Species | Rating | Size | Baits, Method, Location |
---|---|---|---|
Crappie | Fair to Good | 9-15 inches | Cooling temperatures should get fish feeding up for fall and winter. Focus on deeper structure. I would look for brushpiles more than 10 ft deep, or trolling river channels can work as well. If you're fishing from shore look for submerged vegetation or structure. Points and jetties can be transitional areas fish use as the season changes. 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 | In fall Walleye should be feeding in preparation for winter. Transitional weather can make finding a feeding pattern difficult. Some fish may roam lake flats and river channels looking for baitfish, while others suspend in deeper, cooler water. Trolling river channels and road beds can be a good strategy to find Walleye. Walleye are often caught using nightcrawlers, jigging spoons, minnows, crankbaits, and spinners. *3.6 million fry were stocked in April. 200k fingerlings were stocked in June. |
Black Bass | Good | 12-20 inches | 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 and jigging spoons. 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. Smallmouth have been reported being caught on riprap shorelines and shallow vegetation in the state park. A good number of smallies were caught on the dam last week. |
Catfish | Good | 15-35 inches | 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. *28,000 surplus Channel Cat fingerlings were stocked in April. |
White Bass | Good to Excellent | 11-18 inches | 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. An angler reported catch a nice Striped Bass over the drain structure last week. |
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: 55ºF Current Water Level: 6.8 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. |