Fall River Reservoir Fishing Information
Fall River Reservoir
Fall River Reservoir Outlet
Fall River State Park Kid's Pond
Alternate Route to Narrows
US Army Corps of Engineers 620-658-4445
There are 17 miles of public river access beginning at Hwy.99 bridge.
| Species | Rating | Size | Baits, Method, Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| channel catfish | fair | 0% 11"-16" 57% 16"-24" 29% 24"-28" 14% 28"-36" | Use a worm, stink bait, or shad sides on channel breaks. |
| crappie | fair | 75% 5"- 8" 17% 8"-10" 1% 10"-12" 7% 12"-15" 1% 15"+ | Use a jig or minnow on deep channel breaks. |
| largemouth bass | poor | 37% 8"-12" 16% 12"-15" 42% 15"-20" 5% 20"+ | The main body of the reservoir doesn't have the necessary largemouth bass habitat to support a high density bass population. However, the flooded timber and clearer water in the backwater section of the river produces a fair density bass population. There were 19 bass per hour of electrofishing around the Ladd Bridge section of the river. The ideal catch rate would be 100 bass per hour. Use a jig, worm, spinner or crank bait around stumps and brush in the river. The high water this spring resulted in a large numbers of small bass that are fun to catch all along the shoreline. |
| white bass | poor | 4% 6"- 9" 19% 9"-12" 54% 12"-15" 24% 15"-18" | Use a spinner or jig on rocky points. |
| General Comments: | |||
| The east side of the outlet/spillway area is closed for repairs. No fishing is allowed at this time. Link to USACE reservoir water level: http://www.swt-wc.usace.army.mil/FALL.lakepage.html To view a map of brush piles in Fall River Reservoir and the old sunken Ladd Bridge in the river, copy this file into Google Earth and zoom into the reservoir. FLRR brush piles 1.52 kB The size structure listed for largemouth bass is from May 2018 electrofishing. The size structure listed for crappie, white bass and channel catfish is from October 2018 test netting. Sign up to receive a copy of the Fall River District Fisheries Newsletter. For more information about the Fall River Fisheries District, click here to access newsletters. | |||
| Fishing Population | Creel Limit | Min Length Limit |
|---|---|---|
| Bluegill | ||
| Channel Catfish | 10 | |
| Crappie | 50 | |
| Flathead Catfish | 5 | |
| Green Sunfish | ||
| Largemouth Bass | 5 | 15 |
| Spotted Bass | 5 | 15 |
| White Bass |
* Largemouth, Smallmouth, Spotted Bass in Combination
** Striped Bass or Wiper in Combination
*** Walleye, Sauger or Saugeye in Combination
View Fishing Forecast definitions
| Water | Density | Preferred | Lunker | Biologist rating | 3 year average |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SEBELIUS (NORTON) | 70.06 | 30.54 | 0.00 | E | 67.17 |
| LACYGNE | 50.59 | 39.41 | 7.06 | E | 68.49 |
| GLEN ELDER | 45.14 | 23.17 | 1.92 | G | 32.58 |
| WILSON | 42.79 | 22.48 | 3.86 | E | 21.43 |
| WOLF CREEK | 41.46 | 22.65 | 1.39 | G | 47.47 |
| MELVERN | 26.94 | 12.71 | 0.95 | G | 21.20 |
| MILFORD | 25.20 | 14.32 | 1.06 | G | 22.36 |
| PERRY | 22.89 | 12.05 | 1.20 | F | 12.81 |
| EL DORADO | 20.00 | 5.88 | 0.00 | F | 31.68 |
| WALNUT CREEK - TORONTO RES. | 16.97 | 10.98 | 1.00 | F | 26.62 |
| CEDAR BLUFF | 14.38 | 5.56 | 0.00 | F | 15.24 |
| CLINTON | 14.33 | 4.90 | 0.39 | F | 8.07 |
| KANOPOLIS | 13.25 | 4.42 | 0.00 | P | 5.64 |
| BIG HILL | 12.80 | 4.80 | 0.40 | G | 26.96 |
| FALL RIVER | 11.98 | 8.98 | 1.00 | F | 9.35 |
| HILLSDALE | 7.19 | 4.32 | 0.29 | F | 9.00 |
| WEBSTER | 7.19 | 1.80 | 0.00 | G | 3.59 |
| KIRWIN | 1.80 | 0.00 | 0.00 | G | 0.93 |
| Water | Density | Preferred | Lunker | Biologist rating | 3 year average |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HILLSDALE | 35.56 | 12.44 | 0.81 | G | 29.63 |
| CLINTON | 33.88 | 14.19 | 1.38 | G | 24.67 |
| KIRWIN | 27.06 | 6.56 | 1.56 | G | 16.52 |
| PERRY | 17.69 | 4.81 | 0.38 | E | 16.65 |
| ELK CITY | 16.73 | 6.87 | 3.60 | G | 11.39 |
| TORONTO | 16.56 | 6.81 | 3.06 | G | 12.67 |
| LOVEWELL | 15.63 | 4.31 | 0.44 | G | 13.91 |
| MELVERN | 14.79 | 1.50 | 0.86 | F | 6.78 |
| POMONA | 9.25 | 3.25 | 0.69 | G | 7.65 |
| KANOPOLIS | 7.11 | 1.67 | 0.44 | G | 6.14 |
| FALL RIVER | 6.75 | 2.19 | 1.88 | G | 6.96 |
| SEBELIUS (NORTON) | 6.50 | 2.30 | 0.10 | G | 5.77 |
| LACYGNE | 6.25 | 2.81 | 0.44 | G | 5.48 |
| CEDAR BLUFF | 5.28 | 4.22 | 1.33 | F | 3.28 |
| COUNCIL GROVE | 4.83 | 1.08 | 0.25 | F | 3.15 |
| WOLF CREEK | 4.69 | 3.50 | 2.19 | F | 6.55 |
| WEBSTER | 4.50 | 0.31 | 0.00 | F | 3.98 |
| EL DORADO | 4.47 | 2.87 | 0.60 | G | 6.27 |
| BIG HILL | 3.60 | 1.40 | 0.20 | F | 3.28 |
| GLEN ELDER | 2.14 | 0.68 | 0.32 | F | 1.90 |
| WILSON | 0.20 | 0.00 | 0.00 | P | 0.13 |
+Temperate Basses Combined Forecast
| Water | Density | Preferred | Lunker | Biologist rating | 3 year average |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GLEN ELDER | 18.54 | 16.17 | 2.33 | E | 17.40 |
| CEDAR BLUFF | 13.33 | 12.75 | 4.75 | G | 15.94 |
| SEBELIUS (NORTON) | 11.00 | 5.40 | 0.20 | G | 9.73 |
| MARION | 10.20 | 4.60 | 0.00 | G | 10.82 |
| CLINTON | 9.13 | 7.25 | 1.31 | G | 9.77 |
| FALL RIVER | 8.67 | 7.00 | 2.17 | G | 4.72 |
| KANOPOLIS | 7.56 | 2.81 | 0.56 | F | 8.33 |
| EL DORADO | 7.27 | 5.40 | 0.40 | G | 7.26 |
| MILFORD | 7.20 | 3.10 | 0.05 | G | 8.17 |
| KIRWIN | 6.87 | 3.13 | 0.53 | G | 4.82 |
| CHENEY | 6.55 | 2.80 | 0.15 | G | 9.42 |
| JOHN REDMOND | 5.10 | 0.55 | 0.15 | G | 4.90 |
| LOVEWELL | 4.65 | 2.30 | 0.00 | G | 5.15 |
| WEBSTER | 4.50 | 2.42 | 0.17 | G | 5.81 |
| TORONTO | 3.92 | 1.83 | 0.08 | G | 4.81 |
| COUNCIL GROVE | 3.33 | 1.53 | 0.00 | F | 2.40 |
| LACYGNE | 3.17 | 1.83 | 0.08 | G | 2.96 |
| ELK CITY | 3.13 | 2.06 | 0.25 | G | 4.67 |
| WOLF CREEK | 2.89 | 2.67 | 0.72 | G | 3.27 |
| POMONA | 2.75 | 1.92 | 0.00 | G | 3.84 |
| BIG HILL | 2.70 | 2.70 | 0.40 | F | 3.09 |
| PERRY | 2.25 | 0.30 | 0.00 | F | 3.33 |
| WILSON | 2.03 | 1.97 | 0.33 | G | 2.20 |
| MELVERN | 1.81 | 1.69 | 0.69 | F | 7.42 |
| HILLSDALE | 0.92 | 0.50 | 0.00 | F | 3.33 |
| Water | Density | Preferred | Lunker | Biologist rating | 3 year average |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| JEWELL CITY LAKE | 143.14 | 80.39 | 0.00 | F | 114.99 |
| EMPORIA-JONES PARK - WEST POND | 92.86 | 0.00 | 0.00 | G | 84.73 |
| FORT SCOTT-GUNN PARK WEST POND-#2 | 80.00 | 40.00 | 0.00 | G | 60.89 |
| EMPORIA-JONES PARK - EAST POND | 50.00 | 20.00 | 0.00 | G | 75.88 |
| EMPORIA-JONES PARK -NORTH POND | 36.36 | 27.27 | 0.00 | G | 73.74 |
| EMPORIA-PETER PAN PARK | 35.29 | 17.65 | 0.00 | G | 29.49 |
| FORT SCOTT-GUNN PARK EAST POND-FERN | 28.41 | 8.52 | 0.00 | F | 28.41 |
| ELK CITY WA PONDS | 22.73 | 4.55 | 0.00 | F | 22.73 |
| BUFFALO RANCH POND | 18.52 | 0.00 | 0.00 | G | 18.52 |
| OLPE-JONES PARK POND | 17.96 | 11.98 | 0.00 | G | 20.61 |
| ELWOOD WILDLIFE AREA POND | 16.83 | 4.81 | 0.00 | P | 16.83 |
| FALL RIVER RESERVIOR ST. PK. - KIDS POND | 10.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | G | 27.78 |
| KANOPOLIS ST. PK. POND | 10.00 | 10.00 | 0.00 | P | 10.00 |
| GLEN ELDER STATE PARK POND | 8.82 | 5.88 | 0.00 | P | 9.80 |