were awake.
That has got to be a new state record.
just woundering if the KDWP can update the clark state fishing lake statis
your black freckled spots on the walleyes are fresh water clams. Sauger have a few big "blotches" on their sides that extend beyond their lateral lines I do believe. And their cheek patches are rough like sandpaper. They aren't found through-out the state naturally. Their preference is for deep, fast and hard bottom rivers and tributaries. Almost all are stocked anymore. I don't know their natural reproduction rates or successes. I've caught very few and they came out of Council Grove.
If you watch the asian carp presentation filmed at Kansas City, do this- hit pause and study the rocky areas. All of that there is native sauger range water. Last year I heard one report of a 20 incher caught right there where the wardons were at on film. More than one person told me, so I believe it. The last part of that film segment is from the dam at Lawrence. I would need a month there to figure out sauger/walleye catching methods. I know they are there at certain times. Those half-round pieces at the dam (k.c.) where water flows over go down to about 12 ft. or so. The fish will camp right under that turbulence. It's tough to fish it all day because of the noise from the water dumping over the falls. That area is the first barrier fish encounter coming from the missouri river. The water is muddy/murky enough that sauger would probably hit during the daytime if lure/bait is presented in a tempting manner. The dam there is more than a 1/8 but way less than a 1/4 mile across.
thanks for posting info..
i know what walleye look like , and i pretty sure im not catchin plain walleye these are definately sauger or saugeye, but there are just plain walleye in the river i fish also ,i will try to take a pic sometime i can compare the difference between walleye and sauger or saugeye they are all if those freckled spots are clams shouldnt they be able to come off the fish ,these spots r on there skin and dont move or come off ..also the walleye and smallmouth dont have these freckled spots all over them and i catch them from the same place , what i need is a real close up pic of someone elses sauger that they caught and they know for sure its a sauger ..that would clarify things ...fishin pal jer
that's why I suggested you were catching creek chubs- they also have the bumps on their nose area. Next time you catch one try scraping one of the bumps off and see what it is. One place sort of close to you to try for sauger would be the John Redmond stilling basin and downstream for about a mile. Bank fishing, wading and a boat should be enough to see what that's about. Do it during the cooler months. I have seen walleye from there before. It could be a small untapped resource for walleye/saugeye/sauger. I think it's safe to say nobody fishes for them there. I'll put that on my list of things for me to do in the next 10 years or so.
Those bumps could be naturally growing protein deposits. Bumping their head area while feeding possibly cause wounds and that is how they look like after healing. Repeated bumping while swimming for food could do that over time. That's all I can suggest. Maybe it is just the genetic make-up.
I just seen the minnesota/wisconsin area new sauger state record fish. It's over six pounds and was caught in the summer.
Do they look like their sprinkled with black pepper? If so, they are freshwater clams, and they do have a tenascious bond. Also they reason the black bass don't have them is because they don't have bottom contact like the "eyes" do. The clam's use fish as taxi's, generally using fish that incur lots of bottom contact. I've seen them on green sunfish alot, they're a fish that loves rocky little caves, which in turn provides the clams a "depot", almost parasitic in nature. They will detach I believe in their 2nd year of life. Relax, clams are a good thing, it denotes good water quality.
haha ok thanks for the good comments.. to above u wanna go creek chub fishin with me then ..lol
no thanks, but if we did I bet we'd find 50 different species of them throughout the state. Upper reaches of Tuttle Creek has some real fancy looking ones.
hahaha..lol..ok
Lee Thompson, Lyons Ks.,just got back from Pratt County fishing lake. Caught a 17 1/2" small mouth bass. Only one I have ever caught. Took photo with cell phone. Talked to a few other fishermen who did not believe me till we showed them the picture. it was just another fish to me. My Bass fisherman friend, Sam Smith told me it was a very nice fish. A lot of people didn't know they were even in there because they have not ever caught one. My tahnks to Sam for taking me out again. What a great day.
good to hear ..fishin pal jer did u catch that smallmouth in the lake or the river
Why have the maintainers of Stone Lake in Great Bend allowed the fishing to deteriorate so badly? Fishing has been absolutely horrible for two years now. The channel catfishing is at an all time low catch rate and what is caught are less than 8 inches. This lake has been overstocked with small fish with no regard to balance. The Crappie fishing is almost nonexsistant in what used to be a tremendous crappie fishery. This lake is in serious need of attention. It could use a large stocking of 3-5 lb catfish to restore the balance of size and quality. Great Bend has no other decent fishery for locals and kids to fish and one wonders why their is a lack of new fishing enthusiasts. Veterans lake has issues and McArthur has been let go to decline into a wasted fishery by authortities. Why not use Stone Lake for future Trout plants? It is deeper than any other local lake with a natural aquafier of cold water flowing into it from underneath. It is time for whoever maintains these local lakes and ponds to step up and provide positive leadership for this area. Not all of us are able to travel to out of the area lakes.
I caught the Small mouth in the lake, over by the inlet. Wow, they can really fight.
to above u said that well ..i agree.. i want to fish stone lake or vets park sometime i heard vets has nice saugeye, but the lake has a algea problem now i guess ...and to lee wow ive never actually caught smallmouth out of the lake i caught em in the river, on the signs around pratt co lake it doesnt say nothing about smallmouth bass being in there last i checked ....fishin pal jer
Been fishing stone lake in Great Bend have caought a few crappie off the south side buy the logs around the 10 inch range, using trout flies. Going to try at night with lights and will let know how that goes.
Take a rig for flathead catfish too. They usually show up at nightime fall crappie fishing. If a flathead shows up and hits one of the crappie rigs it will slow down or spook the crappie.
Have been trout fishing 3 times at Scott. Had very good success with powerbait. Smallest fish was 11 inches and the largest was 20. Trout have been really nice size and fun to catch. Only have to fish a couple of hours to get close to my limit. KDWP survey biologist said they have stocked some 5 pounders.
Your 5 pounders will hit on the worst days on the windiest banks. If their fins are clipped they won't give much of a battle but if the fins are intact watch out- (have the drag set properly) The big trout usually hang with each other so be ready for that also.
How about trying something new for some of our local lakes? I think it's atleast worth a risk to try a moderate stocking of wipers and saugeye in Meade Lake. Some people going there get some channel cat action, but it usually isn't anything impressive. Usually the crappie (which almost always end up in small lakes) are stunted along with the bluegill.
There are some small lakes in northwest Kansas such as Sheridan Lake and Antelope lake that many times have good wiper and saugeye fishing. I have experienced this first hand with wipers up to ten pounds, and saugeye to several pounds.
Look at Pratt County Lake with their fishery. Impressive for a small body of water! All of these lakes are somewhat similar in surface acres, water depth, and clarity to Meade Lake. Turk's Pond in Colorado sure has some big saugeye and wipers for a fifty acre lake. It might work for Meade. Imagine going to Meade or possibly Clark and at times catching some large wipers! This is why I head up north instead of going the other directions.
Meade county isn't native largemouth bass country let alone suitable for wiper and saugeye. But common sense says if small fish are present big fish will eat them. 1 or 2 wiper per acre at Meade would be fun for five years or so if stocked. I don't know about saugeye being introduced there. Will they thrive or will it be a waste of time?
What kind of fish were stocked in the Horse Thief Reservoir? How is the water level now at both Jetmore Lake and Horse Thief? Anybody have some information?
Visiting Horse Thief last summer I noticed that a lot of places could use some shade like in tree planting. Is this in the plans? It seems that Horse Thief will keep water since it was around thirty feet deep when it only had around one hundred and twenty acres of water. A lot of the fifteen to forty acre watersheds in and around Ness County I've fished are only maybe ten to twelve feet deep and dry up on occasion.
I might add that I know Horse Thief got a lot more water later in the spring than I mentioned, but how much and how deep?
When i was out there this summer the deepest i found was about 30' there maybe a deeper spot but i couldnt find it, also by the end of summer you could tell it had gone down by a few feet not sure what it is now but by the end of summer you could tell it was lower by a few feet i would say
i have a question where is Horse Thief can anybody give me direction how to get there im from liberal thaks!!!!!
Or.... If the person from Liberal needing direction to Horse Thief doesn't want to drive the paved highways, he/she could take the graveled back roads. Sure would be slower going though.
so how do i get to the lake from jetmore to hwy 156 west how many miles then north or south?
Scott is now ice free!!! I'm so ready to get out and do some fishing
getting ready to take the kids to the FISH impoundments in larned
went to larned yesterday for a few hrs with the kids they didnt catch anything, but i caught 6 crappie about 8-10 in long with chartruse crappie nibbles on marabu jigs
Larned FISH habitats great fishing today about 30 crappie within about a 3 hr span between 11 and 2 saw 1 small bass caught also
Jetmore City Lake: cought 10 small largemouth 6 inches or so. 1 8 inch bluegill. Water temp is right at 50 degrees.
we went to horse thief yesterday and we only caught 3 decent size catfish and then we moved to jetmore city lake but not luck what kind of bait did you used for the largemouth and the bluegill? also do you know if there is any crappie?
Thanks
Curious if anyone has tried Scott since the ice was out, and has anyone tried Clark State Lake yet?
Yes, Scott Lake is giving up a lot of crappie, but they are mostly seven to nine inches long. Maybe one in ten is around ten inches. Brushpiles with minnows under a bobber or crappie nibbles on jigs works. These fish are usually around four to seven feet down.
I do know that at this time of the year fishermen drift Clark State Fishing Lake with minnows maybe ten to twenty-five feet down and drift through schools of crappie that are that shallow yet. I haven't tried this at Clark for many years but when I did it sure worked.
In the above post I do need to clarify something I was unclear about. Some of us have found years ago that if you drift the main body of Clark State Fishing Lake in March with minnows down ten to twenty-five feet deep it is very productive on a lot of days. On your fish finder you can see that you're drifting through large schools of crappie. Set you minnows with splitshot or something in order to reach those depths and it can produce. If the wind comes up some and increases the drift speed, you need to let out more weight or line to stay at that drift depth. A drift sock would work. They used to really do this technique around twenty-five years ago. It worked for me. Most of these fish aren't shallow yet because of the water temperature. Minnows worked better than jigs back then. Maybe ReelBait lures on jigs or crappie nibbles on jigs would work, too. These weren't made back then, and I never knew about drift socks.
very awesome info about Clark SFL! Thanks! My buddy and I just talked about a guy he ran into that would tell everyone to mind their own business when they asked what he was using to catch his trout and then went off and said a true fisherman doesn't reveal any information to anyone else... He was a bitter old man... that did know what he was doing in fishing... but what's the point? If more fish get caught then more fish get stocked or creel limits are changed or the fish find a new hangout spot, etc. Yes keeping a little honey hole spot a secret is fine, but I am glad to share all my information on any of my trips/catches.
Thing to do is to keep chipping away at the fish. Try for a limit everyday you go fishing. At the beginning of trout season where I fish, I'll start with a salmon egg rig and a powerbait rig. The colors for powerbait to use are, beginning in February, are 2 jars of corn/yellow, 2 jars of rainbow and during the month of May use the purple (nymph flavored) if you can find it at your store. Over the next 10 years or so of consistently limiting out on trout you'll find you've forgotten about the old man, but one day he'll show up right next to you wondering where the trout are at. Sounds familiar doesn't it? Give the cold shoulder right away just so he can say to himself I should of expected that. He's seamed to have lost his touch and is trying to regain it, I guess. Use 6# mainline and 4# for leaders. After catching trout year in and year out, I lose count after 120-130 trout caught each season legally. You do that every year and you'll be the one showing/teaching the old boys how it's done. May they rest in peace.
Went to Clark SFL yesterday, must have 20-25 boats on the lake. A few were catching small crappie off the brushpiles in the SW corner of the lake, mostly 6-8" fish. We targeted the largemouth, with no luck, water temp is still 46.5 to 48.1 depending on which end of the lake. Did see one guy in the north end catch and release several nice channel cats, 1-2#, fishing with bait under a bobber in the creek channel.
The most consistent fishing I've ever seen in Clark State Fishing Lake is night fishing under lights starting sometime in May and running through sometime in July. Anchor over the outlet tower or along the dam in twenty to thirty feet of water. Put a lantern over the water or a floating light. I've found the more powerful floating lights are maybe too bright and may spook fish. Two anchors may be better than one for a stable position. Not too long after dark the shad and baitfish show up. Drop minnows down anywhere from twelve to twenty-two feet and the fishing usually happens. Usually crappie are the main catch. Sometimes white bass, walleye, and catfish show up. You may be red-eyed by sunrise but you'll usually have plenty of fish to clean. By the way... take bug repellent since they'll be attracted to you area.
Hey at Scott Lake last weekend the fishing was pretty good. So was the poison ivy. A friend of mine showed me the poison ivy he caught on his neck and it was kinda like the red hind end of a baboon. One fellow recently was there talking about his fishing and for a fifty some year old man... Boy, was he windier than the wind! He said he had two miles of fishing line on his reel! To top that off he said he could get his jon boat up on plane with his electric trolling motor. Anyway, some catfish, crappie, and plenty of trout were being caught on worms and minnows.
Caught close to our trout limit today over at Cimarron Grassland Pits on mainly Power Bait, a couple on worms. Perch and tiny little bullhead cats biting on worms and Power Bait and smaller channel cats biting on worms.
Can fishermen fish Clark County without a boat and with kids, trying to find some other places to fish. We go to Pratt all the time we like, its just getting bored of it for now.
yes you can catch lots of fish off of the bank at clark, i've always had lots of luck on whites and cats there
thanks Christopher i think next outing will be to clark then thanks again
CRAPPIE SPAWN IS ON AT SCOTT
Went to Clark County Lake the day before Mother's Day. Lots of boats & people fishing. We drifted with jigs & roadrunners and caught walleye, white bass & quite a few crappie. I sure couldn't complain.
Clark county crappie fishing in the coves is going crazy right now! had 5 dozen minnows and ran out in about 2.5 hours! Quick question- Anywhere in SW KS can you catch flathead catfish? I have heard Clark has some, dont know if thats true, but I am wanting to catch a monster fish! Any tips?
Have seen some big flatheads caught at Clark. Use live bait: goldfish or perch. You must have lots of patience.
Hello Everyone,
I was wanting to know if anyone had some tips on where I could catch some minnows using traps. I live near dodge city but far enough out of town that its a pain to go get minnows and the last time i went they were sold out. I inherited a minnow live well tank with 6 traps. I tried mariah hills with no success so if anyone has any suggestions it would be greatly appreciated
Clark SFL is great for channel cats, flathead fishing can be good if you have the right bait and lots of patience, caught three last year that went over 25lbs, and 10+ that were between 10-20lbs, turned em all loose, so there are some in there. Dont mess with small bait if you want the big un's, bluegill in the 4-5"+ range are minimum, salamanders(mud puppies) 7-9" in length are the top bait at clark for big flatheads, this time of year target the shallow ledges at night and the deep brushpiles by day.
See ya on the water!!
Can anyone tell me which ponds they stocked trout in at the cimarron grasslands and when. Thanks
The Barber County Fishing Lake-Upper is dry!
I called the Ranger's office today for the Cimarron Grasslands pits to ask about trout. They have stocked the Point of Rocks pond.
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