Northwest Region Fishing Reports
Fishing reports provide general angling information from KDWP staff. The department cannot update the reports on a regular, frequent basis. Many factors determine angling success, and fishing conditions and individual fishing success may vary from the report. Anglers are responsible for deciding what species to fish for, what methods to use, and where and when to fish. You can help fellow anglers by sharing successful fishing notes at https://www.facebook.com/KDWPFisheries.
CEDAR BLUFF RESERVOIR - Last Updated: 7/3/2025
| Species | Rating | Size | Baits, Method, Location |
| Black Bass | Fair/Good | Up to 6 lbs. | Fish can still be caught casting chatterbaits, spinnerbaits, swimbaits, and soft plastics over shallow points and other areas possessing a hard bottom type and structure such as rock piles and laydown logs, mainly early and late. However, many fish have transitioned into a summer pattern where they can be caught casting Texas or Carolina-rigged soft plastics, swimbaits, and deep running crankbaits over deeper points and other structure like submerged road beds and parking lots in depths anywhere from 12 to 20 feet of water. |
| Crappie | Good | Up to 15 inches | Vertically fishing jigs and/or minnows over the fish attractors has been best. Anglers report catching respectable numbers on the right day and right brush pile. |
| Walleye | Fair | Up to 28 inches | The post-spawn walleye bite is winding down. Fish frequenting mainlake and secondary points in coves can still be caught casting shad imitating swimbaits and crankbaits or jigs tipped with nightcrawlers or minnows. Anglers continue to report catching fish, just not as many as they had a couple of weeks ago. Cedar Bluff walleye harvest is regulated by a 21" minimum length limit and 5 fish/day creel limit, except that anglers have the option to harvest up to 2 walleye 15" but less than 18" as part of the five fish daily creel limit. |
| White Bass/Wipers | Good | Whites up to 17 inches Wipers up to 14.5 lbs. | White bass have begun surface feeding on this year's shad crop. Casting small, shad imitating topwater or shallow running baits into surfacing schools of fish, mainly early and late, can be good. Otherwise trolling deeper diving crank baits along mainlake drop-offs or locating whites with electronics and casting or vertically presenting shad imitating jigs and spoons. Drifting live sunfish over and around shallow mainlake points has been effective for wipers. Anglers report catching quite a few 8 to 10 lb. fish, but wipers up to 16 lbs. have been reported. |
|
WATER TEMPERATURE-78 degrees F SURFACE ELEVATION- 2121.61 ft. above MSL-22.39 ft. below conservation pool ATTENTION: An established zebra mussel population has been documented at this water making Cedar Bluff an ANS designated water. With this designation, regulations are 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 01d 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. | |||
GLEN ELDER RESERVOIR - Last Updated: 6/11/2025
| Species | Rating | Size | Baits, Method, Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crappie | Fair | 9-15 inches | Few angler reports. Saw a boat catch a couple in front of the bluffs. Anglers catching a few crappie around 13 inches. With water temps reaching the upper 60s the crappie spawn should be winding down. Crappie spawn in shallow vegetation or brushpiles in less than 12 ft of water. Males with spawning coloration are still being observed during spring sampling. Channels, points, or jetties can be transitional areas for fishing moving out of spawning areas. If you're fishing from shore look for submerged vegetation or structure. Use minnows, jigs, spoons, or small crankbaits. |
| Trout | None | None | No trout will be stocked at the Glen Elder State Park Pond or the reservoir outlet for the 2024-2025 trout season. Kanopolis Seep Stream and Webster Stilling Basin will be stocked. |
| Walleye | Fair to Good | 11-25 inches | No angler reports, but Walleye should be starting summer patterns. Some may roam lake flats and river channels looking for baitfish, while others suspend over deep drops or points. Trolling river channels and road beds with crankbaits or nightcrawlers can be a good strategy to find Walleye. Walleye are often caught using nightcrawlers, jigging spoons, minnows, crankbaits, and spinners. *3 million fry were stocked in April 2025. |
| Black Bass | Fair to Good | 12-20 inches | No angler reports. The Marina/Kanza cove and Osage cove held the best densities of black bass. Look for bass to be on spawning beds as early as late April and May. Smallmouth tend to prefer harder, rockier bottoms, while Largemouth might be found on softer bottoms and weed beds. Don't overlook standing timber and brush piles. Look for areas that hold baitfish. Use a quarter ounce or an eighth ounce jig tipped with a minnow or baitfish imitation. You could also have success with hair jigs, jigging spoons, crankbaits, soft plastics, and crayfish imitations. With a 21-inch length limit these Smallmouth are almost all sublegal so please handle them with extreme care and release them immediately after catching them. *30,000 fingerlings stocked in June 2025 |
| Catfish | Good | 15-35 inches | No angler reports. Channel Cats can be found almost anywhere in the lake. Targeting inflows can be successful after rains. Blue Cats tend to prefer deeper structure or windblown flats. Try river channel bends, old road beds, building foundations, humps and submerged bridges. The shore-based Blue Cat angler should look for an upwind shoreline where fish are looking to scavenge. Fall sampling indicated good numbers of blues and channel catfish in the reservoir now. Best baits to use include cut bait, stinkbait, shad sides, shrimp, and nightcrawlers. Most Flathead fisherman use live bait near hard structure like wood and riprap. The causeway and granite creek bridge will hold good numbers of Flatheads. Remember, there is a NEW creel limit on Blue Catfish at Glen Elder. 10 fish per day, only 1 allowed over 30 in. |
| White Bass | Good | 11-18 inches | Few angler reports. Some Whites being caught on the causeway. White Bass and Wipers can be found chasing shad near brushpiles, river channels, drop offs, and other structure. Higher numbers of big whites tend to be caught west of the causeway. Look for drop-offs and points for suspended fish. Downwind shorelines can produce good numbers of actively feeding fish. Use a variety of jigs, spinners, or minnows to catch fish all year. *350,000 Wiper fry were stocked in May 2025. |
|
Anglers can now find GPS locations for each of the brush piles located in the reservoir. Simply click on this link Good Fishing Spots and select the individual brush pile. As we enhance these brush piles throughout the year, we'll make a note under each individual location. Current Water Temperature: 69ºF Current Water Level: 5.6 feet low Some boat ramps are unusable due to low water conditions. This currently includes Granite Creek, North Fork River, Carr Creek, and Walnut Creek. Boller Point ramp is very shallow but usable by shallow drafted vessels. Repairs to the face of the dam were completed in February 2023. Water levels should start to rise with rain. | |||
JEWELL STATE FISHING LAKE - Last Updated: 6/11/2025
KANOPOLIS RESERVOIR - Last Updated: 6/27/2025
| Species | Rating | Size | Baits, Method, and Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| Channel/Blue Catfish | Good | 16 - 21" | Fishing cut and prepared baits along the river channel from the south boat ramp all the way to buzzard bay. Try deeper catfish humps and structure near bluffs. Remember there is a 35" minimum length limit on Blue Catfish at Kanopolis Reservoir. |
| Crappie | Good | 10 to 14+ inches | Try the deeper structure, brush piles, or the river channel with 1/16 oz. jigs and live minnows. |
| Trout | The final trout stocking of the season for the seep stream occurred on 2-10-25. | ||
| Saugeye | Fair | 14 - 22" | Wind blown points and flats in the middle and lower ends of the reservoir are best. Shad imitating swimbaits and jigs tipped with minnows or worms can be productive baits. 1.5 million Saugeye fry were stocked in April and 3,788 Saugeye fingerlings were stocked in June. |
| White Bass | Good | All sizes - up to 17 inches | Casting swimbaits, bucktail jigs, and Kastmaster spoons along wind blown points and areas near the river channel. Using slab spoons or live minnows is also producing some fish right now along brush piles and in the river channel. |
| Wiper | Fair | All sizes | Similar locations and baits as those used for white bass. We are seeing more Wipers in the reservoir with recent successful stockings. Know your identification as the creel limit is 2 per day. 15,000 Wiper fingerlings were stocked in June. |
| General Comment | |||
| Current lake elevation and water temperature is available on the location page linked to this fishing report. It is updated daily by the Corps of Engineers. | |||
KEITH SEBELIUS RESERVOIR - Last Updated: 5/30/2025
| Species | Rating | Size | Baits, Method, and Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crappie | Fair | 7 to 16 inches | Crappies are starting to be caught around the public fishing dock, maintained fish attractors and up in Leota and Schoen's Coves using jigs and jigs tipped with minnows. |
| Saugeye/Walleye | Fair | 13 to 27 inches | Fish are being caught around concrete cove up by the marsh dike and along the dam using jigs tipped with night crawlers and/or minnows and trolling diving lures. An 18" minimum length limit is in effect. |
| Wiper | Good | 10 to 28 inches | Would recommend fishing for them around the east side of Leota Cove, Monkey Island and Concrete cove using jigs and swim baits. Trolling diving lures could also be productive. |
| Catfish | Fair | 10 to 30 inches | Did hear of some catfish being caught up in the shallows using shad, gizzards, shrimp, night crawlers or stink bait on the bottom. |
| Largemouth/Spotted Bass | Good | 10 to 20 inches | Would recommend fishing up in the coves or along the Dam and Breakwater using crankbaits, spinnerbaits, and plastics. |
| General Comments | |||
| WATER TEMPERATURE- 62° SURFACE ELEVATION- 2292.96 ---- 11.34 feet below conservation pool Currently, the water level is 2.90 feet higher than it was one year ago, at this time. Remember it is illegal to release any fish into public water unless it was taken from that water. Please discard leftover bait in a trash can. | |||
KIRWIN RESERVOIR - Last Updated: 5/30/2025
| Species | Rating | Size | Baits, Method, and Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crappie | Fair | 7 to 17 inches | Crappie are being caught around Bluegill and Crappie points, North and South Shore Boat Ramp coves and up both river channels using jigs and jigs tipped with minnows. Could also possibly catch some off the Dam and around the outlet using jigs and jigs tipped with minnows. |
| Walleye | Fair | 10 to 29 inches | I would recommend thinking about getting those night crawlers out and fish the Flat's as these fish will be moving up to feed. Trolling diving lures along the Dam and river channel could also be productive. |
| White Bass/ Wiper | Good | 10 to 28 inches | Fish are being caught lake wide casting jigs and roadrunners from the bank. Trolling diving lures could be productive as well. |
| Catfish | Fair | 10 to 30 inches | Fish are being caught up in the shallows of coves and up to the west end. I Would recommend fishing the shallow area with shrimp, cut bait, stink bait, night crawlers or shad off the bottom. |
| Largemouth Bass | Fair | 12 to 22 inches | Fish are being caught in the coves and along the rocky shorelines using plastics and crank baits. |
| General Comments | |||
| WATER TEMPERATURE- 62° SURFACE ELEVATION- 1716.74 ---- 12.51' below conservation pool Currently, the water level is 4.51' lower than it was one year ago, at this time. The South Boat Ramp and Bow Creek Ramp are the only usable ramps at this time. The fish cleaning station has been opened for the summer. A boat cleaning facility (CD3) has been added by the fish cleaning station and is currently usable. If you have any questions regarding Kirwin Reservoir and the surrounding public lands, contact the USFWS at 785-543-6673. Remember it is illegal to release any fish into public water unless it was taken from that water. Please discard leftover bait in a trash can. | |||
LOVEWELL RESERVOIR - Last Updated: 7/1/2025
| Species | Rating | Size | Baits, Method, Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| Walleye | Fair | 16-25 inches | No angler reports. Walleye should be in summer patterns over structure, points, drop-offs, and river channels. Also look for fish roaming shallow flats holding baitfish. Focus on the deeper channels and structure in the heat of the summer or try a night bite. Nightfall can bring fish up to the shallows in search of food. Try using jigging spoons, minnows, brightly colored lures, or nightcrawlers. Trolling nightcrawlers or crankbaits is a common tactic. *2,500 intermediates last fall. |
| White Bass/Wipers | Good | 7-14 inches 15-25 inches | No angler reports. White Bass and Wipers will suspend on river channels, drop-offs, and deep brushpiles. Downwind shorelines will attract actively feeding fish. White Bass populations have been low for a few years, but fall sampling indicated better numbers. Look for schools of baitfish and these predators are probably nearby. The outlet at dawn and dusk can be a hot spot for White Bass and Wiper. Using a variety of jigs, spinners, or minnows can catch fish most of the year. *300,000 wiper fry were stocked into Lovewell in May 2024 |
| Crappie | Fair to Good | 8-14 inches | No angler reports. The crappie should be in summer patterns. Look for deeper summer haunts like brush piles and river channels. Look for places that hold baitfish and structure. The marina will usually hold crappie and Cedar Point is one of the most popular crappie fishing spots all year. Game Wardens reported good numbers of keeper crappie being caught last fall and winter. |
| Catfish | Good | 16 to 38 inches | A few anglers are reporting a hot catfish bite. The catfish shoud be biting as the winning weight for a June 1st catfish tournament was almost 120 lbs. Fall sampling indicated good numbers of Channel Catfish, Blue Catfish, and Flathead Catfish. Best baits to use for Channel Catfish include stinkbait, shad sides, shrimp, and nightcrawlers. Blue Catfish usually go for cut bait and Flatheads tend to prefer live bait. Anglers often report good spring catches of Blue Catfish near Walleye Point, Cedar Point, and Pawnee Point. Blues and flatheads tend to focus on hard structure like rocks, brush piles, and river channels. A new Blue Catfish regulation will go into effect July 25, 2025. You will be able to harvest 10 Blue Cats per day with only 1 fish greater than 30 inches allowed. |
| Comments | |||
|
Anglers can now find GPS coordinates, descriptions, and histories of some of the major brush piles in Lovewell. Simply follow this link Good Fishing Spots and select the individual brush pile to find out more information. More Georgia Cubes were added in April 2020! Current water temperature: 78ºF Current water level: 1.2 feet high Lovewell is not currently under a harmful algae watch. Please use the following link for the latest advisories from KDHE, Harmful Algal Blooms | KDHE, KS. 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! | |||
OTTAWA STATE FISHING LAKE - Last Updated: 6/11/2025
| Species | Rating | Size | Baits, Method, Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| Largemouth Bass | Fair to Good | 12-18 inches | No angler reports. During the summer months bass can key in on keeping cool. Target shade, overhead structure, and deeper habitat during the heat of the day. Timing your fishing trip for dawn, dusk, or night can be effective. Fish can be caught around rocky jetties and brushpiles using wacky worms, Senkos, Ned Rigs, spinnerbaits, roadrunners, and crankbaits. |
| Bluegill/Sunfish | Good | 5 to 7 Inches | No angler reports. Look for bluegill around the rocks on the piers, shoreline vegetation, and around any brush in the water. Worms and small jigs are a good bet. These guys can be caught throughout the year using a variety of techniques. Some anglers prefer to fly fish with small nymphs or dry flies fished on the surface. |
| Channel Catfish | Fair to Good | 12-25 inches | No angler reports. Fish can be caught just about anywhere on the lake. Anglers should try using shad sides, shad gizzards, shrimp, nightcrawlers, and chicken liver. Targeting inflow is a popular method as the catfish will congregate there to feed. The shallow upper end is a great area to find big catfish on warm days. |
| Saugeye | Fair | 18-25 inches | No angler reports. The best number of saugeye can be found on the upper end around the jetties and other rocky areas. Jig and crawler, large shiners, crankbaits, and swim baits are all good options to use for catching saugeye now. Anglers will also find some around the brush piles and off the ends of the jetties closest to the dam. Sometimes Saugeye will be actively feeding up on the shorelines at night. |
| Crappie | Good | 8-15 inches | No angler reports. Anglers should target the brush piles and other submerged structure with minnows and jigs. Focus on deeper structure like brushpiles and rocks during summer. Anglers are encouraged to harvest high numbers of crappie to help maintain a desirable level. Our recent sample indicated there are very high numbers of crappie in the lake now and anglers could have great success throughout the year. |
| General Comments | |||
| Water Temperature-- 70ºF CAUTION: LONGER BOAT TRAILERS MAY FALL OFF EDGE OF BOAT RAMP WHEN WATER IS LOW | |||
ROOKS STATE FISHING LAKE - Last Updated: 5/30/2025
| Species | Rating | Size | Baits, Method, and Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| CURRENT FISHING | |||
| Largemouth Bass | Poor | 6-21 inches | No Reports. |
| Bluegill | Poor | 3-9 inches | No Reports. |
| Catfish | Poor | 10-25 inches | No Reports. |
| Black Crappie | Poor | 5-12 inches | No Reports. |
| General Comments | |||
| Water Temp. 65 Degrees Lake is approx. twelve to thirteen feet low. | |||
SHERIDAN STATE FISHING LAKE - Last Updated: 5/30/2025
| Species | Rating | Size | Baits, Method, and Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| Comments | |||
| Sheridan State Fishing Lake is currently drained for renovations with no fishing opportunities. The lake is still open for camping and other visitation. The nearby Antelope Lake is open for fishing. As part of lake renovations, the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks has issued Sheridan State Fishing Lake be opened to public fish salvage effective 11/6/2023. The order is posted on signs around the lake. It allows the public to collect fish by any legal methods as well as by hand, dip net, throw net, minnow trap or seine, snagging, gig, speargun, bow and arrow or crossbow with a barbed head and line attached from bow/crossbow to arrow per regulation 115-7-1. This fish salvage order also removes all daily creel limits and size limits per regulation 115-25-14. This public fish salvage will remain in effect until posted notice signage on site is removed. ATTENTION: As of 1-23-2025, the lake water level is extremely low with only inches of water left at the deepest. Given recent cold weather, remaining lake water and surrounding sediments have frozen. Given the close proximity between any existing ice and bottom sediments, melting and refreezing of ice can be rapid. Rapidly changing ice conditions over the top of extremely soft lake bottom sediments has resulted in a potentially dangerous scenario should one fall through weak ice. Any attempt to get out on existing ice or muddy bottom sediments is strongly discouraged. For more information contact Dave Spalsbury, District Fisheries Biologist at 785-726-3212. | |||
WEBSTER RESERVOIR - Last Updated: 5/30/2025
| Species | Rating | Size | Baits, Method, and Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crappie | Fair | 7 to 17 inches | Are picking up a few around the north shore breakwater and fish attractors using jigs and jigs with minnows. |
| Walleye | Fair | 14 to 28 inches | I would recommend getting those jigs and night crawler's out and start fishing on the flats as they will be moving up to feed. Trolling diving lures along the dam and river channel could also be productive. |
| White Bass/Wiper | Good | 8 to 28 inches | Both species are being caught around the north and south shore fish attractors and breakwaters using jigs and jigs tipped with minnow. Trolling diving lures lake wide could also be productive. |
| Catfish | Fair | 12 to 30 inches | Been catching some up to the west end in the shallower water that warms up quicker than the rest. They are being caught using shad, shrimp, gizzards, night crawler's or stink baits on the bottom. |
| Largemouth Bass | Fair | 12 to 22 inches | Fish are being caught around the maintained fish attractors, outlet and breakwaters using plastics and spinner baits. |
| Rainbow Trout | Fair | 10 to 20 inches | Have been catching trout on Powerbait, salmon eggs, corn and cheese. Would also recommend cast small cast-masters and spinners. Trout season ends on March 31st so after that date NO trout permit is needed, however, the creel limit of 5 trout still applies. |
| General Comments | |||
| WATER TEMPERATURE- 62° SURFACE ELEVATION- 1867.49 ---- 24.96' below conservation pool The water level is 11.18' lower than it was one year ago at this time. Old Marina, Morel, Goose Flats and Lake view boat ramps are not usable; however, Rock Point (north ramp has been barricaded off, but the south ramp goes all the way to the bottom and is still usable). Fish cleaning station has been opened back up for the summer. A boat cleaning station (CD3) has been added by the fish cleaning station and is usable at this time. Remember it is illegal to release any fish into public water unless it was taken from that water. Please discard leftover bait in a trash can. | |||
WILSON RESERVOIR - Last Updated: 6/27/2025
| Species | Rating | Size | Baits, Method, Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| Striped Bass | Fair | 7-25 pounds | Some Larger fish are relating to deeper water near Rock Town, Lucas campground, mouth of Marshall Cove, Hell Creek and towards the dam. Try trolling crankbaits, casting/jigging large bucktail jigs, or drifting live shad or sunfish along channel breaks. Look for surface activity early in the morning and late in the afternoon |
| Walleye | Good | 18-27 inches | Trolling or casting crankbaits and swimbaits over main lake points or the flats early morning or late evening are your best bets. |
| Blue/Channel Catfish | Good | 2-30+ pounds | Channel Catfish: Fish can be found from shallow to moderate depths. Try cut bait, dough bait, or punch bait thorough the reservoir. Several reports of limits being caught recently. Blue Catfish: scattered throughout the reservoir, try fresh cutbait in 6-30 feet of water on river channel swings or flats near these swings. New Blue Catfish Regulation: Creel limit of 10 fish per day with only one fish over 30 inches. |
| White Bass | Fair | 12-18 inches, up to 3 pounds | Casting shad imitating swimbaits and bucktail jigs over windblown points and using slab spoons along the river channel. |
| Black Bass | Good | 12-20 inches | Soft plastics, spinnerbaits, and crankbaits around structure. |
| White Perch | Poor | 4 to 12 inches | - 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!!!!! |
| General Comments | |||
| Lake Elevation = 4.71 feet below conservation pool. We have two Aquatic Invasive Species - white perch and zebra mussels and have joined Cheney and El Dorado as lakes with both species. The law now says that if anyone leaves the lake with water in your livewell or boat, you are subject to a ticket for transporting Zebra Mussels since they will spawn and the microscopic little mussels will probably be in every drop of water in the lake. Make sure you drain all water from the boat before you leave the boat ramp area!!! We have been taking veliger samples and the samples were high so be sure to drain and dry everything!!!!!! | |||