BARBER STATE FISHING LAKE - LOWER - Last Updated: 3/24/2023

Species	Rating	Sizes Possible	Baits, Method, & Location
Crappie	Poor to Fair	Up to 12 inches	Try jigs & minnows around brush and weeds in deeper water.
Channel Catfish	Fair	Most in the 1 lb. size range	Fishing cut bait, frozen shrimp or stink bait lake wide.
Largemouth bass	Fair to Good	Up to 4 lbs.	Casting soft plastics or jerk baits in deeper water.
Sunfish	Fair	Up to 8 inches	Worms under a bobber and small jigs fished vertically around brush.
Walleye	Fair	Up to 4 lbs	Try using large crankbaits or jigs near flats and points.

Barber State Fishing Lake and all other public fishing waters in Pratt and Barber counties are now a part of the Cheney district. This district also includes Harper, Kingman, Reno, and Harvey counties. A Cheney District newsletter is available. Information about fishing and fisheries management throughout southcentral Kansas will be updated at least twice each year. If you would like to subscribe to this newsletter you can go to the following link to get on the mailing list. https://ksoutdoors.com/KDWP-Info/News/Newsletter-Request-Forms and click on Cheney Fishing District.

Great Kansas Fishing Derby May 15 to Sept 15  Visit www.ksfishderby.com for more info; Tagged Fish - Channel Catfish, Black Bass, Crappie, Bluegill

CLARK STATE FISHING LAKE - Last Updated: 3/13/2023

 

Species	Rating	Sizes Possible	Baits, Method, & Location
Crappie	No report	Up to 12 inches	Drifting jigs over deeper water in the main body of the lake or vertically fishing minnows, jigs, and slab spoons over the tops of the fish attractors and other deeper structures.  Harvest regulations include 50/day creel limit.
Channel Catfish	No report	Most in the 1 lb size range	Fishing cut bait or stink bait lake wide. Harvest regulations include a 15-inch minimum length limit and 5/day creel limit.
Largemouth bass	No report	Up to 4 lbs	Casting soft plastics, swimbaits and jerk baits around fish attractors, shoreline brush and vegetation along sun-warmed shorelines. Harvest regulations include a 15-inch minimum length limit and 5/day creel limit.
Bluegill/Redear	No report	Up to 8 inches	Worms under a bobber and small jigs fished vertically around brush in deeper water. There are no harvest restrictions at this time.
Walleye	No report	Up to 4 lbs	Casting crankbaits and swimbaits over points, shelves, and along rip-rapped shorelines adjacent to deeper water. Harvest regulations include a 15-inch minimum length limit and 5/day creel limit.
White Bass/Wipers	No report	Whites up to 17 inches	Vertically fishing slab spoons over the tops of fish attractors or prominent windblown main lake points and shelves.  Most of the larger white bass range from 12 to 16 inches and wipers up to 8 lbs. have been reported. Harvest regulations include a 15-inch minimum length limit and 5/day creel limit.

 Lake is approximately 13 feet low and trailers have been damaged trying to use the one ramp on the southeast area.   

This is a generic wintertime fishing report, water temperatures should be in the mid to upper 40's.   If new reports are received it will be updated.  We have received very few reports from anglers.  You may call the Dodge City Regional office as 620-227-8609 to make a report.   Regular reporting will resume in April of 2023.

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!

HORSETHIEF RESERVOIR - Last Updated: 3/13/2023

 

Species	Rating	Sizes Possible	Baits, Method, & Location
Crappie	No report	Up to 12 inches	Drifting jigs over deeper water in the main body of the lake or vertically fishing minnows, jigs, and slab spoons over the tops of the fish attractors and other deeper structures.  Harvest regulations include 50/day creel limit.
Channel Catfish	No report	Most in the 1 lb size range	Fishing cut bait or stink bait lake wide. Harvest regulations include a 15-inch minimum length limit and 5/day creel limit.
Largemouth bass	No report	Up to 4 lbs	Casting soft plastics, swimbaits and jerk baits around fish attractors, shoreline brush and vegetation along sun-warmed shorelines. Harvest regulations include a 15-inch minimum length limit and 5/day creel limit.
Bluegill/Redear	No report	Up to 8 inches	Worms under a bobber and small jigs fished vertically around brush in deeper water. There are no harvest restrictions at this time.
Walleye/saugeye	No report	Up to 7 lbs	Casting crankbaits and swimbaits over points, shelves, and along rip-rapped shorelines adjacent to deeper water. Harvest regulations include a 15-inch minimum length limit and 5/day aggregate creel limit.

 Lake is about 7 feet low.

This is a generic wintertime fishing report, water temperatures should be in the mid to upper 40's.   If new reports are received it will be updated.  We have received very few reports from anglers.  You may call the Dodge City Regional office as 620-227-8609 to make a report.   

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!

MEADE STATE LAKE - Last Updated: 3/13/2023

Species	Rating	Sizes Possible	Baits, Method, & Location
Crappie	No report	Up to 12 inches	Drifting jigs over deeper water in the main body of the lake or vertically fishing minnows, jigs, and slab spoons over the tops of the fish attractors and other deeper structures.  Harvest regulations include 50/day creel limit.
Channel Catfish	No report	Most in the 1 lb size range	Fishing cut bait or stink bait lake wide. Harvest regulations include a 15-inch minimum length limit and 5/day creel limit.
Largemouth bass	No report	Up to 4 lbs	Casting soft plastics, swimbaits and jerk baits around fish attractors, shoreline brush and vegetation along sun-warmed shorelines. Harvest regulations include a 15-inch minimum length limit and 5/day creel limit.
Bluegill/Redear	No report	Up to 8 inches	Worms under a bobber and small jigs fished vertically around brush in deeper water. There are no harvest restrictions at this time.
Saugeye	No report	Up to 4 lbs	Casting crankbaits and swimbaits over points, shelves, and along rip-rapped shorelines adjacent to deeper water. Harvest regulations include a 15-inch minimum length limit and 5/day creel limit.

 

Still a generic wintertime fishing report, water temperatures should be in the mid to upper 40's.   If new reports are received it will be updated.  We have received very few reports from anglers.  You may call the Dodge City Regional office as 620-227-8609 to make a report.   

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!

PRATT COUNTY LAKE - Last Updated: 3/24/2023

 

Species	Rating	Sizes Possible	Baits, Method, & Location
Crappie	Poor to Fair	4-8"	Try jigs or minnows near structure.
Channel Catfish	Fair	Most in the 1-2 lb size range but up to 7 lbs	Fishing cut bait or stink bait lake wide.
Largemouth bass	Fair to Good	Up to 18 inches	Try using soft plastics or jerk baits on warmer days.
Bluegill	Fair	Up to 8 inches	Worms under a bobber and small jigs fished vertically around brush and rocks.
Walleye	Fair	Up to 19"	Try large jigs and jerk baits near rocks in the morning or evening.
Wipers	Fair to Good	Up to 18"	Jigs or spoons around windblown main lake points.

Pratt County Lake and all other public fishing waters in Pratt and Barber counties are now a part of the Cheney district. This district also includes Harper, Kingman, Reno, and Harvey counties. A Cheney District newsletter is available. Information about fishing and fisheries management throughout southcentral Kansas will be updated at least twice each year. If you would like to subscribe to this newsletter you can go to the following link to get on the mailing list. https://ksoutdoors.com/KDWP-Info/News/Newsletter-Request-Forms and click on Cheney Fishing District.

Great Kansas Fishing Derby May 15 to Sept 15  Visit www.ksfishderby.com for more info; Tagged Fish - Channel Catfish, Black Bass, Crappie, Bluegill, White Bass/Wiper

SCOTT STATE LAKE - Last Updated: 3/16/2023

Species	Rating	Size	Baits, Method & Location
Channel Catfish	Slow	Most in the 13 to 18 inch range	Still fishing shrimp and prepared baits off the bottom up in the creek can be effective.
Crappie	Good	Up to 13 inches	Vertically fishing small jigs or spoons around the deeper brushpiles.
Largemouth Bass	Fair	Up to 5.5 lbs.	Casting weightless swimbaits and suspending jerkbaits along sun-warmed, shallow shorelines is best.
Sunfish	Fair/Good	Up to 8 inches	Vertically fishing small jigs tipped with mealworms or small chunks of nightcrawlers around deeper brushpiles.
Saugeye	Slow	Up to 7 lbs.	Fish should be spawning this time of year.  Fishing brightly colored jigs and suspending jerkbaits of the dam at night is best.
Rainbow Trout	Good	Up to 3.5 lbs.	We stocked approximately 1,00 trout on 3-13-2023. Anglers still-fishing various baits like power bait, worms, marshmallows, and corn alone or in combination can be effective.  Spin-cast anglers throwing small in-line spinners and spoons often do well.  And fly anglers casting prince and hare's ear nymphs under a strike indicator can be successful too.
General Comments
Ice Report: As of 2-27-2023.  Barrel Springs pond and the State Lake are ice free. Release all saugeye less than 18 inches and largemouth bass less than 15 inches. 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! Cedar Bluff District Newsletter: A biannual newsletter detailing fishing related projects and activities in the Cedar Bluff District, which includes such waters as Cedar Bluff Reservoir, Sheridan and Scott State Fishing Lakes, Antelope Lake, and other public fishing waters in northwest Kansas are available. If you would like to subscribe to this newsletter you can go to the following link to get on the mailing list. The link is: http://kdwp.state.ks.us/news/KDWP-Info/News/Newsletter-Request-Forms/Request-a-Newsletter-for-the-Cedar-Bluff-Fishing-District Great Kansas Fishing Derby May 15 to Sept 15  Visit www.ksfishderby.com for more info; Tagged Fish - Channel Catfish, Black Bass, Crappie, Saugeye