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Too bad they have no way of tracking down the criminal who did this.
With the new creel length limits of 21" for walleye at Eldorado lake. Does that mean the walleyes caught in the spillway have to be 21" also?
The walleye length limit in the spillway (outlet) will remain 15-inches with a creel of 5/day.
The 21-inch minimum length limit and 2/day creel applies in the reservoir and upstream to the boundaries of the State Wildlife Area.
I know this does not have alot to do with fishing but it seems KDWP watches this blog. I really hink there should be a hunters Blog as we have questions as to why all the dead birds out by Ness City. I have never seen so many rotting carcusses
I’ve fished Harvey County East Lake after work today (5-6:30). Just a few patches of ice remain. Picked up a dozen + black & white crappies 6”-11 ½” using a 1/32 oz orange jig with chartreuse tail 1’ to 2’ deep in the shallow upper end of the lake. The two largest were an 11 ½” white crappie and 11” black crappie.
Go Bucks
To the individual posting about dead birds by Ness City. What kind of birds are you referring to? How many? Give me a call and I will get some more information and follow up. 785-628-8614
has anybody fished the dam at Cheney yet. I figure the Walleye will be a little slow showing up this year due to the cold
Going to Cheney on Saturday, going to see how it goes!
i was thinking about doing some fishing at cheney or afton this coming weekend didnt know if anyone out there has had much luck out at either place this year and if anyone has any pointers for these two lakes this time of year ... any help would be great thanks
Struck out at Kingman today (not even a nibble), as did the other 15-20 people I saw there, unless they'd already caught something before I arrived.
stay away from cheney allready to many people going out there
Was curious if the Walleye bite was heating up yet? Also, how is the crappie, white bass, wiper bite? Interested in Cheney, El Dorado, and Marion... Any insight?
Thanks,
Jason
I fished cheney yesterday and caught 6 walleye up in the shallows on the rocks from the bank. I let them all go because they were under the 21 inch limit.
caught limit of nice cats at marion co . biggest was 12 pounds others were 3-5lb water is still cold used gizzards found some for 12 bucks a jar , gizzards seem hard to find...good eatin ....fishin pal jer
New to reservoir fishing, any ideas on where to start lookin for shad at Cheney this time of year?
i fished cheney for walleye today in my boat...not much luck for walleye, but i did catch some real nice crappie...they were scattered I caught a bunch of crappie but only kept the ones 13 inches and bigger. I am eating crappie tonite! beautiful day on the lake!
fished Lake Afton today ... Swing and a miss :-)
I went back and forth on where to fish, to take out the boat or not take out the boat... and eventually decided to just bank fish. I fished the sandpit on Seneca and 55th, notta... then Emery Park, notta... Went with a buddy to his watershed and caught about 4 Largemouth Bass, biggest was about 4lbs. Chartreuse Spinnerbait, double chrome willow blades, and a 3" curly tail grub trailing. Letting it sink to bottom and then slow rolling it in. What a beautiful day!!! Glad to hear the lakes are warming up... boat time next weekend!!!
Tried trolling at cheney for Walleye. No luck,, plus all you get on your hooks are zebra muscles. Trolling days on the dam maybe done forever
I went to cheney last night and spent some of the time in my truck because of rain, but did manage to throw a rapala for wallleye for a while. It was fun and nice to get out of the house, I caught 3 small walleye biggest was 18inches of course i let them go because the length limit is 21 inches. I am looking forward to the next few weeks of bank walleye fishing at cheney!!!
Looking for fly fishing info on wipers at marion. Can anyone short cut my learning curve?
hey was wondering if any tried fishing at marion res. and the county lake from the bank or dock for walleye,white bass,sauger and wiper might try on sunday 3-14-10 so leave your comment and let me know what there biteing on and if any bait let me know thanks
just got home from night walleye bank fishing at cheney! I brought home two NICE walleyes! both well over 21 inches..I caught several walleyes tonite but cheney only allows you to keep 2 walleyeyes over 21 inches.I will be back tommorrow night if I did not catch my death of cold!...at least i will die happy!!!Haha
Whats the surface temperature like in region 4 right now?
43 degrees
http://www.swt-wc.usace.army.mil/webdata/gagedata/CHNK1.current.html
Fished Cheney yesterday from about 1:00 to 5:00 PM and caught one Walleye that was a keeper. Caught him on a banana shape Rapala.
Braved the winds and got REALLY soaked last night @ Cheney, but caught 3 walleye. 2 keepers. Hope to get out there again this week when it's not so windy!
I was just wandering when and if they are going to stock bass in the wichita area lakes? any info on what species will be stocked and when? any help would be appreciated
Elias, We don't have current plans to stock any additional bass in the Wichita area lakes - because Largemouth Bass are already present in pretty much all of them. We do have plans to implement habitat plans and projects across the Wichita Metro area to enhance the bass fisheries in select lakes city-wide. If you have questions about the bass populations in a specific lake or lakes, please don't hesitate to call me at 316.683.8069.
Thanks!
********************
Jessica Mounts
District Fisheries Biologist
Jessica,
What would you consider the best bass lakes in the wichita area?
I have fished most of the, and found some interesting things... But still haven't made it to a few of them.
If you haven't tried bass fishing at Chisholm Island pond at the Great Plains Nature center, I highly recommend it. It is catch and release only, and we only allow artificial lures, but I have seen some very nice Bass caught there in the last few years. If you can get out to Buffalo Park before the invasive Eurasian Watermilfoil takes over this spring, you should also see some nice fish there as well.
Jessica Mounts
District Fisheries Biologist
Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks
Jessica and/or anyone else:
First off, I think you're doing an AWESOME job, Jessica, of responding to our questions/concerns on this site. Keep up the great work!
My question to you and/or the other posters is about what to look for or where to fish for wiper on a smaller pond (Sedgwick Co. Park or Watson Park). I'm very interested in trying to fish for wiper this year, but hopefully I can get some more insight from someone. Thanks in advance!
Happy Fishing!
Anyone catching pike at kingman?
I went night walleye fishing at cheney.. it was cold! but once I caught my first nice walleye of the season..(21.5 inches) the cold did not seem so bad if you know what i mean..that fish turned out to be the biggest of the night. If you have never tried bank walleye fishing at night now is the time to get out! there are starting to bite!!!!
Went Walleye fishing at Cheney last night (10pm-1am). Had a group of 6. Everyone but 1 guy caught their limit (10 fish), poor guy, lol. Fish ranged from 23-28 inches. GREAT night! We also counted the # of fish that we missed, it added up to another 10-12 that we missed. It was an awesome night!
Joel
Thanks for the report.
What type of presentation were you using? jigs/plastic (size?) or crank baits (style?).
Thanks
We caught them with smithwicks, rat-l-traps, honestly, a little bit of everything. I saw people using jigs also, so I think they were hitting on a variety of things.
As far as casting, we caught most of them casting to the left or right, anywhere from 8-10 feet out and as close as 2 feet from the rocks. You can hear them roll, and some swim right in front of you, it's awesome!
Hope this helps, good luck everyone!
Went out to cheney tonight from 6pm to 10pm and caught 1- 19 1/2 inch walleye and 1 keeper that was 23 inches that weighed 6 pounds
The bass have waken up! i caught 10 on thursday. The snow probably knocked them back a bit, but the weather returns to normal soon.
For those of you who are bass fishermen, I have started a new blog geared specificly toward bass lakes in wichita and the surrounding area.
http://kansasbass.blogspot.com/
Went to cheney on thursday eve. and fished throughout the night till 3:30 a.m. friday, me and a buddy cought 9 walleye and only three keepers, one was a 28" female around 9lbs. Hope this recent cold snap doesn't ruin the fishing. One thing that really upset me was I witnessed a person net a big female that was splashing next to shore. Shame on you! This is why we don't have good places to fish anymore around here cause of people that do this crap.
i agree. this is sport fishing, not a grocery store. did you call operation game thief?
Due to not wanting to get into a confrontation with the individual, I did confront the individual and told him it is bull**** what he did but I left it at that.
Avoid confrontation altogether and call op game thief. There's wardens at cheney patrolling. I've called them because of hunters on the refuge before and they were there in 5-10 minutes. The # is on your fishing/hunting license. I keep it in my phone contact list now. If the guy is willing to do that crap during the spawn with people around imagine what he does when no one is looking...
Thanks for the info, I will remember that next time, hopefully there won't be a next time.
Thinking about fishing for largemouth out east at Big Hill anybody around here have any helpful info on this reservoir?
i gotcha on kansasbass.blogspot.com, KS Bass
I went to Cheney and caught a huge female! man I cant wait till I get her home! She is goin on the wall!
Is the walleye action off the dam at Cheney or other rockey shorlines? I'v had problems finding them the past few years.
We have been catching them at the dam. We fished last night from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. and nothing bit. We are going tonight so hopefully they are more active tonight. Make sure you and your catch are legal because the game wardens were there last night.
I'm glad to see the wardens out at Cheney. That place gets absolutely pounded out there when those big Walleye are on the dam. It's unfortunate that quite a few people do not know the regs. I wish the KDWP could afford to keep 4-5 wardens out there all the time during spawing time. Just like the previous post about the guy netting it. So many are snagged and not returned to the water and god only knows what else happens out there. It truly amazes me. Has anyone hear much out of El Dorado yet? I'm curious to see how the walleye reports are over there since the new regs went into effect this year. TW
Fished Cheney last night. There must have been 200 people on the dam many of wich after talking to had no luck. I caught one 23" and my buddy caught three under 21" that were released. When we did catch fish it was about 12:00 a.m.
I too fished Cheney last night... Got out there about 9:00. The wind had picked up a little bit out of the North, but then calmed down and was one heck of a nice night.
Never saw a single Walleye roll, very odd for this time of year. Actually didn't see a single fish until about 11:30 and then started seeing stacks of them (4-6 in a group) almost on top of one another in about a foot of water. Never did get a hit, bite, nibble... I talked to everyone I ran into as I found it odd that there was no rolling for such great weather. I then learned the water temp was about 42 degrees. Nothing like a early spring snow to screw things up.
I too saw the game warden and was glad to see him as well and agree with the comments about needing 4-5 during the spawn. It amazes me how many people fish between the cables which are clearly marked as off limit areas. The other thing that irritates me is when people stack right on top of your space while fishing. I understand that it is a public lake and fishing area, but when there is 50 yards between you and the next fisherman on either side and plenty of places like that and someone comes down the face of the dam and sets up camp 10 feet from you it is pretty irritating.
Hope the warm weather next week isn't too late. I am interested to hear if Marion or El Dorado are going... anyone???
Good luck and practice fishing courtesy while out there. It makes everyones time at the lake more enjoyable!!
No, 'Anonymous', don't make sure that you and your fish are legal "because there are game wardens are out at Cheney"! Do it because it is the law, and more importantly, KDWP puts these regs out for a reason! Those huge walleyes out there would be non-existant if the 21" and 2 creel limits weren't in place for such a long period of time. Try to catch a 28" walleye every year on the dam or flats of Wilson Lake. 15" and 5 creel. Won't happen.
Fished the river last night for spawning walleye and it was amazing. No words to explain it so many fish on top of each other it reminded me a Salmon run. We were all actually releasing 21" fish in order to catch bigger ones.
above the lake or below the dam
Fished kingman county got there about 7pm didn't start biting till after 9:30 caught over 25 crappie 12 of them were 10 inches or longer with a 16 inch kicker left at 2 am and they were still biting.
Fished on the River again last night and same results fish everywhere. We were fishing up by freds old bait shop
Has anyone seen if the whites are runnning up river at Marion yet?
I reviewed El Dorado and Sedwick County park: Vic's lake. Check out my site for some great information on bass fishing at either of those lakes.
www.kansasbass.blogspot.com
no whites in rivers yet water temp needs to get a little warmer ,next week looks nice ....jer
Went out to McPherson State Fishing lake (Maxwell) on Monday 3.29.10 for a couple hours after work. Got skunked, but guy in a boat said the water temp was showing 54 degrees on his fish finder, so they should get going soon!
Ryan
New KBR on Kingman SFL
caught 12 nice big crappie at kingman 3-31 but no pike , good eatin jer
Anyone fishing for crappie out at El Do? That's where I usually go, but I haven't been yet this year. Any reports would be awesome, thanks!
I saw a couple at El Dorado with a cooler full of crappie fishing a slip at Shady Creek last week.
KBR
Fished Marion Co. Lake 4.4.10. Caught three nice crappies 10-12" in about 4-5' of water near the bank in brush. Using a chart. jighead with a smoke colored tube with a beetle-spin style spinner. Fished low and slow. Caught several smaller bass, largest was probably 1 1/2 lbs, and one huge bluegill. Tried other color combos and fished them under a bobber some too, but they all hit that one setup.
Ryan
Fished Cheney Sunday night, tried trolling a bit, no luck there moved into a shallow cove around some timber about an 2 hours before dusk and got into a good bunch of wipers. Caught a 7, 5, and 4 pounders, let em go today. All were in about 5-7 feet of water. Had some 18-20 solid hits but my jighead hooks were too weak and kept bending open. Will change that next time. Helluva fight though. Usin pearl white sliders. Wish this wind would die off.
Anyone have any advice about fishing Winfield lake? looking for wipers, whites, and walleye from the shore....anything would be helpful. Lure, bait, rig?
Where about is this cove you were catching the wipers in? Almost pay to know...
ElDorado lake I think people are catching crappie at the north end of the lake where the walnut river enters the lake but i do not know how to get up there and the approximate location. but if somebody could tell us that would be great. i have fished at the lake 4 times and have not got any results. I live in eldorado and i am a rookie and would like a little help if someone would. Thanks
http://kdwp.state.ks.us/news/content/download/4550/22109/file/El%20Dorado%20RES%20&%20WA.pdf There's a map of the lake in that brochure, Mike
Take 54 east out of Eldorado, go to the road for bluestem point and go north. Take this road past bluestem point and you will come to a bridge and at the end of the bridge there is a dirt road turn left and this road will take you back to the river that feeds the lake and there is a boat ramp there. We have caught alot of fish up in the river, big flathead, walleye, crappie, and white bass. just be very carefull if you boat up in there as there is alot of stumps under the water.
planning on fishing for walleye on the river at cheney across the shooting range this weekend. i always have trouble with the river current. Anyone know walleye rigs that work good in rivers?
New KBR on Butler SFL.
www.kansasbass.blogspot.com
if you r going to cheney river try jigs for some wiper or white bass it should be anytime for them to be in the river ,walleye spawn is over and they have moved to shallow points on the lake
Does anyone know if there are any bass in the ponds at the NW water plant?
RE: Bass in the NW Water Reclamation Plant Ponds
Yes - There are Largemouth Bass, Sunfish and Channel Catfish in both ponds at this location. They haven't been there long, but they should be up to 2 lbs.
Jessica
caught a 13" bass at the water reclamation pond last fall. spinner along the rocks on a windy day
Does anyone else beleive that putting wipers in a lake is detremental to the crappie population. I am not a fan of wipers they are fun to catch but they eat every thing they see includeing our crappie. They cant breed, so have to be stocked to keep a population which takes money that could be used for habitat or other uses for fish that are worth while and can sustain their own population by breeding.
Thinkin' about heading to Cheney for some wipers this weekend, front is going to hurt but gotta go when you can. Any advice on finding the bigger fish (5+lbs)? I was going to start out around M&m and Wichita..
wading and trolling around wichita point and refuge area is good this time of year use rattletraps and berkley jigs fish can be found shallow 3-6 ft ..hope this helps some ..jer
wipers not being able to reproduce is exactly why they are no threat to your crappie. If anything it will increase the size of crappie you are catching.
I am going to go to butler state lake this weekend, just wondering if anyone has been out catching bass there. i am taking my 3 year old doughter, so any tips to make it a successful day would be greatly appreciated.
thanks
went to Cheney saturday about noon, fished by Yoder and then around Wichita. Only saw a few others out. We couldn't find fish in less than 15' of water. Even when we did find them they weren't biting. Maybe another week or so and they will liven up.
Fished Harvey County East Lake Saturday and Sunday mornings. I manage to catch around 2 dozen crappie each day with a couple large mouth base thrown in there. Fish were all caught in 1’-3’ of water from lay downs and brush from the shore. Most of the crappie were males and were also Black Crappies (except for two male white crappies). Size range from 8” to 10” with most in the 9” size.
does anyone ever fish cowley sfl? or any other water in that area? just looking for some general info about the fishing to see if its worth the drive
Went to cowley SFL weekend before last and cought quite a few small largemouth casting from the bank useing a plastic salt craw. There were a few people catching some crappie. This was my first time being there in around 14 years and it is a very nice clean lake, just wish I had a boat to enjoy it more.
I used to fish Cowley quite a bit 3-5 years ago. At that time it had a pretty good population of largemouth.I assume it still does. I never caught a lunker but several in the 2-3 lb range. I even caught one smallmouth.
went to pratt co lake caught a couple 2lb smallmouth and several smaller walleye no bigger than 16inches, had nice wiper on that broke my line,it was fun let all fish go today ..fishin pal jer
I went to Butler County lake on Monday I only cought 1 fish but it was about a 3.5lb largemouth just wanted to share.
Fished El Dorado today from 2 to 8 started at the rock quarry caught 1 7in crappie and then nothing else. moved to the northeast side of the lake off cole creek road. caught 1 10in and 2 under 7in. Was pretty slow day
I was at Cheney Sunday night, well actually at the river in Deweese Park. We could see some REALLY big fish moving around,Fish were EVERYWHERE splashing, some appeared to be chasing or being chased. I couldn't get them to bite on worms, white perch or lures though.
Can anyone explain this?
Sittingmonkey,
Could you see what kind of fish they were? If they were carp, they likely were more interested in spawning- not eating.
To me the flashes I got of the fish looked more silver than gold, but I could be wrong.
I tried my luck at the Chisholm lake complex in Clearwater, and it was slow (to say the least). I used a wide variety of proven baits, along with fishing both on the bottom and with floats all over the place, and all I caught was 2 teeny juvenile channel cat. (Oh, and a gizzard shad that flipped right out of the water and landed at my feet.) I was pretty disappointed.
Fished Cheney the other night and boy was it great! Between two of us we caught a bunch of white bass, 3 carp all were about 5-7lbs,3 channel cats biggest 8lbs, 2 flathead biggest 5lbs, 2 walleyes both over 26inch!! One of them was blind or something his eyes where concaved and just wierd looking Also caught 3 wipers 5lbs 7lbs and one was 11.48lb big female.All caught on live bait and some cutbait, from the bank!!! Funniest night of fishing in a long time.
30inches
Fished Kingman SFL, took my daughter, dad, and brother so I knew it wouldn't be as intense fishing as I would have done. High sun on sunday. The lake is ready for me to devour... vegetation is everywhere. Only managed one large crappie from the brush pile using a brown jig.
I fish Cowley a couple of times a week. The crappie, bluegill, redear, largemouth have been picking up recently. Planned on fishing for crappie tonight, but tossed in a leech to check and see if the bigger 'gills have started moving in yet. Caught a 10" redear on my 3rd cast. Kept eight 'gills - all fat, aggressive males. Each of these were right at nine inches. Threw back just as many that were not quite as big. It was great fun. Never did get around to getting my crappie pole out. I fished from 7pm to 8:30. If you got young kids you'd like to get 'hooked' on fishing, this is a great lake to take them to. Decent bank access, but yeah...a boat would get you to the south side to some interesting spots.
Planning on going to Kingman SFL tomorrow (5-8-10)morning to see if we cant find some crappie. Anyone have any suggestions??
went to marion caught 5 keeper one was over 21 inches walleye on worms ..good eatin ..jer
can anyone tell me where I can take my kids to catch some bullhead cats? any help would be great, thanks. davek
dont know how many people still fish the arkansas but went out saturday for about 3 hours had a good time didnt catch alot but what we did catch was some real big cats, just a couple cats but they were between 30"-35" almost didnt bring strong enough equipment :-) a lot of fun though
Fished Cheney Friday night til dark, trolling and running shad wraps. Pulled several wipers 2 to 10 lbs in 18 to 25 foot of water.
Does anyone know where to fish the arkansas in and around derby
whats a good lure to use in the cheney river be cause in heading out there saturday
Harvey County East Sat/Sun 15th/16th
Got about in a couple of hours each day to fish in the morning.
Shore fished the West end Saturday morning (water temp 64° ) and manage half dozen crappie 8” to 10.5”. Mostly males that were still sporting their spawning colors.
Shored fished rip-rap Sunday morning in the fog/rain (water temp 62°). One largemouth, one white bass and around 2 dozen bluegills. The bluegills were 7” to 8.5” and very healthy. I few females in the bunch were shaped like footballs (full of eggs).
anyone know how to do a jig n crawler combo?
You can learn by doing.
Tie jighead on, then hook nightcrawler about 1/4" behind head and tread crawler on until most of hook is covered by worm, sometime I wrap the end of the worm back around hooking it one more time making a loop if the back half of worm keeps getting bit off and no hook ups.
can you fish a jig n crawler on land or on a boat or both?
I hit the Clearwater ponds last night, and the catfish were biting like crazy on minnows (alive or dead), liver, and worms. Caught my limit in less than two hours and left...the fifty trillion mosquito bites were worth it. My only problem was all the blasted turtles- someone really needs to trap them out, as they're seriously overpopulated in there.
I love the fact that Island Pond is a catch and release/artificial lures only lake. Surely there are enough sport anglers out there to justify the same rules at a few more ponds here in town.
Sometimes fish can be caught from the bank more easily from a boat. I went fishing this last weekend, and we caught the most fish when we let our jigs sit motionless instead of moving so if you have access to a good spot close to the bank you may be able to get into some, boats just give you access to hundreds of more spots further from shore. I always try to fish points where the wind blows into or accross a high or low spot compared to the surrounding area. Good luck, I hope you get a couple.
Anyone getting many walleye over 21" at El Dorado? Is there a ratio of shorts to keepers? I would like to go with at least a chance of catching some keepers. Do I need to bring a ton of worms?
Thanks
J
Is there any place at Cheney to fish for wipers from the bank?
j the water is really starting to warm. 2 to 3 mph trolling might be the ticket. One method I've seen work is to troll a 3/4 -1 oz. rubber bass jig in the propwash. Can't figure out why that works except there's oxygen being make from the propellor. Could be the way to a 6 or 7 pounder per day. Hot n tots should work but trolling speed needs to be slower. Being lazy like I am, my way would be to find a main lake point with real deep water nearby and use slip bobbers rigs with half dollar size pieces of crappie. Find a point where all boat traffic can see you anchored or tied off and hopefully they'll stay clear. Eventually, with the calmer water, the fish will show up. Set floats from 15 to 18 ft. deep using slipbobber knots. When the going's good, you won't be able to keep 2 rods going. For the next couple of weeks, these methods will work during the daylight hours. Thank you for bringing back some good memories.
and another thing... when I was out fishing seriously for walleye, my goto rig would be the 1, 1.5, and 2 ounce bottom bouncer with a half nightcrawler. Make sure both eyes of bouncer have swivels with clasps/clips. Leaders used would be 3 to 3 1/2 ft. for length. 10 or 12# mono., sometimes 14# test. End of leader has a barrel swivel without the clasp. Attach that to the bottom bouncer. Clevis and size 6 or 7 colorado blade are next. Chartreuse and copper/ brass colors were used mostly, but chrome had it's day too. Use 1 big red bead or 2 smaller 1/8 inch beads. Next is another barrel swivel w/o the clasp. Attach a split ring to the hook and turn that on/into the end swivel. This rig will stay twist-free except in the fastest of current. Sometimes there will be a wind driven current on top, but 20 or so feet under, the current will be going the opposite direction. That will be the time to untangle and move. Turn fish finder on and find the 22-28 ft depths on the flats and slow to a crawl and lower rigs to the bottom. One ounce will run farther back and 2 ounce will stay closer to the boat. If it's just 1 person fishing, 2 one ouncers will work. I made my own casting for the lead part of the bouncer and foung an old couch that had the wire. Gauge is slightly thicker (1/3 mm) than regular bouncer wire. It's a better feeling knowing you won't have to fret over lost money if you snag rigs. Thread nightcrawler so that it's head goes over the split ring and over the swivel. Leave about 2 inches or so hanging loose and troll into the wind. There were days when I had planned on trolling for 4 or 5 hrs with this rig but had my limit within 15 minutes. It wasn't much fun but it makes me wonder why don't they hit like that every day? You can't catch'em if you don't try.
Does anyone know when catfish will be stocked again in Clearwater? The place is pretty much fished out; I'd love to see the GW out there, as people have been taking up to 30 catfish at a time.
Clearwater is scheduled to receive a stocking of channel catfish on July 8, 2010.
As always, if you witness an individual breaking the law (including Kansas fishing regulations) please call 911 or Operation Game Thief at 1-877-426-3843 (program it into your cell phone!)
Thanks,
Jessica
What is the word on walleye out at El Dorado? Are people having a hard time coming up with keepers with the new length limit? I am headed over there for Fathers Day weekend and wanted to try and catch some 'eyes. Generally I pull spinners or lindy rigs, are the white perch bad enough to negate crawlers?
Thanks,
Rick
I would like to know a little about the walleye as well. Well not a little alot since i have never fished for walleye. I was wondering if someone could give me a few pointers. What is the best way to catch them? In a boat? on land? i have a boat but i am not shur how to go about it. Do you use a jig and pig and just drift with it bouncing off the bottom or do you just ancor and just fish verticaly. i have alot to learn but i am willing since i live in eldorado and everyone says that that is the best fish out at the lake. Thanks for any help you can provide.
There are several methods to use Mikeyc. The basics are jig'n, rig'n and trollin'. Jigging is just that, jusing jigs, mostly tipped with either crawlers, leeches or minnows, but not always. Rigging is just live bait rigs, such as the lindy rig. These are mostly what is used when drifting accross points and flats. Simply put a slip weight (walking sinker or egg sinker) above a swivel with a 2-4 ft leader and a hook with your choice of live bait. Sometimes you might have to go to a floating jighead instead of a strait hook to get bit. Another simple way to catch eyes it to troll. Finding out what depth the fish are is the most important factor. Choose a crank bait that will get to the desired depth and put it anywhere from 50-150ft behind the boat. You have to experiment with length of line, color and type of plug, but you can usually get bit trolling. You also catch a lot of white bass and wipers too.
I know that is a quick crash course but do a little research on you tube and you should be able to piece something together to go try. Don't get discouraged if you don't find the fish right away, just keep looking. If you are fishing 5-10ft and not getting bit, move to 12-15ft....and then further out. Odds are you will run into them somewhere.
GOOD LUCK!
Kinch
Mike -try everything kinch suggests. Keep in mind to read various articles or books on walleye fishing. They are great motivators. Here's two things that will help if you are serious- Rent a boat slip at the marina and go fishing everyday if you can. 4 to 5 days per week will be normal. And hit the creeks during the white bass run. This type of fishing (jigs) will make you a better all around fisherman. I had a fishing buddy tap me for all kinds of info about walleye fishing. Some of his methods or even the color scheme of lures he'd choose some days I would never of thought to try. Good luck in finding your way of catching them.
to fish the jig n pig. a baitcaster with 6 to 1 gear ratio or similiar. 12 - 14# line. Fishing standing timber, simply cast to each log to see if any fish are at home. I heard a story from a bass tournament regular from hillsdale lake-late 1980's- who said there are all kinds of walleye in the trees. He didn't care for them while bass fishing. For the pig part of the rig, anything can be used but a shortened piece of plastic crawdad looks the best to me. My personable best largemouth and walleye on jig n pig are 8 # and 4# respectively. Both were released after being caught and admired for a bit.
this is mikeyc. i could not reember my other account so had to use this one. Thanks for all of your input, and i will be out there trying some things. i greatly appreciate it.
Thanks
here is something that I wished I could of perfected, or at least try more than I did. With the boat look for fish busting the surface. Make long cast and use 2 rods with lures because while landing a hooked fish, the rest of the school will go back deep. Two rigs make this a little better fishing. Watch the surface without spooking the fish and chase the schools around. Sometimes it will be whites, largemouth, or channel cat. The walleye will be the brownish-gold colored fish. They (walleyes) are tough to catch but the challenge is there. They surface from every 15 to 25 minutes or so when they are feeding, but anything out of the ordinary sends them off the surface feed. Stay about 50-60 yards away if possible. You might want to try the nightime bite. I have caught them at 3 a.m. before trolling with whatever but disconnect the rear lights and just leave the red/green front on. As long as you are trolling, I think this is still legal to do.
Caught my first white perch on 6/15, at El Dorado, since hearing about the unfortunate release into the lake last year. Admittedly, I haven't fished there much, since hearing this last fall, until earlier in May this year. Hadn't caught any, accidentally, while walleye fishing, until last Tuesday. They seemed to be located around the old underwater rock quarry, near the mouth of the Satchel creek arm, and the main lake. The perch were all about the size of my hand. I hated to personally confirm that they were, in fact, there, just like at Cheney. For me, the white perch at Cheney killed the nightcrawler fishing, and I had to go to trolling as my only means of catching walleye, there. I got tired of feeding all my bait to the bait-stealers. You couldn't get a worm to the bottom to catch a walleye, before it was eaten off your hook. El Dorado doesn't seem to be that bad, right now, but I'm sure it's headed that way.
Tony C.
Catfisherman, just a heads up there is a tournament out at lake Afton this Sat evening open to the public, more info at local baitshops, and out at Lake Afton, hope everyone can make it...
Went up north and caught MANY walleye trolling at nite. Lights do not bother the fish. Leave the stern light on. We had the boats lit up like Christmas.
at ElDorado been getting several 21-24 inch walleye each day with jig and worm in 14 ft water along the middle of Dam. Takes about 3 hrs every time but worth it.
turning your stern light off will net you a ticket.
well, by all means be a legal boater.
turning your stern light off COULD net you a ticket.
The ticket would be inconvenient, but getting smashed by someone who didnt see mee would be worse. Remember, nobody needs a license to drive a boat. You don't have to prove to anyone that you know how to operate a boat safely. I want to make sure EVERYBODY can see me when i'm on the lake at night.
who ever was catching several 21-24" walleye off the dam at El Dorado should have been in the tournament over the weekend. 2 fish won it and only 11 fish were weighed in out of 51 boats.
Anyone have any info on Marion, Marion county, or either oneof the Harvey county lakes? Jessica's reports haven't changed since may. Hopefully she will do her damn job one of these days.
Where might be a good pontoon boat accessible location at El Dorado Lake to catch some bluegill or other sunfish with my 3 year old daughter?
Thank you.
Anonymous,
Thanks for your input. I appreciate that you're taking the time to remind me to do my fishing reports.
That said, my reports do rely on information from anglers like yourself... it's impossible for me to actually "do my job" AND fish all the lakes in my district myself every week to get this information you're interested in.
Please give me a call sometime, I'd love to talk about fishing with you, or any other angler willing to help me out by fishing the lakes and sharing the information with the other anglers of Kansas.
Jessica
316.683.8069
i have an opinion about harvey county lake. Reading the power/lunker ratings earlier this year, I noticed that lake had bigger than average bluegills, which should lead to bigger than average bass. That's where I would go for trophy largemouth.
I will definitely call you and pass on how I do fishing. In the mean time you might consider calling any of the park rangers or any other game wardens etc that work at these lakes. I would also make a weekly phone call to the local bait shops. All of these people are in contact with fishermen on a daily basis. Some people like to fish different lakes and it's nice to have an up to date report not reading that the crappie fishing is picking up in the heated dock at Marion co. If that was still the case it should be unreal fishing as it's been picking up in the heated dock since march.
do you really think that the biologists doesn't at least make phone calls and talk to people before she updates those reports. Get off her back and GO FISHING and THEN POST your fishing report. stop gripping.
if you were her, you could get into everybody's fishing business and write tickets for violations and such. As long as you don't write your own mother a ticket, you would be a nicer warden than the old guy who used to patrol the Redmond area. Not speaking of Mr. Ray, but the other guy.
Fishing report for Lake Afton... I have fished this lake for the past 12 years and year by year I seem to catch less channel cats. What is caught is between 6-9 ounces. This lake used to be a great fishing hole for 3 pounders..Any idea what happened. last three times I have fished for about 3 hours and not a single bite. The fishing docks are now used a diving boards and people treat this lake as a big swimming hole. Mark please get ahold of this resource. Miss my old favorite place to fish...:(
I don't know much about Lake Afton, but here's a twilight technique that works for me. A red-tipped lighted slipbobber using cut bait. You'll need a riprap, rocky area if possible. Catfish hate those lights for some reason. I think it's the battery smell or the red light on the rocks below, but they should run 2 1/2# to 4# if that lake is any good. I'm not kwdp, but suggest to them to lower the lake and offer public fish salvage for a couple of years to really see what that lake is about. Another method that will work is to cast your bait right into the thickest cover in the area. Even if it is 1 ft. deep and 10 ft off the bank. This will be nighttime fishing here with no lights (lanterns) and if the raccoons show up, I'd put in some time there. But guard the bait bucket or they will raid it.
RE: Lake Afton
I just wanted to let you know that a few hundred 5+ lb channel catfish were stocked yesterday at Lake Afton!
This is in addition to the monthly stocking of over 1000 lbs of adult channel catfish (3/4 lb and up) we've been stocking all summer. The next monthly stocking is scheduled for tomorrow (7/16/10).
As far as knowing what's in the lake: I do sample the fish population in the spring and fall every year. The bottom line is that the lake gets quite a few channel catfish stocked every year, has a decent crappie and sunfish population and a small saugyeye/walleye population... but it also gets a lot of fishing pressure.
Thanks for your comments!
Jessica
Try using 3-4" live bluegills at night. Ten will be enough for a limit of channel cat. Leave rods down low on a rock so fish can drag them along the ground or at the very least, when they keep the tip bent when pulling and pop'em good when the rod stays bent. They don't get big by being stupid.
Hey anonymous dissing the KDWP staff... why don't you get some skill and learn to catch fish. If you have 20 lakes to manage the fishing report is just an extra. Many states don't have their wildlife and parks give any reports... zero. The biologist are spending most of the time making sure the lakes are stable and holding up populations of fish for the people that know how to fish and don't need a report to wait for something to suddenly say excellent to go out and fish. Any fisherman with experience knows that fishing can turn on a dime. You should only use reports on KDWP as a guide. Water temps if posted, ice reports, species spawning, if power plant is running, etc. Mark can fish Cheney and always catch fish and nearly decent fish every time. And he can go any time and know what to do.
Fishing is about the challenge and learning how to overcome what the weather, body of water, and fish activity offers up that current day. If you want easy lazy fishing mode... go to the store for 100% success.
I fished Harvey County East Lake this morning (Wed 21st) for a couple hours. Ended up caching a dozen + bluegills mostly 6" to 7" size range, a couple small channel cats and half dozen black crappies ~10" size. All were caught along rock rip-rap 2’-3’ deep and 10’-15’ from the shore on 1/32oz white body jigs. The water was its typical less then a foot visibility and at full pool.
me and my friend have been trying our best to find a spot around the wichita area to catch some flat heads. does anyone know of some good spots and maybe what to use?
Live bait! Big lively sunfish, carp, bullhead, crappie etc. Arkansas River anywhere really (just look for deep holes and structure) Cheney, Wellington. Put in the time and you'll catch some fish.
I was told the ninnescah had flathead ,but that was back in the early 1970's. The area was between wichita and segdwick but I might be mistaken. One way to drawn them in is to wedge a baitbucket or a deadfish on waters edge for at least half a day and come back that evening. It will be better if you wait until the next morning. I think the flatheads weakness would be if you were to use creek chubs. Don't under estimate the use of crawdads either.
but....if you are using a boat, limb lines and trotline would be the way to try. Tie the trotline underwater so that no one else can run them. Mark it on the bank somewheres. Assuming you have a boat, use the limb/bank lines during the day to figure where the fish are and check them every 2 hrs. or so. It might take a week or so to figure them out, so like Dave said, "put in the time". If you feel like driving for a bit, the Fall River stilling basin should be loaded with flathead, but do use legal methods to catch them.
I'm heading out to Cheney tonight. Catfish time. Where is a good place to go. I've fished this lake off and on for 5 years now and haven't really caught anything worth keeping. I know the water level is up right now and people are talking about the feeders. But I've only managed to catch carp there. Someone help. I really need to get some catfish together for a fish fry
hey buddy to above, set trot lines down at cheney in some coves use and shad gizzards or shad sides and even chicken liver that will get u some catfish , remember to mark ur trot line with a jug ....fishin pal jer
I'm just recently getting back into fishing after a 8 year layoff. I moved here from SC 8 Years ago and that's when I stopped fishing. I didn't feel that KS was anywhere near close to the fishing I did in SC. Well I was wrong. There might not be the big lakes here, but the pond action is really got the fishing bug biting me again. I've been hitting a variety of KDWP lakes/ponds around Wichita. But I seem that there's only 1 that I ever do any good at. I'm fishing mainly for Bass. Althought I think I'm gonna start trying my hand at Walleye/Saugeye, and Pike soon. I would like to try Cheney, Afton, El Dorado, Kingman State Fishing Lake, and even Butler Co State Fishing Lake. I've never been to any of these places. Nor have I even seen these lakes. I fish from shore, and I was wondering if I could get any kind of insight from other fisherman on these places.
I've caught a few ~3lb Bass this year. But only out of 1 place. I always release what I catch, cause I wanna be able to catch them again when they get bigger. ;)
Thanks for the KDWP for having this site. It is a great tool to have for new people to get the low down on Local Waters.
Thanks,
South Carolinian living in Kansas
It's been a while back, but I think Babe Winkleman filmed an episode of largemouth bass fishing. El Dorado reservior/walnut river if I remember right. To get to the point, that was the most bass in one setting I have ever seen come out of Kansas. Looked like 4 to 6 pounders all day long during early-mid spring.
Has anybody fished Cheney recently? What's the word on the water level? I heard it was still up 3.5 ft. Any good shore access?
Going to Butler SFL soon then back to El Dorado for smallmouth fishing. Water temp is a little high but we will give it a shot. Will report back to here when I get the chance.
to above , if ur going to kingman lake use minnows under a bobber on the back side of lake were islands are or any rock jettie i have caught good pike and numerous big crappie there , also its better to fish in early spring or fall cause in summer thers to much moss and lilly pads but thats how the pike survive the hot summer at kingman lake, if u go to cheney lake wade out off of wichita point or m&m point go out about waist deep and cast rattle traps or cast master spoons , the month of august is good for wading at cheney hope this helps ...fishin pal jer
Fished El Dorado yesterday for Smallies so we basically fished the southern end of it. We did not fish "hard" if you will because we didn't get out there till like 7 o clock so we only had about an hour and forty five minutes. There was a group fishing a place we wanted to fish at and they were catching them in about 10 foot of water. Thats about all I have. We are gonna go out some other time for a longer period of time and really fish hard soon.
went to marion co . caught nice 20in saugeye on 2nd cast and numerous other small catfish , bass , and small wiper they say there are white bass in the lake but i never have caught out of marion co lake in 8 years ive fished it . i wonder if there mistaken small wiper for white bass . also i used to catch 4-8 lb wiper at marion co lake all day long now you can only catch small ones it seems like...good fishin ...fishin pal jer
went to marion co . caught nice 20in saugeye on 2nd cast and numerous other small catfish , bass , and small wiper they say there are white bass in the lake but i never have caught out of marion co lake in 8 years ive fished it . i wonder if there mistaken small wiper for white bass . also i used to catch 4-8 lb wiper at marion co lake all day long now you can only catch small ones it seems like...good fishin ...fishin pal jer
Sounds like fun there. What will help to rid the little ones/make the bigger fishes active is to check the weather report for the area your going to fish. I started this last year before venturing out- Check the U.V. rating. It goes up to 16 on a scale of 0 to 16. If it reads 3 or lower and the barometric pressure is stable and low enough, not much keeps me from hittin' the road. Sounds like nobody there knows anymore than you about the white/wiper situation there.
M&M point campground the water is still up to the campsites, Wichita point day use area is fishable from the bank again. Went to the north side and there is alot of beach erosion from the high water and the strong south winds. Didn't have any problems catching shad for bait but couldn't keep those darn drum from eating them as soon as they hit the water.
Cheney Lake: Water is still three foot high and murky.M&M point campground the water is still up to the campsites, Wichita point day use area is fishable from the bank again. Went to the north side and there is alot of beach erosion from the high water and the strong south winds. Didn't have any problems catching shad for bait but couldn't keep those darn drum from eating them as soon as they hit the water.
I’ve fished Harvey County East Lake for a couple hours early in the morning (31 July) and had good luck with crappie along the rock rip-rap. Picked up 14 black crappie around 9.5” to 10” in size (nice health fish) using 1/32 oz white body jig 2’ to 3’ deep.
comment about marion co lake, i believe there should and still is big wiper in marion co lake .but i was wondering if those smaller wiper hit your lures and bait before the bigger ones can get to it, maybe thats why i havnt caught big wiper there in the last few years , also it seems the saugeye population as gone down the last few years some , i now only catch bigger saugeye but less numbers there , all saugeye i catch seem to be 18inches to 21 inches no small ones and i know they have stocked small saugeye in recent years at marion co. ...i know alot about marion co lake as its my favorite small lake to go to ...im goin there this weekend try for catfish or anything else ...fishin pal jer
153 acres of water at Marion isn't a lot of room for a bunch of big hybrids, but willing to bet there is a handful. If it were me, I'd motor all around the lake looking for the most and biggest fish showing up on the fish finder. Not necessarily alot of fish, just the big ones. They should be loosely schooled. Take note every time you go and fish for them on the least busiest days. Tuesday and a.m. Wed. from my experience. Changing techniques is tough for me to do, but if I couldn't net/catch shad, I'd get a bucket full of green sunfish/bluegill and livebait rig them to the level of the fish. If the bait dies, put on another one. I'm sure the fish recognize the sound of your boat, so that's good for you. Look for places in the area where they can ambush prey. Deep weeds with an underground spring bubbling located on the end of a point would be good. Not spooking them with the shadow of the boat would be something to keep in mind. It could be a lake that just grows 6 pounders max., but saugeye the size your catching is telling me not very many people are catching them meaning that's more for you. They (wipers) could be hanging with the bigger largemouth and probably are just as wary. I've noticed the good ones will surface real early in the morning in summer but associate noise as danger or an inconvenience. Good luck.
thanks , this is a good place for us fisherman to share good info i will keep posting as needed..fishin pal jer
For anybody who fishes that north side eroded beach area at Cheney-
Try that for post spawn walleye next May. With the south wind, that will be the resting/feeding areas the walleye will use. If there is a submerged road bed nearby, that's the spot.
went to marion co lake for night fishing, well i know for a fact the 4- 8 lb wiper are in the lake i caught 10 of em on mayflies it was nice to see them come up to the top and bite but most were 15 - 20 inches that i caught, but i seen those 7 and 8 pounders swimming under the lights, i think the smaller wiper do hit your bait before the big ones get to it, also it says white bass are good at marion co lake , but i swear i have never caught a white bass at marion co lake in the 8 years ive fished it , i have caught good white bass at harvey co east lake though ,all in all it was a blast fishin friday night we also caught 3 nice catfish and some huge bluegill, one catfish was 7 pounds ....good eatin fishin pal jer
To the SC person. Kingman is a favorite of mine and the only place you will find a decent population of pike. But as another poster said it's vegetation city. I tend to almost always fish that lonely rock pier by the river access part of the lake. I have caught everything in that area. But when it's thick with pads just use a spinnerbait and toss right into the thick pads. Many times I let the bait sit on top of the pads and once it drops in the water I get a hit. Use heavy line though. Once the pads are all around you can fish many of the spots from shore.
Butler I fish frequently. It used to be nice to fish from shore using some waders in the back areas of the lake. There made a few walkway piers that have trees all along the shoreline. It used to get heavily vegetated so I used to just stake a spot and catch tons of bass in the vegetation. Lately many bass linger in the same pier walkways, but they are tight to shore, which makes fishing tough due to the brush/trees. I have caught a few bass to the right of the dam in the little cove. I've seen a nice bass come out by the docks since there are some submerged trees in there. The first walkway pier in the back of the lake and right to the right is a bunch of sunken tires that will hold catfish. I have caught a fair amount of bass in the back creek area of there as well.
In town... I have had the most success at KDOT west. Caught some decent crappie in there as well. If you go to the left of it when you enter and then around the corner there is some trees about forty feet out or so and that's where I caught my bass and crappie of decent size. Then the rest of my bass have been just from in the trees and any tight spot no one else tries to fish.
Buffalo park is another good place, but it gets heavily vegetated. But I have caught a few bass on the far left shore in Feb I believe off a jig.
South Lake is very clear and deep. I have caught a few bass on the back area of the lake using a jerk bait with no weight. Then if you go to the far right there is a shallow pond connected to it with coontail type vegetation, but I pulled a nice bass out of there, but have to go weedless.
Emory park has bass in there, but it's not very old... so no large bass yet... or maybe just getting there.
Afton has some decent bass and crappie, but I haven't really fished there.
Hope that gets you started. I fish mainly for bass and I tend to try every small body of water I can.
Do northern pike spawn in kingman lake?
Yes, Kingman State Fishing Lake has a self-sustaining population of northern pike and is the only public lake in the state that supports a pike population. Cool water springs keep the lake cool enough to carry over fish in the summer and abundant vegetation aids in spawning and recruitment of pike at Kingman. I've heard the pike fishing has been good lately, even in the heat, so get out and give it a try.
Remember pike are a cool water fish, so if you hook one, do your best to land it quickly and get it back in the water as fast as you can if you plan to release the fish. This heat really stresses pike, so snap a quick picture and let them swim another day if you don't plan on harvesting the fish. The minimum length limit for pike is 30 inches with a daily creel limit of 2/person.
Jeff Koch
KDWP Fisheries Biologist
Does Kingman Lake have flatheads or carp in it?
To the person asking about flatheads and carp, almost every lake and waterway in KS has Carp in it but I am not sure about the flatheads.
Thanks for info. about the pike.
I have not seen a pike since the early 1970's. The one I did see was bigger than me. I was 5 -7 years of age then. Some years later a bait shop operator said he saw pike estimated at 30-35 pounds. They would follow the baskets of crappie being pulled up the side of the boats when moving but wouldn't hit any bait/lures. This was at Wyandotte county lake. (N.E. KS) The pike didn't seem to produce any offspring but we did have a lot of weedy water back then. I did see a tiger muskie caught at Clinton lake back when it was a newly opened fishery. About 12-15 #. Thanks again.
very good info i believe pike also use to be in cheney res , marion co lake , and council grove holds the state record pike, but those lakes no longer have pike any longer they havnt been in those lakes since the 70s for one reason or another ...fishin pal jer
Harvey County East lake Sunday Morning for a few hours before the heat.
Caught just over a dozen crappie 9” to 10” in size along rocks (all black crappie) using small jigs. Similar number of bluegills but on the small size 5” to 7” along with a couple channel cats.
Anonymous,
Yes, Kingman does have carp (some really big ones), but flatheads have never been stocked. That doesn't mean that there aren't a few in the lake that anglers have thrown in from the river. Remember, moving fish from water to water is ILLEGAL and has the potential to ruin fisheries. While on the subject of invasive species, white perch numbers are increasing at Kingman, which will undoubtadley affect the future of sportfish populations at Kingman. It is ILLEGAL to possess white perch alive and should not be taken to any other water for any reason.
On a separate note, pike used to be stocked in lakes around the state, but since Kansas does not have great pike habitat (cool, clear water), stockings were discontinued. Kingman is the only lake in the state that has held over fish from these stockings. Newly renovated lakes have the potential for pike due to clear water, lots of vegetation, and ample habitat, but as lakes age, the habitat niche that pike occupy eventually fades and so do the pike populations.
Jeff Koch
KDWP Fisheries Biologist
I have a question about the Fishing Forecasts. When they do these how often do they electrofish to update the forecast. Is it once a year or whenever they can get to it or what? Also how are the locations for where they survey the fish chosen?
Thanks.
Dominic,
Thanks for all the great info. I really do appreciate it. I've been hitting Emery Pond the past few mornings trying out some new topwater. Got 4 yesterday with a 1/4oz Lime Frog Skitter Pop. They were all under 1 1/2lb. I think I'm either going to KDOT West or Buffalo this morning after work.
I'm going to have to get out to Kingman and try to get a Pike. I've never caught one before. Really exciting stuff.
I've only caught 1 out of Southlake, and it was a .5lb Bass on a Rapala Original Floater. That place has been the bain of my fishing season this year. I know that Saugeye are in there, and I was hoping to get one. I just don't think I can get out deep enough from shore.
Thanks again for the info guys.
I'll post up my catchings or lack there of every week.
Andy
The fishing forecasts are published every year.
More information is available here: http://www.kdwp.state.ks.us/news/Fishing/Fishing-Forecast
Many of the waters are sampled yearly, however some are sampled every other year.
Do you still need a ANS certificate
to fish Council Grove city lake?
In response to: Anonymous said...
Do you still need a ANS certificate
to fish Council Grove city lake?
8/13/2010 8:50 AM
Yes, you will still need the ANS certification to fish Council Grove City Lake.
Zebra mussels are only one of the aquatic nuisance species threatening Kansas waters and continuing the ANS certification will assist in keeping additional species (such as white perch or Eurasian watermilfoil) out of the City Lake. Knowledge gained from the ANS certification process required for the Council Grove City Lake will also assist in protecting other Kansas waters from the spread of aquatic nuisance species, especially now since users of the City Lake will have equipment that has been exposed to zebra mussels and they will know what needs to be done to properly treat that equipment before traveling to new waters.
Very good question!!
My little weekly fishing (not catching) Report.
Had the most success at Emery. Early morning pulling a popper. Caught 2 out of the South Hampton ponds in Haysville. Used a Super Fluke there. KDOT west was a bust for me as well as Kingman. I tried everything in my little arsenal. Frog, Senko TexRigged, Popper, Husky Jerk, Shad Rap. Nothing. I did see a couple guys get a few nice ones on Spinnerbaits. Maybe I wasn't holding my mouth right.
Good Luck and Tight Lines.
Not sure if all of the places you went fishing at have weeds/vegetation, but make sure you hit'em again before they all start dying off this fall if they do.
Andy- get a sharp exact-o knife or similar. Grab a fluke and from underneath run the blade all the way through. Start where you leave enough room for rigging a leadhead. Using a steady hand run the blade all the way through to the tail section and split the entire fluke.I use purple leadheads with shad colored fluke style plastic. Almost any color of fluke will work. Doing this will impart at least 3 times more action. A drop of super glue on the leadhead collar will hold the rig together. If you don't use the glue, you'll see why I'm saying to use it. Once you find where you want to fish for walleye or saugeye down there, this jig set up is a good one to find them with. Be ready for smallmouth when you find them also. Use 1/8 oz.
I picked up a pack of 1/8 jigs, I rig it with the Super Fluke or Super Fluke Jr? The regular seems really big for the jig.
Use 1/4 oz. for the super's. Once I caught a 5 1/2# hybrid using 1/32 sized leadhead 3 1/2 - 4" plastic. It is a slower lure decent. If it was shallower depth then, that fish probably would not of hit. But for the time being I would concentrate efforts at any weedbed/lillypad areas until they start dying down. If you can get a fish to surface while topwatering, keep throwing exactly to the same spot where fish surfaced. If after 30 cast or so try another day but do the same thing. Just because she won't hit at 10:00 a.m. doesn't mean she won't hit at 5:00 p.m.
Harvey County East lake Sunday Morning (15-Aug).
Mix bag of fish. Minnows under a float produced about a dozen small Channel cats (1/2 to 2 lbs), a couple dink LM Bass, one Crappie and a 20” Drum. Small jigs with 2” plastic bodies produced a dozen+ black crappies (8.5”-9.5), ½ dozen so small bluegills (7” and under), a few more small channel cats and a couple dink LM Bass.
Harvey County East lake Sunday Late Morning/Early Afternoon (22-Aug).
Late start fishing (10am – 2pm) but still found a few 9”-10” crappies along the riprap, a few bluegills (~6”), a couple small channels cats, LM base and white base. All caught on 1/32oz jigs. Boat traffic was a little heavy after noon time which caused the shoreline to get stirred up a cloudy.
to fisherman above have u caught any saugeye or heard of any being caught at harvey co east lately , also have u caught any decent white bass i used to catch nice white bass there but i would only catch a couple at a time along with the saugeye please reply back ....fishin pal jer
Next time you fish Harvey East
would you mark the spot you've been
fishing with some flags so I can go
try your spot to. Or, if you have
the GPS coordinates would you post
them here on the blog. I really
like to eat fish and you know where
they are. I'll only take my family
and friends, not my neighbors un-
less you think it's alright. I know
a spot at Elk City if you have a
boat.
Thanks Fishmonger
I haven’t target saugeye specifically since early June at Harvey County Easy Lake. At that time I did catch a few just short of the 18” minimum length and a 1 or 2 keepers around 22” by casting shallow shad raps around the E end of the lake (shallower flat area). There were a couple folks running cranks about the same time period and they had similar luck (several shorts with a few keepers on occasions). The past couple of summers I would usually pick up one or two fishing jigs along the shore line while fishing for crappie but nothing this summer. Fall time usually brings the saugeye back into the shore area.
I haven’t target White Bass this summer but did hit one weekend in early July when there was some decent outflow current near the overflow structure which produced a couple dozen. I believe most were around the 10-12” size. Since that time there really hasn’t been any water discharge. Perhaps with the rain we received this morning that could change.
thanks for the info ,wow a couple dozens whites out of harvey east lake, most i ever caught was around 5 in one day but they were all big keeper white bass around 15inches and bigger, but that was almost 5 years ago i caught those on white twister tail jigs off the dam, i also heard there are some 26 inch saugeye in there have u heard that, i used to catch alot of my saugeye trollin there in the boat, but there are alot of snags there u need to remember were the snags r while trollin harvey east, and i would catch those saugeye on a variety of baits such as rattletraps , sassy shad , and twister tail jigs and even caught some using hot n tots and crankbaits .thanks for postin info it helps ....fishin pal jer
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
jessica or craig. could one of you tell me or possibly find out why the stocking records have not been updated on kdwps website since 2008? sure is nice to get the big picture of what has been stocked and the quantities. also, how hard would it be to put an archive up that goes back at least 3 years, 5 would be better. i believe people would find it helpful. i know i would. thanks for all your input to this forum.
RE: Fish Stocking Records
That's a good question - I'm checking into getting an update on line, and whether or not we can have archives shown on the site.
Thanks!
Jessica
Fishin pal Jer,
RE: Fish in the Ninnescah river near the Pratt Operations office and Pratt County Lake
You've got it - all of the species you mention have been seen in the river there, and that spot on the river has provided some good smallie fishing in the past as well.
Jessica
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