Southwest 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.
BARBER STATE FISHING LAKE - LOWER - Last Updated: 12/2/2024
| Species | Rating | Sizes Possible | Baits, Method, & Location |
| Crappie | Poor to Fair | Up to 12 inches | Try jigs & minnows around brush and weeds near deeper structure. |
| Channel Catfish | Fair | Most in the 1 lb. size range | Fishing cut bait or stink bait lake wide. |
| Largemouth bass | Poor to Fair | Up to 5 lbs. | Try using soft plastics, crank baits, or spinner baits near structure. |
| Sunfish | Poor | Up to 8 inches | Worms under a bobber and small jigs fished vertically around brush. |
| Walleye | Poor | Up to 4 lbs | Try using large crankbaits or jigs near rocks and points. |
CLARK STATE FISHING LAKE - Last Updated: 7/24/2024
| Species | Rating | Sizes Possible | Baits, Method, & Location |
| Crappie | No report | Up to 12 inches | Look for crappie around brush and vegetation. Anglers should target the brush piles and other submerged structure with minnows and jigs or nearby points and drop offs. Harvest regulations include 50/day creel limit. |
| Channel Catfish | No report | Most in the 1 lb size range | Fish can be caught all over the lake. Try shad sides, shad gizzards, shrimp, nightcrawlers, and chicken liver. Harvest regulations is 5/day creel limit. |
| Largemouth bass | No report | Up to 4 lbs | Fish are in typical summer pattern. Fish can be caught around any aquatic vegetation, off the rocky jetties, and around any cover in the water. Focus on submerged wood in the vegetation. Try topwater early and late and wacky worms, Ned Rigs, spinnerbaits, roadrunners, and crankbaits during mid day. 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. There are no harvest restrictions at this time. There are no harvest restrictions at this time. |
| Walleye | No report | Up to 4 lbs | Jig and night crawler should really work on the points and flats right now. Also try 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
| No report | Whites up to 17 inches | Trolling crankbaits or 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 17 inches.. |
Water temperature should be in the upper 70-low 80 range. We have received no reports from anglers & these are seasonal guidelines. You may call the Dodge City Regional office as 620-227-8609 to make a report. 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!
HORSETHIEF RESERVOIR - Last Updated: 7/24/2024
| Species | Rating | Sizes Possible | Baits, Method, & Location |
| Crappie | Slow | Up to 12 inches | Look for crappie around brush and vegetation. Anglers should target the brush piles and other submerged structure with minnows and jigs or nearby points and drop offs where pre-spawn crappie might stage. Anglers are encouraged to harvest high numbers of crappie to help maintain a desirable level Harvest regulations include 50/day creel limit. |
| Channel Catfish | Slow | Most in the 1 lb size range | Fish can be caught all over the lake. Try shad sides, shad gizzards, shrimp, nightcrawlers, and chicken liver. If it ever rains, target areas of inflow. Harvest regulations are 5/day creel limit. |
| Largemouth bass | No report | Up to 4 lbs | Fish are in typical summer pattern. Fish can be caught around any aquatic vegetation, off the rocky jetties, and around the overhanging trees in the water. Focus on submerged wood in the vegetation. Try topwater early and late and wacky worms, Ned Rigs, spinnerbaits, roadrunners, and crankbaits during mid day. 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 | Slow | Up to 4 lbs | Still catching walleye/saugeye along the dam by casting small jigs, jerkbaits and swimbaits. Jig and night crawler should really work on the points and flats right now. Harvest regulations include a 15-inch minimum length limit and 5/day creel limit. |
Water temps should be in the upper 70 to low 80 range. 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: 7/24/2024
| Species | Rating | Sizes Possible | Baits, Method, & Location |
| Crappie | No report | Up to 12 inches | Look for crappie around brush and vegetation. Anglers should target the brush piles and other submerged structure with minnows and jigs or nearby points and drop offs where pre-spawn crappie might stage. Anglers are encouraged to harvest high numbers of crappie to help maintain a desirable level. Harvest regulations include 50/day creel limit. |
| Channel Catfish | No report | Most in the 1 - 2 lb size range | Fish can be caught all over the lake. Try shad sides, shad gizzards, shrimp, nightcrawlers, and chicken liver. Harvest regulations are 5/day creel limit. |
| Largemouth bass | No report | Up to 4 lbs | Fish are in typical summer pattern. Fish can be caught around any aquatic vegetation, off the rocky jetties, and around the overhanging trees in the water. Focus on submerged wood in the vegetation. Try topwaters early and late and wacky worms, Senkos, Ned Rigs, spinnerbaits, roadrunners, and crankbaits during mid day. Harvest regulations include a 13 - 18 inch slot 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 5 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. |
Water temperature should be in the upper 70-low 80 range. We have received no reports from anglers & these are seasonal guidlines. 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: 12/2/2024
| Species | Rating | Sizes Possible | Baits, Method, & Location |
| Crappie | Poor | Up to 11" | Try jigs or minnows near structure. |
| Channel Catfish | Poor to Fair | Most in the 1-2 lb size range but up to 7 lbs | Fishing cut bait or stink bait lake wide. |
| Largemouth bass | Poor to Fair | Up to 19 inches | Try using jerk baits or soft plastics near rocks and structure. |
| Bluegill | Poor to Fair | Up to 8 inches | Worms under a bobber and small jigs fished vertically around brush and rocks. |
| Walleye | Poor to Fair | Up to 23" | Try large jigs, jerk baits, and crank baits near rocks. |
| Wipers | Poor | Up to 23" | Jigs, spoons, and crank baits around windblown points. |
| General Comments | |||
|---|---|---|---|
SCOTT STATE LAKE - Last Updated: 12/11/2024
| Species | Rating | Size | Baits, Method & Location |
| Channel Catfish | Fair | Most in the 13 to 18 inch range | No Report. |
| Crappie | Fair | Up to 15 inches | Fishing minnows, or better yet, castnet-caught gizzard shad under a bobber around deeper brush and along deeper rip rapped shorelines has been best. |
| Largemouth Bass | Fair | Up to 5.5 lbs. | Casting soft plastics, suspending swimbaits and stick baits around laydown trees and overhanging brush along sun-warmed shore lines. |
| Sunfish | Fair/Good | Up to 8 inches | Nightcrawler pieces fished under a bobber around deeper brush. |
| Saugeye | Fair | Up to 7 lbs. | Casting shad-imitating swimbaits along lines of cattails, around the fish attractors, or along rip rapped shorelines early and late. |
| Trout | Good | 2/lb. average | The 2024/2025 trout season will run from December 1, 2024 to March 31, 2025. The first stocking of the season that consisted of approximately 1,000 trout was conducted 11-25-2024 with 2 stockings remaining for the season. Still fishing various baits such as power bait, worms, marshmallows, and corn, alone or in combination, is popular. Other anglers prefer presenting flys like prince, pheasant tail, and pistol pete nymphs using a fly rod or spin cast rod and casting bubble. Anglers report catching good numbers of fish with limits being relatively common. |
| General Comments | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 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! | |||