El Dorado Reservoir Fishing Information

Counties:
GPS:
N37 50.037 W96 47.084
Surface Acres:
8,000 acres
Maximum Depth:
60 feet
Normal Lake Level:
1339 Conservation Pool
Current Lake Level:
See link

Blue Catfish Tagging Project Underway at El Dorado

Blue catfish – native to major river basins in eastern Kansas – can reach massive sizes. Kansas’ current state record was caught from the Missouri River, weighing in at more than 100 pounds. As blue catfish populations become established in Kansas’ largest reservoirs, popularity of this species among anglers also continues to grow. One such growing fishery can be found in El Dorado Reservoir.

While many anglers might associate El Dorado Reservoir with monster walleye, hard-fighting wipers, or slab crappie, blue catfish are developing a following in the 8,000-acre impoundment. Blue catfish were introduced into El Dorado Reservoir in 2004 to establish an additional predatory fish population and to provide anglers with a new sport fishing opportunity. Annual stockings occurred for six years, creating a population that first exhibited natural recruitment in 2009. As the population grew, it became apparent that the fishery would benefit from harvest of smaller fish. In 2016, KDWPT implemented a 25- to 35-inch protected slot length limit, five fish daily creel limit, and a maximum of two fish over 35 inches.

As with any new regulation, data is needed to gauge effectiveness. To collect this data, KDWPT Fisheries biologists are tagging up to 2,000 blue catfish in El Dorado Reservoir. Tags will appear as a small yellow vinyl tube beneath the fish’s dorsal fin. Each tag will display an ID number unique to that fish and a phone number to call to report the catch, (620) 342-0658. Biologists hope to gain information about the area’s blue catfish population size, entrainment through the dam, and the fish’s susceptibility to harvest.

Success of this project is dependent on anglers reporting the tagged fish they capture. Information needed during the call will be the length of the fish, date, tag number, and whether the fish was kept or released. Anglers who report their tagged catch will receive an award as compensation for their participation.

Anglers should note that tagged blue catfish that are not legal for harvest must be returned to the water immediately after recording the tag information. If the tagged catfish is legal for harvest, anglers may keep or release the fish. Because part of this study is to evaluate harvest patterns, biologists encourage anglers not to let the presence of a tag influence their decision to keept or release the fish.

If you find a tagged blue catfish on the end of your line this summer, please take the time to call it in. Data collected from these fish are invaluable to fisheries biologists and will only improve angling success in the future.

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Creel limits for similar species, including largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, and spotted bass; or walleye, saugeye, and sauger; or wiper and striped bass apply to single species or in combination. For example, at El Dorado Reservoir, an angler may keep five largemouth bass OR three largemouth bass and two smallmouth bass OR two largemouth bass, two smallmouth bass, and one spotted bass or any other combination of the three.

Fishing Forecast Information

View Fishing Forecast definitions

+Largemouth Bass Forecast

Waterbody Density Preferred Lunker Big fish Bio rating
LARGEMOUTH BASS          
  (>12") (>15") (>20") (lbs.)  
  RES        
SEBELIUS 219.13 75.16 1.03 5.24 E
WEBSTER 63.81 31.15 0.00 3.99 G
WILSON 61.55 41.11 0.81 5.77 G
LACYGNE 56.15 45.45 3.74 7.70 E
KIRWIN 44.99 35.36 0.00 3.72 G
BIG HILL 38.85 19.20 1.24 5.43 G
CEDAR BLUFF 11.93 4.98 0.04 5.83 G
KANOPOLIS 11.43 1.78 0.26 4.85 F
GLEN ELDER 9.93 6.23 0.12 5.38 G
TORONTO 9.80 5.23 0.00 3.52 F
MILFORD 8.70 2.92 0.00 4.68 F
EL DORADO 5.20 2.45 0.15 3.47 F
CLINTON 3.67 1.67 0.00 4.02 F
WOLF CREEK 3.63 2.73 0.00 3.93 F
MELVERN 3.44 0.86 0.00 2.68 F
LOVEWELL 2.65 2.35 0.00 4.56 P
HILLSDALE 2.38 1.60 0.11 5.16 P
PERRY 1.68 0.83 0.15 6.00 P

+Walleye Forecast

Waterbody Density Preferred Lunker Big fish Bio rating
WALLEYE          
  (>15") (>20") (>25") (lbs.)  
  RES        
WILSON 4.92 2.18 0.28 8.52 G
KIRWIN 4.67 0.56 0.11 8.46 G
MARION 3.33 0.22 0.00 4.65 G
CEDAR BLUFF 2.88 0.50 0.01 7.93 G
WEBSTER 2.75 0.83 0.14 6.60 G
EL DORADO 2.69 1.11 0.13 7.94 G
MILFORD 2.67 0.23 0.02 6.17 G
GLEN ELDER 2.50 0.32 0.01 6.61 G
CHENEY 1.38 0.89 0.13 7.54 F
LOVEWELL 1.35 0.54 0.02 8.16 G
HILLSDALE 0.81 0.08 0.03 5.74 G
WOLF CREEK 0.59 0.20 0.02 5.99 F
MELVERN 0.50 0.06 0.00 4.59 F
CLINTON 0.45 0.00 0.00 2.91 F
POMONA 0.37 0.06 0.00 4.58 F
KANOPOLIS 0.07 0.00 0.00 1.94 P
BIG HILL 0.03 0.00 0.00 1.17 P
COUNCIL GROVE 0.02 0.02 0.00 2.80 P
ELK CITY 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.30 P
SEBELIUS 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.51 F

+Black Crappie Forecast

Waterbody Density Preferred Lunker Big fish Bio rating
BLACK CRAPPIE          
  (>8") (>10") (>12") (lbs.)  
  RES        
SEBELIUS 29.67 15.60 1.47 1.64 G
CEDAR BLUFF 22.55 2.24 0.06 1.29 G
KIRWIN 12.02 11.19 5.92 2.06 G
WEBSTER 5.17 2.02 0.02 1.40 G
LOVEWELL 4.33 0.38 0.07 1.43 G
KANOPOLIS 3.50 2.39 0.44 1.43 G
MILFORD 2.77 0.81 0.02 1.63 F
GLEN ELDER 1.94 1.55 0.17 1.26 G
HILLSDALE 1.33 0.29 0.06 1.36 G
CLINTON 1.30 0.93 0.04 1.10 P
MARION 1.25 0.50 0.25 1.31 P
BIG HILL 0.63 0.13 0.07 0.92 P
WILSON 0.62 0.22 0.11 1.68 P
JOHN REDMOND 0.48 0.10 0.03 1.29 P
PERRY 0.35 0.11 0.00 0.81 P
TORONTO 0.28 0.15 0.04 1.19 P
WOLF CREEK 0.17 0.06 0.06 1.39 P
EL DORADO 0.14 0.07 0.02 1.19 P
FALL RIVER 0.10 0.08 0.02 1.14 P
POMONA 0.10 0.06 0.00 0.66 P
TUTTLE CREEK 0.04 0.02 0.02 1.17 P
CHENEY 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.20 P
ELK CITY 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.13 P

+Bluegill Forecast

Waterbody Density Preferred Lunker Big fish Bio rating
BLUEGILL          
  (>6") (>8") (>10") (lbs.)  
  RES        
SEBELIUS 56.50 6.07 0.00 0.63 G
CEDAR BLUFF 23.14 0.20 0.00 0.41 G
KANOPOLIS 8.00 0.00 0.00 0.39 G
WILSON 7.00 0.04 0.00 0.34 G
WEBSTER 5.29 0.25 0.00 0.50 G
HILLSDALE 4.92 0.04 0.00 0.46 G
BIG HILL 3.00 0.00 0.00 0.34 F
LOVEWELL 2.98 0.00 0.00 0.32 F
LACYGNE 2.29 0.02 0.02 0.35 G
CLINTON 2.17 0.02 0.02 0.34 F
PERRY 1.39 0.00 0.00 0.34 F
KIRWIN 1.10 0.06 0.00 0.59 F
GLEN ELDER 1.03 0.20 0.06 0.70 F
MILFORD 0.96 0.13 0.00 0.47 F
MELVERN 0.80 0.05 0.02 0.37 P
FALL RIVER 0.48 0.00 0.00 0.27 P
POMONA 0.46 0.02 0.02 0.43 G
CHENEY 0.40 0.00 0.00 0.22 P
EL DORADO 0.34 0.00 0.00 0.23 P
WOLF CREEK 0.30 0.00 0.00 0.18 P
COUNCIL GROVE 0.17 0.00 0.00 0.21 P
TORONTO 0.13 0.00 0.00 0.23 P
TUTTLE CREEK 0.13 0.00 0.00 0.35 P
JOHN REDMOND 0.08 0.00 0.00 0.18 P
ELK CITY 0.02 0.00 0.00 0.16 P

+Channel Catfish Forecast

Waterbody Density Preferred Lunker Big fish Bio rating
CHANNEL CATFISH          
  (>16") (>24") (>28") (lbs.)  
  RES        
LOVEWELL 6.11 0.96 0.13 13.83 G
HILLSDALE 5.81 0.22 0.06 10.62 G
BIG HILL 5.47 0.63 0.03 8.60 G
MARION 5.36 0.20 0.02 5.48 G
TORONTO 3.75 2.36 0.53 12.78 G
KANOPOLIS 3.70 0.48 0.00 6.54 G
ELK CITY 3.11 0.47 0.03 8.42 G
WILSON 2.76 0.48 0.03 10.11 G
PERRY 2.54 0.65 0.14 12.70 G
MELVERN 2.46 0.30 0.06 11.45 G
CLINTON 2.45 0.09 0.00 6.06 G
CHENEY 2.29 0.51 0.09 14.81 G
LACYGNE 2.27 0.02 0.00 7.26 G
GLEN ELDER 1.94 0.45 0.17 16.60 G
POMONA 1.51 0.09 0.06 11.96 G
FALL RIVER 1.43 1.06 0.37 14.53 G
WEBSTER 1.28 0.08 0.03 10.64 F
KIRWIN 1.22 0.33 0.08 11.23 F
COUNCIL GROVE 1.18 0.20 0.04 7.59 F
JOHN REDMOND 0.98 0.24 0.10 14.02 F
CEDAR BLUFF 0.90 0.12 0.04 14.15 F
WOLF CREEK 0.81 0.00 0.00 4.16 F
TUTTLE CREEK 0.75 0.12 0.07 14.31 F
EL DORADO 0.67 0.02 0.00 5.39 F
MILFORD 0.30 0.03 0.02 9.23 F
SEBELIUS 0.17 0.10 0.10 22.56 F

+White Bass Forecast

Waterbody Density Preferred Lunker Big fish Bio rating
WHITE BASS          
  (>9") (>12") (>15") (lbs.)  
  RES        
GLEN ELDER 19.40 15.73 3.22 3.49 E
MARION 15.40 9.84 0.40 1.87 E
KANOPOLIS 10.74 5.05 0.49 2.86 G
CEDAR BLUFF 8.56 7.87 2.47 2.49 G
PERRY 8.42 4.26 0.33 2.51 G
CLINTON 8.00 7.17 0.83 2.31 G
WEBSTER 6.39 4.19 0.11 2.73 G
POMONA 6.26 3.31 0.14 1.88 G
JOHN REDMOND 5.75 4.85 1.19 3.12 G
HILLSDALE 4.75 2.03 0.08 1.66 G
MILFORD 4.50 2.73 0.17 1.91 G
TORONTO 4.36 3.44 1.36 2.85 G
KIRWIN 3.94 3.39 0.72 2.64 G
FALL RIVER 3.94 2.77 1.00 3.29 G
LOVEWELL 3.46 2.09 0.37 2.15 G
EL DORADO 3.27 1.42 0.38 2.01 G
BIG HILL 2.87 2.43 0.27 2.35 G
MELVERN 2.82 2.28 0.32 2.34 G
WOLF CREEK 2.78 2.13 0.43 1.72 F
LACYGNE 2.75 1.66 0.39 2.88 G
WILSON 2.72 2.22 0.88 2.96 F
COUNCIL GROVE 2.16 1.33 0.18 2.23 F
CHENEY 1.67 1.45 0.59 2.58 F
TUTTLE CREEK 0.27 0.07 0.03 2.96 F
ELK CITY 0.25 0.17 0.03 1.94 F

+Black Bass Combined Forecast

Waterbody Density Preferred Lunker 3 yr avg Size Rating
Sebelius Reservoir 92.35 32.94 0.00 72.41 Reservoir Good
Wilson Reservoir 84.21 49.85 2.32 52.41 Reservoir Good
Webster Reservoir 73.53 21.18 0.00 40.74 Reservoir Good
LaCygne Reservoir 55.42 33.13 6.02 51.34 Reservoir Excellent
Big Hill Reservoir 54.62 25.21 2.52 32.28 Reservoir Good
Kirwin Reservoir 42.35 34.71 0.00 32.39 Reservoir Good
Glen Elder Reservoir 42.21 25.61 5.36 46.53 Reservoir Good
El Dorado Reservoir 28.24 12.94 1.18 24.12 Reservoir Fair
Wolf Creek Reservoir 20.77 18.46 5.38 34.21 Reservoir Fair
Melvern Reservoir 12.75 5.29 1.57 19.85 Reservoir Fair
Toronto Reservoir 10.46 5.88 0.00 10.46 Reservoir Poor
Milford Reservoir 9.63 6.19 1.38 17.42 Reservoir Fair
Cedar Bluff Reservoir 7.37 4.32 0.00 9.92 Reservoir Fair
Kanopolis Reservoir 6.34 1.46 0.00 9.80 Reservoir Poor
Clinton Reservoir 5.69 2.91 0.24 6.68 Reservoir Fair
Perry Reservoir 5.11 2.84 0.57 14.43 Reservoir Fair
Hillsdale Reservoir 3.96 2.64 0.22 5.58 Reservoir Fair
Lovewell Reservoir 1.24 1.24 0.00 1.24 Reservoir Poor

+Percids Combined Forecast

Waterbody Density Preferred Lunker 3 yr avg Size Rating
Sebelius Reservoir 12.40 2.50 0.00 9.43 Reservoir Good
Wilson Reservoir 8.70 3.97 0.70 6.72 Reservoir Excellent
Cedar Bluff Reservoir 4.04 0.54 0.00 4.00 Reservoir Good
Perry Reservoir 3.96 0.65 0.22 2.25 Reservoir Excellent
Kirwin Reservoir 2.92 0.67 0.25 2.97 Reservoir Good
Milford Reservoir 2.60 0.45 0.05 2.05 Reservoir Fair
El Dorado Reservoir 2.53 1.40 0.13 2.22 Reservoir Good
Marion Reservoir 2.40 0.07 0.00 1.73 Reservoir Good
Glen Elder Reservoir 2.04 0.42 0.00 3.15 Reservoir Good
Webster Reservoir 2.00 0.67 0.25 2.03 Reservoir Good
Council Grove Reservoir 1.93 1.71 0.50 1.82 Reservoir Fair
Clinton Reservoir 1.75 0.88 0.13 1.29 Reservoir Fair
Cheney Reservoir 1.70 1.19 0.11 1.31 Reservoir Fair
Kanopolis Reservoir 1.43 0.48 0.19 3.74 Reservoir Fair
Lovewell Reservoir 1.15 0.30 0.05 0.83 Reservoir Fair
Melvern Reservoir 1.10 0.45 0.10 0.95 Reservoir Fair
Horsethief Reservoir 0.80 0.60 0.00 1.23 Reservoir Fair
Wolf Creek Reservoir 0.70 0.30 0.00 0.53 Reservoir Fair
Hillsdale Reservoir 0.33 0.08 0.00 0.42 Reservoir Good
Pomona Reservoir 0.29 0.14 0.00 0.18 Reservoir Fair
Tuttle Creek Reservoir 0.05 0.00 0.00 0.05 Reservoir Poor
Big Hill Reservoir 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Reservoir Poor

+Temperate Basses Combined Forecast

Waterbody Density Preferred Lunker 3 yr avg Size Rating
Glen Elder Reservoir 22.83 15.33 3.38 20.35 Reservoir Excellent
Webster Reservoir 17.08 5.42 0.17 11.31 Reservoir Good
Clinton Reservoir 16.38 12.13 1.31 10.56 Reservoir Good
Kanopolis Reservoir 15.19 3.33 0.76 16.19 Reservoir Good
Marion Reservoir 11.60 3.60 0.20 11.84 Reservoir Good
John Redmond Reservoir 10.00 8.57 0.95 7.92 Reservoir Good
Hillsdale Reservoir 9.42 2.08 0.17 3.89 Reservoir Good
Milford Reservoir 8.35 1.50 0.10 7.78 Reservoir Good
Sebelius Reservoir 7.80 0.80 0.10 7.03 Reservoir Good
Cedar Bluff Reservoir 7.71 7.58 2.63 8.74 Reservoir Good
Cheney Reservoir 6.00 4.63 1.15 6.27 Reservoir Good
El Dorado Reservoir 5.47 3.93 0.47 5.49 Reservoir Good
Pomona Reservoir 5.29 2.43 0.00 3.49 Reservoir Good
Perry Reservoir 5.17 1.57 0.35 2.97 Reservoir Good
Kirwin Reservoir 5.00 2.17 0.75 5.96 Reservoir Good
Big Hill Reservoir 4.30 3.90 0.60 3.33 Reservoir Good
Wilson Reservoir 4.13 2.73 1.20 2.74 Reservoir Good
Toronto Reservoir 2.58 2.42 0.25 2.37 Reservoir Fair
Wolf Creek Reservoir 2.50 2.30 0.50 2.26 Reservoir Good
Lovewell Reservoir 2.15 1.45 0.35 5.66 Reservoir Fair
Fall River Reservoir 1.92 1.42 0.75 5.29 Reservoir Fair
LaCygne Reservoir 0.57 0.50 0.21 3.08 Reservoir Good
Melvern Reservoir 0.50 0.50 0.10 4.06 Reservoir Fair
Council Grove Reservoir 0.29 0.14 0.00 1.72 Reservoir Poor
Tuttle Creek Reservoir 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.05 Reservoir Poor
Elk City Reservoir 0.00 0.00 0.00 4.54 Reservoir Fair

+Crappie Combined Forecast

Waterbody Density Preferred Lunker 3 yr avg Size Rating
Pomona Reservoir 23.83 6.83 1.89 19.80 Reservoir Excellent
Cedar Bluff Reservoir 20.22 2.17 0.00 9.11 Reservoir Good
Marion Reservoir 17.13 4.13 1.50 12.84 Reservoir Good
Lovewell Reservoir 14.00 2.50 0.36 33.17 Reservoir Good
Kirwin Reservoir 13.88 12.00 3.88 18.81 Reservoir Good
Hillsdale Reservoir 12.56 7.88 1.31 20.98 Reservoir Good
Tuttle Creek Reservoir 11.81 10.25 1.25 11.81 Reservoir Excellent
Sebelius Reservoir 11.60 6.20 0.40 14.87 Reservoir Good
Melvern Reservoir 9.94 6.75 0.63 11.60 Reservoir Good
El Dorado Reservoir 9.88 8.63 3.63 7.51 Reservoir Good
Glen Elder Reservoir 7.79 4.08 0.54 9.93 Reservoir Good
Webster Reservoir 7.38 2.31 0.00 9.02 Reservoir Good
Toronto Reservoir 6.38 2.50 0.81 8.15 Reservoir Good
Big Hill Reservoir 5.70 2.60 0.70 5.00 Reservoir Good
Milford Reservoir 5.56 4.13 1.38 5.56 Reservoir Good
Perry Reservoir 5.50 4.56 0.67 13.59 Reservoir  
Wolf Creek Reservoir 5.00 2.29 0.41 4.94 Reservoir Fair
Horsethief Reservoir 4.40 0.00 0.00 6.80 Reservoir Fair
Fall River Reservoir 4.19 0.81 0.63 5.47 Reservoir Good
Council Grove Reservoir 3.62 2.62 0.92 5.07 Reservoir Good
Kanopolis Reservoir 2.92 1.58 0.17 7.56 Reservoir Good
Clinton Reservoir 2.75 1.94 0.25 18.31 Reservoir Fair
Cheney Reservoir 2.40 1.40 0.00 2.40 Reservoir Fair
LaCygne Reservoir 1.62 0.94 0.31 3.10 Reservoir Good
John Redmond Reservoir 1.44 1.13 0.13 4.13 Reservoir Fair
Elk City Reservoir 1.00 0.44 0.44 7.16 Reservoir Good
Wilson Reservoir 0.53 0.53 0.20 1.09 Reservoir Fair
Stocking Records Information

+Largemouth Bass Stocking

Water Water Type Stocking Date Number Stocked
Bone Creek Lake COML 6/15/2021 6663
Bone Creek Lake COML 6/15/2021 6886
Bone Creek Lake Sum     13549
Cedar Bluff Reservoir RESV 6/3/2021 3202
Cedar Bluff Reservoir RESV 6/9/2021 12711
Cedar Bluff Reservoir RESV 6/9/2021 9630
Cedar Bluff Reservoir Sum     25543
CRAWFORD STATE FISHING LAKE SFLS 6/15/2021 899
CRAWFORD STATE FISHING LAKE SFLS 6/15/2021 2880
CRAWFORD STATE FISHING LAKE SFLS 6/14/2021 60
CRAWFORD STATE FISHING LAKE Sum     3839
El Dorado Reservoir RESV 6/22/2021 10358
El Dorado Reservoir RESV 6/22/2021 8047
El Dorado Reservoir RESV 6/22/2021 14006
El Dorado Reservoir RESV 6/22/2021 17095
El Dorado Reservoir RESV 6/23/2021 7508
El Dorado Reservoir RESV 6/23/2021 3025
El Dorado Reservoir Sum     60039
Hillsdale Reservoir RESV 6/23/2021 4502
Hillsdale Reservoir RESV 6/23/2021 1241
Hillsdale Reservoir Sum     5743
Horsethief Reservoir RESV 6/30/2021 18823
Horsethief Reservoir Sum     18823
Melvern Reservoir RESV 6/16/2021 9941
Melvern Reservoir RESV 6/16/2021 8625
Melvern Reservoir RESV 6/16/2021 12918
Melvern Reservoir RESV 6/16/2021 18144
Melvern Reservoir Sum     49628
Wilson Reservoir RESV 6/9/2021 11947
Wilson Reservoir RESV 6/9/2021 3167
Wilson Reservoir RESV 6/9/2021 6565
Wilson Reservoir Sum     21679
  Grand Total 198843
Trout Stocking Information

View Trout Stocking Program Information

South Central Trout Stocking Schedule

Department-owned Waters - Trout Stocking by KDWP

South Central Region El Dorado St Park
River Area
Wichita
O.J. Watson Park Pond  
1st Stocking    
2nd Stocking    
3rd Stocking    
     
     
Total Estimated Trout Stocked for 2023-2024 Season 3,213 Trout 2,550 trout

 

Community Lake Stockings - Please contact local city/county offices for dates of stockings if not listed below

South Central Region Sedgwick County Park
Vic’s Lake
316-660-1780
Sedgwick County
Slough Creek
316-660-1780
Hutchinson
Dillon Nature Center
620-663-7411
1st  Stocking       
2nd Stocking      
3rd Stocking      
       
       
Total Estimated Trout Stocked for
2023-24 Season
     
Map Information