Melvern Reservoir Fishing Information

Counties:

Osage

GPS:

N38 31.72 W95 44.70

Surface Acres:

7,000 acres

Maximum Depth:

60 feet

Normal Lake Level:

1036 msl

Current Lake Level:

1036.03 - Discharge of 20 csf

Lake Temperature:

51 F.

35 miles S of Topeka on US-75

US Army Corps of Engineers - Melvern Reservoir (785) 549-3318

Melvern Reservoir Fishing Report - Updated: 10/21/2024

Species

Rating

Size

Baits, Method & Location

White Crappie

Good

up to 15 inches

Crappie can be found on brush piles and timber in 6 - 20 ft. Crappie may move into shallower areas at dusk to feed. Jig and small plastics or minnows will produce bites.

White Bass

Good

up to 16 inches

White Bass are can be found in the river channels or along the dam 20+ ft. Jigging spoons, plastics, and deep running crankbait will produce bites.

Walleye/Saugeye/Sauger

Good

15-20 inches

Walleye can be found on mudflats or rocky shorelines in 10-20ft. Jigs with plastics or crankbaits are producing bites. Walleye may move into shallower areas at dawn and dusk to feed.

Catfish

Good

up to 40lbs.

Catfish can be found near river channels and wind-blown shorelines. Cut shad is producing the most bites.

Black Bass

Good

1-5 lb

Bass can be found on rocky shorelines and main lake points in 6 - 10 ft. Crayfish imitations or crankbaits will produce bites.

General Comments

Summary:

Fishing conditions have improved now that fall has set in and water temperatures are cooling. The afternoon bite is often better compared to the morning. Target shallow rocky areas that warm quickly. Deep channels and dropoffs can be productive in the morning.

NEW BLUE CATFISH HARVEST REGULATIONS

10 fish daily creel limit, only 1 fish 30" or longer

Fisheries biologists continue to study Kansas blue catfish and the research is showing reservoirs with lower population densities exhibit the best growth rates which equates to greater numbers of larger fish available to anglers. Growth rates of blue catfish are variable across Kansas. Time required for a blue catfish to reach 30 inches is as short as 8 years at Tuttle Creek Reservoir to as long as 14 years at El Dorado Reservoir. Due to the time required to grow to larger sizes, these older and larger fish are quite valuable. Angler harvest is necessary to provide desired densities and harvest should be focused upon smaller blue catfish, especially those in the 18 to 25 inch range while releasing the larger fish to fight again.

Water level and discharge:

Current conditions can be found at:

https://www.nwk.usace.army.mil/Locations/District-Lakes/Melvern-Lake/Daily-Lake-Info-2/

Invasive Species:

Melvern Reservoir has Zebra Mussels. Remember to clean, drain, and dry your watercraft to prevent the spread of invasive species.

Creel Length/Limits

Fishing Population	Creel Limit	Min Length Limit
Bluegill
Channel Catfish	10
Crappie	20	10
Flathead Catfish	5
Green Sunfish
Largemouth Bass	5	18
Smallmouth Bass	5	18
Spotted Bass	5	18
Walleye	5	18
Blue Catfish	10	Only 1 fish 30-inches or longer
Sauger	5	18
Saugeye	5	18

* Largemouth, Smallmouth, Spotted Bass in Combination
** Striped Bass or Wiper in Combination
*** Walleye, Sauger or Saugeye in Combination

Fishing Forecast Information

View Fishing Forecast definitions

+Saugeye Forecast

NAME	Density	Preferred	Lunker	Big fish	Bio rating
SAUGEYE
	(>14")	(>18")	(>22")	(lbs.)	BR
SEBELIUS	10.67	4.53	0.37	6.38	G
COUNCIL GROVE	3.78	1.80	0.42	6.89	F
KANOPOLIS	2.02	1.07	0.20	6.70	G
POMONA	0.95	0.28	0.00	2.97	G
MELVERN	0.94	0.00	0.00	1.50	F
CLINTON	0.86	0.12	0.00	2.72	F
TUTTLE CREEK	0.75	0.13	0.02	4.81	G
WEBSTER	0.14	0.14	0.06	4.48	F
ELK CITY	0.03	0.00	0.00	1.11	F

+Largemouth Bass Forecast

NAME	Density	Preferred	Lunker	Big fish	Bio rating
LARGEMOUTH BASS
	(>12")	(>15")	(>20")	(lbs.)	BR
SEBELIUS	264.55	81.66	1.03	5.24	G
WILSON	49.43	38.12	0.39	5.63	G
WEBSTER	45.72	29.11	0.00	3.80	F
KIRWIN	37.30	28.81	0.00	3.72	F
LACYGNE	35.01	26.89	1.96	7.70	G
BIG HILL	33.15	14.38	0.64	6.81	G
CEDAR BLUFF	18.65	7.00	0.09	5.83	G
KANOPOLIS	17.03	2.14	0.53	4.85	F
MILFORD	10.70	2.81	0.00	4.21	F
GLEN ELDER	10.26	7.17	0.07	4.92	G
MELVERN	8.57	1.89	0.00	2.03	F
EL DORADO	7.93	4.29	0.21	3.94	F
CLINTON	6.09	2.53	0.00	4.75	F
WOLF CREEK	5.61	4.23	0.59	5.49	P
PERRY	3.51	1.74	0.27	6.00	P
LOVEWELL	2.94	2.35	0.00	4.56	P
TORONTO	1.50	1.50	0.00	3.71	P
HILLSDALE	1.47	1.05	0.00	2.99	P

+Walleye Forecast

NAME	Density	Preferred	Lunker	Big fish	Bio rating
WALLEYE
	(>15")	(>20")	(>25")	(lbs.)	BR
KIRWIN	4.78	0.56	0.06	8.46	G
MARION	4.74	0.49	0.00	4.65	G
WEBSTER	3.06	0.92	0.11	6.36	G
EL DORADO	2.73	1.00	0.09	7.94	G
WILSON	2.62	1.18	0.07	7.45	G
MILFORD	2.60	0.20	0.00	3.87	F
CEDAR BLUFF	2.15	0.57	0.03	7.93	G
GLEN ELDER	2.04	0.22	0.01	6.61	F
CHENEY	1.20	0.73	0.14	7.54	F
HILLSDALE	1.17	0.31	0.10	7.06	G
LOVEWELL	1.00	0.47	0.00	4.62	F
WOLF CREEK	0.66	0.20	0.02	5.99	F
MELVERN	0.49	0.02	0.00	4.45	F
CLINTON	0.42	0.04	0.00	3.45	F
POMONA	0.38	0.08	0.00	4.16	P
KANOPOLIS	0.12	0.02	0.00	5.83	P
BIG HILL	0.10	0.00	0.00	1.39	F
ELK CITY	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.30	P
SEBELIUS	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.51	P

+Black Crappie Forecast

NAME	Density	Preferred	Lunker	Big fish	Bio rating
BLACK CRAPPIE
	(>8")	(>10")	(>12")	(lbs.)	BR
SEBELIUS	26.47	14.00	1.33	1.54	G
CEDAR BLUFF	23.61	4.75	0.08	1.29	G
KIRWIN	9.56	9.15	5.79	2.06	G
LOVEWELL	4.46	0.76	0.05	1.43	F
KANOPOLIS	3.94	3.03	0.44	1.43	G
WEBSTER	3.77	1.75	0.02	1.40	F
MARION	3.33	0.67	0.33	1.09	F
MILFORD	2.88	0.94	0.02	1.06	F
HILLSDALE	1.75	0.32	0.05	1.02	G
CLINTON	1.11	0.70	0.02	0.93	G
JOHN REDMOND	0.75	0.13	0.04	1.29	P
GLEN ELDER	0.73	0.40	0.13	1.11	F
WILSON	0.64	0.24	0.11	1.68	P
PERRY	0.38	0.08	0.00	0.81	P
POMONA	0.34	0.14	0.02	1.44	P
TORONTO	0.34	0.15	0.04	1.19	P
BIG HILL	0.33	0.03	0.00	0.52	F
WOLF CREEK	0.23	0.07	0.07	1.39	P
LACYGNE	0.20	0.11	0.00	0.93	P
EL DORADO	0.14	0.04	0.00	0.60	P
FALL RIVER	0.10	0.08	0.02	1.14	P
TUTTLE CREEK	0.09	0.07	0.05	1.17	P
MELVERN	0.02	0.02	0.00	0.63	P
ELK CITY	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.13	P

+Bluegill Forecast

NAME	Density	Preferred	Lunker	Big fish	Bio rating
BLUEGILL
	(>6")	(>8")	(>10")	(lbs.)	BR
SEBELIUS	44.33	9.47	0.00	1.21	G
CEDAR BLUFF	15.12	0.20	0.00	0.40	F
HILLSDALE	6.07	0.05	0.00	0.46	F
LACYGNE	4.39	0.02	0.02	0.31	F
KANOPOLIS	3.78	0.03	0.00	0.39	G
WILSON	3.51	0.00	0.00	0.33	G
WEBSTER	2.94	0.50	0.00	0.50	F
LOVEWELL	2.56	0.05	0.00	0.43	P
BIG HILL	2.37	0.00	0.00	0.36	G
MARION	2.00	0.00	0.00	0.39	F
MILFORD	1.44	0.35	0.00	0.52	P
CLINTON	1.11	0.07	0.00	0.52	F
KIRWIN	0.81	0.06	0.00	0.59	F
PERRY	0.60	0.00	0.00	0.32	P
MELVERN	0.52	0.05	0.02	0.37	P
EL DORADO	0.32	0.00	0.00	0.23	F
TUTTLE CREEK	0.32	0.00	0.00	0.25	P
GLEN ELDER	0.30	0.10	0.00	0.70	P
WOLF CREEK	0.30	0.00	0.00	0.18	P
FALL RIVER	0.29	0.00	0.00	0.26	F
POMONA	0.23	0.02	0.02	0.43	F
COUNCIL GROVE	0.14	0.00	0.00	0.21	P
TORONTO	0.13	0.00	0.00	0.23	P
ELK CITY	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.13	P

+Channel Catfish Forecast

NAME	Density	Preferred	Lunker	Big fish	Bio rating
CHANNEL CATFISH
	(>16")	(>24")	(>28")	(lbs.)	BR
LOVEWELL	6.94	0.94	0.11	11.81	G
BIG HILL	6.30	0.73	0.03	9.05	G
HILLSDALE	5.36	0.33	0.05	10.45	G
MARION	4.43	0.23	0.03	5.79	G
KANOPOLIS	3.37	0.43	0.02	9.93	G
WILSON	2.97	0.46	0.03	10.11	G
TORONTO	2.56	1.83	0.47	11.33	G
PERRY	2.45	0.67	0.14	12.70	G
CHENEY	2.45	0.41	0.04	14.81	G
ELK CITY	2.23	0.23	0.00	5.65	G
LACYGNE	2.19	0.02	0.00	7.26	G
GLEN ELDER	2.18	0.46	0.16	16.60	G
MELVERN	2.14	0.27	0.04	8.33	G
CLINTON	1.82	0.12	0.00	6.06	G
FALL RIVER	1.73	1.39	0.64	14.53	G
POMONA	1.55	0.05	0.05	11.96	G
CEDAR BLUFF	1.46	0.32	0.04	14.15	G
COUNCIL GROVE	1.42	0.20	0.09	9.41	F
WEBSTER	1.39	0.11	0.03	10.64	G
KIRWIN	1.06	0.25	0.08	11.23	G
JOHN REDMOND	1.05	0.31	0.07	12.33	F
TUTTLE CREEK	0.95	0.20	0.09	14.31	G
WOLF CREEK	0.70	0.00	0.00	4.12	F
EL DORADO	0.58	0.00	0.00	3.84	F
SEBELIUS	0.37	0.23	0.17	22.56	F
MILFORD	0.35	0.07	0.02	9.23	F

+White Bass Forecast

NAME	Density	Preferred	Lunker	Big fish	Bio rating
WHITE BASS
	(>9")	(>12")	(>15")	(lbs.)	BR
GLEN ELDER	18.32	16.17	3.84	3.49	G
MARION	17.06	12.20	0.43	1.87	G
CEDAR BLUFF	10.24	9.28	2.79	2.25	G
PERRY	9.76	5.82	0.22	2.15	G
KANOPOLIS	8.17	6.15	0.28	2.70	G
POMONA	7.40	4.58	0.45	2.20	G
CLINTON	6.88	5.20	1.02	2.32	G
WEBSTER	6.22	3.92	0.08	2.73	G
MILFORD	5.78	4.93	0.55	2.13	G
KIRWIN	5.19	4.22	0.67	2.18	G
TORONTO	5.00	3.00	1.36	2.69	G
FALL RIVER	4.24	2.94	0.94	3.02	G
WOLF CREEK	3.96	2.44	0.32	1.98	G
MELVERN	3.33	2.63	0.43	2.26	G
LOVEWELL	3.25	1.75	0.25	1.85	P
EL DORADO	3.24	1.58	0.36	2.03	F
JOHN REDMOND	3.14	2.21	0.95	3.24	F
BIG HILL	3.00	1.83	0.07	1.73	G
LACYGNE	2.71	1.60	0.33	2.88	G
COUNCIL GROVE	2.47	1.58	0.18	2.23	F
HILLSDALE	2.43	1.83	0.10	1.43	G
WILSON	2.21	2.11	0.86	2.96	G
CHENEY	0.86	0.80	0.33	2.09	P
ELK CITY	0.80	0.40	0.03	1.94	F
TUTTLE CREEK	0.47	0.18	0.02	2.96	F

+Black Bass Combined Forecast

Waterbody	Density	Preferred	Lunker	3 yr avg	Size	Rating
Sebelius Reservoir	267.22	82.69	1.03	5.24	Reservoir	G
Wilson Reservoir	62.91	44.38	0.39	5.63	Reservoir	G
Webster Reservoir	45.72	29.11	0.00	3.80	Reservoir	F
Big Hill Reservoir	38.62	16.46	0.64	6.81	Reservoir	G
Kirwin Reservoir	37.30	28.81	0.00	3.72	Reservoir	F
LaCygne Reservoir	35.01	26.89	1.96	7.70	Reservoir	G
Melvern Reservoir	25.37	6.34	0.00	2.86	Reservoir	G
Cedar Bluff Reservoir	22.06	7.49	0.09	5.83	Reservoir	G
Glen Elder Reservoir	20.90	11.69	0.07	4.92	Reservoir	G
Kanopolis Reservoir	17.03	2.14	0.53	4.85	Reservoir	F
Milford Reservoir	15.89	3.94	0.00	4.21	Reservoir	F
El Dorado Reservoir	12.86	5.36	0.21	3.94	Reservoir	F
Wolf Creek Reservoir	12.44	9.42	0.79	5.49	Reservoir	F
Clinton Reservoir	9.56	3.75	0.00	4.75	Reservoir	F
Perry Reservoir	4.74	2.70	0.27	6.00	Reservoir	P
Lovewell Reservoir	2.94	2.35	0.00	4.56	Reservoir	P
Hillsdale Reservoir	1.77	1.35	0.00	3.01	Reservoir	P
Toronto Reservoir	1.50	1.50	0.00	3.71	Reservoir	P

+Crappie Combined Forecast

Waterbody	Density	Preferred	Lunker	3 yr avg	Size	Rating
Melvern Reservoir	34.23	14.91	1.41	1.61	Reservoir	E
Sebelius Reservoir	28.53	15.00	1.83	1.54	Reservoir	G
Lovewell Reservoir	26.88	10.54	1.02	2.50	Reservoir	G
Hillsdale Reservoir	25.52	11.45	1.52	1.29	Reservoir	E
Perry Reservoir	25.45	14.03	0.38	1.42	Reservoir	G
Cedar Bluff Reservoir	24.71	5.51	0.43	1.80	Reservoir	G
Toronto Reservoir	18.51	5.83	1.91	2.40	Reservoir	G
Elk City Reservoir	15.49	5.57	1.35	2.40	Reservoir	G
LaCygne Reservoir	15.07	5.95	0.45	2.30	Reservoir	G
Clinton Reservoir	10.61	3.46	0.24	1.37	Reservoir	G
Kirwin Reservoir	10.31	9.56	6.06	2.06	Reservoir	G
Wolf Creek Reservoir	8.93	3.27	0.57	1.64	Reservoir	F
Tuttle Creek Reservoir	7.57	4.68	1.05	1.69	Reservoir	G
Pomona Reservoir	7.41	3.11	0.18	1.73	Reservoir	G
Big Hill Reservoir	7.40	3.43	0.27	1.19	Reservoir	G
Marion Reservoir	6.67	2.67	0.33	1.09	Reservoir	G
Milford Reservoir	6.54	3.75	0.58	1.90	Reservoir	G
Fall River Reservoir	6.06	1.85	0.44	2.58	Reservoir	G
El Dorado Reservoir	5.93	2.29	0.82	1.59	Reservoir	G
Council Grove Reservoir	5.89	3.22	1.33	1.87	Reservoir	F
Kanopolis Reservoir	5.67	3.58	0.50	1.43	Reservoir	G
Webster Reservoir	5.38	2.90	0.17	1.79	Reservoir	G
Glen Elder Reservoir	3.33	1.38	0.46	1.91	Reservoir	F
John Redmond Reservoir	1.71	0.79	0.25	3.04	Reservoir	F
Wilson Reservoir	0.73	0.31	0.13	1.68	Reservoir	P

+Sunfish Combined Forecast

Waterbody	Density	Preferred	Lunker	3 yr avg	Size	Rating
Sebelius Reservoir	44.40	9.50	0.00	1.21	Reservoir	G
Cedar Bluff Reservoir	15.33	0.22	0.00	0.44	Reservoir	F
Hillsdale Reservoir	6.09	0.07	0.00	0.46	Reservoir	F
LaCygne Reservoir	4.50	0.02	0.02	0.31	Reservoir	F
Kanopolis Reservoir	3.81	0.03	0.00	0.39	Reservoir	G
Wilson Reservoir	3.53	0.00	0.00	0.33	Reservoir	G
Webster Reservoir	2.94	0.50	0.00	0.50	Reservoir	F
Big Hill Reservoir	2.63	0.17	0.00	0.62	Reservoir	G
Lovewell Reservoir	2.56	0.05	0.00	0.43	Reservoir	P
Marion Reservoir	2.00	0.00	0.00	0.39	Reservoir	F
Milford Reservoir	1.44	0.35	0.00	0.52	Reservoir	P
Clinton Reservoir	1.20	0.07	0.00	0.52	Reservoir	F
Kirwin Reservoir	0.83	0.06	0.00	0.59	Reservoir	F
Perry Reservoir	0.60	0.00	0.00	0.32	Reservoir	P
Melvern Reservoir	0.52	0.05	0.02	0.37	Reservoir	P
El Dorado Reservoir	0.36	0.00	0.00	0.23	Reservoir	F
Tuttle Creek Reservoir	0.32	0.00	0.00	0.25	Reservoir	P
Glen Elder Reservoir	0.30	0.10	0.00	0.70	Reservoir	P
Wolf Creek Reservoir	0.30	0.00	0.00	0.18	Reservoir	P
Fall River Reservoir	0.29	0.00	0.00	0.26	Reservoir	F
Pomona Reservoir	0.23	0.02	0.02	0.43	Reservoir	P
Council Grove Reservoir	0.14	0.00	0.00	0.21	Reservoir	P
Toronto Reservoir	0.13	0.00	0.00	0.23	Reservoir	P
Elk City Reservoir	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.13	Reservoir	P

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Melvern Reservoir Fishing Information