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REGION 1

CEDAR BLUFF RESERVOIR     (6,869 Acres)

Updated 11/17/2017

Lake Map

Lake Elevation at Normal Pool: 2144.0 

Inflow: 20 cfs Outflow: 0 cfs

Level:  24.71 feet low Temperature:

Crappie  Good  Up to 15 inches  Jigs, minnows, or small slab spoons fished around the fish attractors.  Anglers reported catching 25 fish in the 10 to 13 inch range on a good day.    

Walleye  Fair  Up to 28 inches  Vertically fishing slab spoons and live bait over edges of deeper points and other drop-offs, or around the fish attractors has produced fish occasionally.  Anglers have reported catching a few keepers in the 18 to 21 inch range.   

White Bass/Wipers  Good  Whites up to 17 inches 

Wipers up to 13 lbs. Vertically fishing slab spoons and live bait over deeper structure such as road beds and points has been good.  Vertically fishing slab spoons around the fish attractors can be good for a few white bass from time to time. 

Rainbow Trout  N/A  N/A  Trout will not be stocked in the Cedar Bluff Stilling basin during the 2016/2017 trout season. 

An established zebra mussel population has been documented at this water making Cedar Bluff an ANS designated water.  With this designation a few new rules are now in effect primarily aimed at discouraging water containing microscopic zebra mussel larvae from leaving the property and establishing in new waters.  Any time one leaves the reservoir it is best to clean mud, vegetation, or attached zebra mussel adults off of boats and other equipment, drain any thing on a boat or other equipment that holds water, and allow boats and other equipment to dry completely before using them at another body of water.  It is now illegal to use wild-caught bait from Cedar Bluff at any other water.  Live fish are not to be taken off the property.  And all livewells and bilges must be drained prior to leaving the property. 

It is illegal to release fish into public water unless it was taken from that water. So please discard any leftover bait in a trash can.

It is illegal to release fish into public water unless it was taken from that water. So please discard any leftover bait in a trash can.

 The daily Creel Limit for Wipers is 2.

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GLEN ELDER RESERVOIR (12,586 Acres)
(WACONDA)

Updated  11/17/2017

Lake Elevation at Normal Pool: 1455.6

Inflow: 1100 cfs Outflow: 1500 cfs

Level: 3.00 Feet high Temperature: 

Lake Map

 Report By:

Please discard of leftover bait in a trash can, even baitfish. Remember it is illegal to release any fish into public water unless it was taken from that water!

Crappie  Fair  8-13 inches  We found the best crappie numbers around the causeway and west of the causeway while sampling this fall.  Anglers should target near the causeway bridge, off the brush piles between Boller Point and the bridge, and near Boller Point.  Most of the fish are in the 10-12 inch range, but a few larger fish are also available to anglers.  The deep brush piles of Campground 3, Swim Beach, Harrison Point, and in Walnut Creek are also good options for crappie anglers this time of year. There are good numbers of crappie in the trout pond that anglers should be able to catch this fall! 

Walleye  Fair to Good  9-23 inches  There have been a few walleye caught over the past few weeks with anglers targeting them along the river channel drops in 15-20 feet of water near Waconda Spring, Wally World, and south of the golf course.  We also collected decent numbers of adult walleye off the south end of the dam, north shore points, and around Walnut Creek.   

White Bass No Report

Wipers Good  11-17 inches 19-24 inches Anglers have been doing very well on whites and wipers lately from boats and the bank.  There are a lot of smaller white bass being caught, but bigger whites are showing up in the creel as well.  Twistertails and Kastmasters fished off rocky banks and on the windblown side of the reservoir seems to be the best technique.  Boat anglers have also been trolling in Walnut Creek, along the Cawker causeway, and near the south bluffs and reporting good catches.  Fishing off Swim Beach point will yield a mix of white bass and wipers.   

Black Bass  Excellent  10-19 inches  This is a great time to get out there and catch some smallmouth and largemouth bass.  The cooler water in the 50's and 60's will have fish actively feeding throughout the day.  Smallmouth bass can always be found along the dam and in the state park during the fall while largemouth bass can be found in similar areas as well as along the south bluffs, Mill Creek, and Schoen's Cove.  Traditional bass baits all work well in the fall.   

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KANOPOLIS RESERVOIR  (16,000 Acres)

Updated  11/17/2017

Lake Map

Lake Elevation at Normal Pool: 1463.0

Inflow: 25 cfs Outflow: 15 cfs

Level:5.08 feet high Temperature: 

Channel Catfish  Good  Variety  Slow. The bite has slowed due to cooling water temperatures; try cutbait from 8 to 20 foot of water or shallower after lunch and toward the evening. 

Crappie  Fair  Variety of Sizes - mostly 11 to 12 inches  Fair. Crappie have moved to intermediate and deeper depths. Find brush piles or rock off the bank from 6 - 16 ft. depths. Fish near brushpiles off of Loder Point and Yankee Run or near the tower.    

Trout        NOTICE: The second stocking took place on Monday, Nov. 28th with nearly 2,000 rainbow trout. Fish were stocked (from N to S) at power poles #25, 19, 16, 10, 5 and in the bottom pool. Good luck!   

Walleye/Saugeye  Fair  Variety, up to 21"  Fair. Reports of fish in Buzzard Bay Cove. The Fall bite has slowed but fish can still be caught; look for fish at moderate depths off the dam and deeper points. Try jigging small swimbaits or earthworms.   

White Bass  Fair  All sizes - up to 17 inches  Good. The best fishing will be towards the dam or just off the river channel in the middle of the reservoir.   

Wiper  Good  All sizes  Good; reports of fish up to 11 pounds and limits being caught off points and deeper flats near river channel. Try live minnows and trolling soft baits. 

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KIRWIN RESERVOIR (5,000 Acres)

Updated 11/17/2017

Lake Map

Lake Elevation at Normal Pool: 1729.3

Inflow: 120 cfs Outflow: 0 cfs

Level: 1.00 feet low Temperature:

THE RESERVOIR IS OPEN TO BOATS

Crappie  Fair  7 to 17 inches  Are catching crappie around the North and South shore fish attractors using jigs and jigs with minnows.    

Walleye  Fair  15 to 28 inches  Are catching a few off the river channel and railroad flats using jigs and jigs with worms and/or minnows.  Would also try fishing along the dam and river channel trolling diving lures.    

White Bass/ Wiper  Fair  10 to 30 inches  Are catching fish along the Dam and Cottonwood Grove areas.  Would also try fishing along the Crappie Point area using jigs depending on the wind direction and trolling diving lures.  Stocked 100,000 wiper fry on 05-11-16.   

Catfish  Fair  20 to 30 inches  Are catching catfish from Gray's park and up towards the west end using shad and stink bait on the bottom. Would also try fishing up in Bow creek using shrimp and liver on the bottom. 

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LOVEWELL RESERVOIR  (2,986 Acres)

Updated 11/17/2017

Lake Map

Lake Elevation at Normal Pool: 1582.6  

Inflow: 70 cfs Outflow: 38 cfs

Level: 2.00 feet high Temperature:

Walleye  Fair  15-25 inches  The best walleye numbers in the fall are consistently found off the north shore between Cedar Point and Walleye Point and along the north half of the dam.  We also collected good numbers of large walleye around Pawnee Point and the 2-mile Road area this past fall.  Slowly trolling crankbaits might just be the best option this time of year.   

White Bass/Wipers  Fair to Good  7-13 inches14-23 inches The wipers and white bass were scattered a bit during fall sampling last month, but days with a strong south wind has yielded good numbers of fish along the north shore from Cabin Point to Walleye Point.  There have also been decent numbers of whites along the 2-mile road bridge area and near Pawnee Point.   

Channel Catfish  Fair  3-12 pounds  We had a very nice sample of catfish this past fall and they were found pretty much lakewide.  Sizes varied considerably, but many of the fish were between 16 and 22 inches.  These fish can be caught using shad sides, shad gizzards, and stinkbait. There is a 35 inch length limit on blue catfish.  All blue catfish less than 35 inches should be returned to the water immediately.  Please handle these fish with care if you do catch one. 

Crappie  Fair to Good  7-13 inches  There are a lot of crappie in the reservoir now, but most of them are one year old fish less than 10 inches.  There are, however, a fair number of fish between 10 and 13 inches for anglers to target.  Fishing around the deep brush piles off Cabin Point, Cedar Point, and the Marina will be good places to start, but fishing around the marina boat docks can also yield some fish. 

If we get good ice this winter, it would be worth giving crappie a try on the above mentioned spots, but traditionally they have been tough to catch out here once ice forms.

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KEITH SEBELIUS RESERVOIR   (2,300 Acres)
(NORTON)

Updated 11/17/2017

Lake Map

Lake Elevation at Normal Pool: 2304.3

Inflow: 10 cfs Outflow 1 cfs

Level: 11.00 feet low Temperature:57

Remember it is illegal to release any fish into public water unless it was taken from that water! Therefore, please discard leftover bait in a trash can.

Crappie  Fair  7 to 16 inches  Are catching fish off the public fishing dock and private boat slips using jigs and jigs tipped with minnows. Would also try around the 3 fish attractors.   

Saugeye/Walleye  Fair  14 to 26 inches  Are catching fish off the swim beach and up west by the Marsh Dike using jigs and jigs tipped with worms. Would also try fishing along the North end of the Dam and along the south road bed using jigs and jigs tipped with worms or trolling diving lures.  Stocked in 45,000 saugeye fry on 05-19-2016.  Also heard of some short fish being caught, therefore, remember the 18 inch length limit.   

Wiper  Fair  15 to 28 inches  Are catching them at the mouth of Leota cove and Concrete cove using jigs and jigs with worms and/or minnows. Stocked 40,000 wiper fry on 05-11-16. 

Catfish  Fair  14 to 30 inches  Are catching catfish up to the west end using stink bait, liver and worms on the bottom. Also, look for them to come up shallow as they start feeding up for the winter.    

Largemouth/Spotted Bass  Fair  10 to 20 inches  Are catching bass along the Dam, in Leota and Schoen's coves and up by the sand pit using artificial baits and crankbait's.  Remember there is a 15" length limit on all bass. 

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WEBSTER RESERVOIR    (3,740 Acres)

Updated 11/17/2017

Lake Map

Lake Elevation at Normal Pool:1892.5  

Inflow: 100 cfs Outflow: 215 cfs

Level: 2.00 feet high Temperature:

Crappie  Poor  9 to 17 inches  Catching a few crappie around the north and south shore breakwater's and fish attractor's using jigs and jigs tipped with minnows.   

Walleye  Poor  14 to 28 inches  Have been catching a few off the river channel and Old Marina point using jigs with worms and/or minnows.  Would also try trolling diving lures along the Dam and Bluff areas. Remember the 15 inch length limit.   

White Bass/Wiper  Fair  10 to 30 inches  Are catching white bass around the north shore breakwater, Old Marina Point, along the Dam and along Rock Point cove using jigs, jigs tipped with minnows and/or worms and trolling diving lures. Stocked 50,000 wiper fry on 05-11-16.   

Catfish  Poor  20 to 36 inches  Catfish are being caught from Old Broken up concrete ramp on the north side of Reservoir and up to the west part of the Reservoir.  They are being caught using worms, liver and stink bait on the bottom. Would also try using shrimp and shad.    

Rainbow Trout  No Report

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WILSON RESERVOIR  (1,917 Acres)

Updated 11/17/2017

Lake Map

Lake Elevation at Normal Pool: 1516.0

Inflow: 840 cfs Outflow: 1000 cfs

Level: 3.00 feet high Temperature:

Crappie  Fair  10-14 inches  Poor. Crappie numbers are very low and no reports of fish being caught yet but fish are likely moving towards shallower rock and cover to feed prior to spawning. Coves towards the upper end of the reservoir and Otoe in Hell Creek are your best bets.   

Stripers  Fair to Good  3-8 pounds  Good. There are reports of fish being caught on the West end, Hell Creek, and a few near the dam in shallow water. Fish in the morning and/or evening with topwaters, livebait, spinners, or shad imitation jerkbaits. There is an abundance of stripers in the 16 - 18" range. These fish have excellent body condition compared to the last few years.   

 Walleye  Fair to Good  10-21 inches  Fair. Cooler water has them being caught at moderate depths. Find contour changes and areas in the middle or lower reservoir with 12 - 30 foot depths with rocky bottoms.  Trollers are having some success but anglers using colored jig heads with earthworms, curly tail grubs, or shad swimbaits are also having success.   

Channel Catfish  Fair  2-10 pounds  Slow. Try cutbait, liver, dough baits, and worms near the river channel and off points such as Minooka, Lucas, etc. Look for fish to move shallow (<8 feet depths) towards sundown. The channel catfish population in Wilson has been a nice surprise the last few years.Be on the lookout for blue catfish which are also in the reservoir. They are not legal size yet so make sure and take care to return them to the water. There is a 35 inch minimum length limit on blue catfish at Wilson Reservoir! 

White Bass  Fair  12-18 inches, up to 3 pounds  Fair. Reports of anglers catching a few off the river channel from the upper reservoir to Minooka. Try jigging the flats adjacent to the channel with small spoons and shad imitations.   

Black Bass  Fair  10-18 inches  Fair. Bass are becoming more spread out with the recent elevation rise and cooling water temperatures. There are reports of both Largemouth and Smallmouth being caught. The Smallmouth Bass are currently the best bet and can be caught off rocky points and shorelines throughout the lake. Fish over 3 lbs. are being caught. Try crankbaits, carolina rigged soft baits, and shaky heads near shore or less than 12' of water.   

White Perch  Fair  9 to 13 inches  Good. Some are being caught up to 12" in size. We found moderate numbers of white perch around the upper end of the reservoir as well as Hell Creek.  The lower end of the reservoir didn't have nearly as many.  The fish we collected seemed to be targeting the river channel and moving up and down it while feeding.  The west end had the biggest white perch I've seen in some time with 12-13 inch fish common.  Anglers might try spoons and spinners off of the river channel near the bluffs towards Minooka - IT IS ILLEGAL TO HAVE A WHITE PERCH ALIVE IN YOUR POSSESSION - IF YOU CATCH IT AND WANT TO KEEP IT - IT HAS TO BE DEAD IN A COOLER OR LIVEWELL. THEY ARE NO LONGER LEGAL AS LIVE BAIT FOR STRIPERS OR OTHER FISH!!!!! 

The white perch numbers are down in Wilson right now which is the goal of managing aquatic nuisance species.  While this species will continue to thrive and reproduce in Wilson, they are still an ANS species and KDWPT has managed the predator base in such a way to limit their numbers.  The hope is that the white bass will be able to make a comeback at the expense of the white perch numbers declining. 

BOAT RAMP UPDATE: All boat ramps are useable. WEAR YOUR LIFE JACKETS and be courteous at boat ramps!

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