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REGION 1

CEDAR BLUFF RESERVOIR     (6,869 Acres)

Updated 11/23/2011

Lake Map

Lake Elevation at Normal Pool: 2144.0 Temperature: 47

Inflow: 20 cfs Outflow: 0 cfs Level:  15.34 feet low

Crappie  Good  up to 1.5 lbs.  Vertically fishing minnows, small slab spoons, or jigs over steep drops and around the fish attractors has been best. Anglers report catching good numbers of fish with reports of over 50 fish caught in one day. Anglers report catching fish of all sizes but fish 10 to 14 inches in length have not been uncommon.  

Walleye  Fair  up to 10 lbs.  Vertically fishing slab spoons over points, drop-offs, roadbeds, and parking lots in 15 to 25 feet of water. There have been a few reports of some nice fish, in the 6 to 8 lb. range, reported.

White Bass  Good  up to 2.5 lbs. Fish are being caught casting or vertically fishing small slab spoons or white jigs over mainlake points and other drop offs in 10 to 20 feet of water.

 Wipers  Fair/Good  up to 13 lbs.  The pattern and methods used to catch white bass has been turning up wipers, but try increasing lure size a bit. There have been a few of the larger wipers in the 8 to 12 lb. range caught recently.

 Rainbow Trout  Fair  0.5 lb. average  We stocked 1,260 rainbow trout on Thursday, November 10. Corn and power bait fished off the bottom or casting small slab spoons and inline spinners are all good methods. Anglers have reported catching some fish but there haven't been too many limits reported.

  The daily Creel Limit for Wipers is 2.

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GLEN ELDER RESERVOIR (12,586 Acres)
(WACONDA)

Updated  12/1/2011

Lake Map

Lake Elevation at Normal Pool: 1455.6 Temperature: 

Inflow: 20 cfs Outflow: 1501 cfs Level: 9.55 feet high

Crappie  Fair to Good  7-15 inches  The crappie bite has slowed some, but is still the best bet out here right now. Anglers have reported the best catches under the causeway bridge, on the brush piles near Swim Beach Point, Campground 3, and the river junction west of the causeway. Anglers fishing the boat slips in Marina Cove have reported reduced catches since the weekend. Last week showed very good results, though, and the fish will likely move back in there eventually. Big baits like Beavertails and Wasshoppahs on a 1/4 or 1/8 ounce jig heads are working best.

 White Bass  Good  6-17 inches  As is normal for this time of year, the white bass angling seems to be picking up on the west end near the causeway. Crappie anglers have been catching some nice whites under the bridge and near the brush piles to the west. Anglers might also try slabbing in the river channels near the refuge line and around Boller Point to find some whites. Crappie anglers fishing around the boat slips have been catching high numbers of whites, but most are only 5-6 inches.

 Trout  Fair  0.5-4 pounds  The first batch of 1,100 trout were stocked on November 23rd and ranged in size from 1/2 pound to 4 pounds. Anglers haven't been catching very many yet, but a few have had some success using inline spinners, road runners, and a variety of prepared baits. Powerbait fished on the bottom with a small hook and a split shot is probably your best bait to harvest some trout.

 Walleye  Fair to Good  15-23 inches  Anglers don't normally catch high numbers of walleye between now and the spawn in April, but they are still out there feeding if you can find them. I would suggest looking for them around Walnut Creek, the dam, Campground 3, and the bluffs as they are probably hanging out in deeper water now. Crappie anglers are reporting a few from the marina area and the brush piles, but nothing consistent. Slabbing can be an effective method of harvesting walleye throughout the winter.

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KANOPOLIS RESERVOIR  (16,000 Acres)

Updated  12/3/2011

Lake Map

Lake Elevation at Normal Pool: 1463.0 Temperature: 

Inflow: 60 cfs Outflow: 117 cfs Level:3.34 feet high

Channel Catfish  Fair  Variety  Liver, shrimp, and other prepared baits will continue to work. Cut bait is a popular fall and winter bait and often the fishing is really good in the upper end where the river comes into the lake. Chumming the south side humps is ongoing and guys are using worms and dip baits.

 Crappie Fair  Variety of Sizes - mostly 11 to 12 inches  As the water cools off the fish will begin to move shallower along the dam and around the boat docks. Try small jigs and small slab spoons. Should just get better and better as the water cools down.

 Trout  The seep stream was stocked Thursday, November 17 with 2,150 rainbow trout. The stream was stocked from utility pole #20 down to the bottom. This was a load and a half of trout due to the short stocking on the 1st. There should be plenty of fish until the next stocking in mid-December.

 Walleye/Saugeye  Fair  Variety  As the water cools down the fish should be moving around a bit more. Sometimes saugeye can be taken on shad colored crankbaits around the rocks. You will want switch to small slab spoons now too - got a report on spoons from 7.5 feet of water. MAKE SURE YOU THROW BACK ALL THOSE UNDER 15 INCHES - there are still some of those out there!!!!! We had a significant dieoff of these species the week of Aug 8 - lost somewhere between 1500 and 2000 fish with initial indications the cause due to heat and handling related stress that led to bacterial/fungal infection on the outside of the fish. Fall sampling indicates that the kill had little effect on the population and good recruitment this year indicates that saugeye and walleye numbers will actually be higher in 2011.

 White Bass  Fair  All sizes - lots of 9 to 11 inch fish  There are lots of white bass in the lake and a lot of shad too. Look for schooling activity and watch for the birds. Windblown points are often good places to wade fish in the fall and winter. Any shad type lure should work but slab spoons are the bait of choice with boat anglers. White bass numbers in fall netting samples were tremendous and a wide range of sizes will be caught this winter and next year.

 Wipers  Slow to Fair  All sizes  Wipers love windblown points! Bucktail and twister tail jigs and shad colored crankbaits should work off the windblown points or any windy area. Wipers like it around the brushpiles in the fall so start looking there now. Good numbers of wipers were seen in nets this fall. Not a lot of really big wipers were caught, but many 12-18" wipers were sampled.

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KIRWIN RESERVOIR (5,000 Acres)

Updated 11/29/2011

Lake Map

Lake Elevation at Normal Pool: 1729.3 Temperature:45

Inflow: 10 cfs Outflow: 80 cfs Level: 1.33 feet high

Walleye  Fair  9 to 26 inches  Did not have any reports of fish being caught this week. Would try using jigs and slab spoons on the drop offs. Railroad flats and along the dam seem to be the better locations. Would also try trolling diving lures along the Dam and tree lines. Have been hearing of some short ones being caught so remember the 15" length limit. Stocked 47,000 walleye on May 26.  

Wipers/ White Bass  Fair  Various  Did not have any reports of fish being caught this week. Would try using jigs, slab spoons and trolling crank baits. Stocked in 200,000 wiper fry on May 9.

 Crappie  Fair  7 to 16 inches  Did not have any reports of fish being caught this week. However, would try fishing the fish attractor's and outlet area using jigs or slab spoons.

 Channel Catfish  Slow  Various  Did not have any reports of fish being caught this week. Best baits to use would be shad, shrimp, or stink bait.

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LOVEWELL RESERVOIR  (2,986 Acres)

Updated 12/1/2011 

Lake Map

Lake Elevation at Normal Pool: 1582.6 Temperature: 

Inflow: 20 cfs Outflow: 112 cfs Level: 4.60 feet high

Walleye  Slow  14-22 inches  Throughout the winter there will probably be a few walleye caught by crappie anglers fishing near the brush piles with a variety of jigs. Anglers wishing to pursue some 'eyes might try slabbing or jigging off Walleye Point, Cedar Point, and Cabin Point in 12-20 feet of water.  

White Bass  Slow  6-13 inches  Similar to walleye, there won't be many of these guys caught this winter except by anglers targeting crappie. Best results could probably be found slabbing and jigging near the creek channels by Cabin Point, Oak Hill, and Cedar Point.

 Crappie  Fair  8-13 inches  The crappie angling has slowed a little from what we were seeing last week, but this is still going to be your best chance to catch some fish through the winter. Anglers should target the Marina Cove area and the marked brush piles off Cedar Point, Cabin Point (deep pile), and east of the state park. There are a lot of 9-10 inch crappie in the reservoir right now and they will most likely be concentrating on deep brush and other structure throughout the winter which means hitting the brush piles.

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KEITH SEBELIUS RESERVOIR   (2,300 Acres)
(NORTON)

Updated 11/29/2011

Lake Map

Lake Elevation at Normal Pool: 2304.3 Temperature:44

Inflow: 5 cfs Outflow 1 cfs Level: 6.40 feet low

Walleye/Saugeye  Fair  9 to 25 inches  Did not have reports any fish being caught this week, however, would try fishing off the river channel, in Leota Cove and around the Marsh Dike using jigs and slab spoons and also trolling diving lures. A lot of short fish this year so remember the 18" length limit. Stocked 51,000 saugeye on May 18.

 Wiper  Fair  Various  Did not have any reports of fish being caught this week, however, would try fishing off Leota Cove and trolling diving lures.

 Crappie  Fair  7 to 16 inches  Did have reports of some fish being caught this week off the public fishing dock and Marina slips. Most of them are in the 8 to 13 inch size range. Also, look for them in the Coves, along the brush and fish attractors.

 Channel Catfish  Fair  Various  Did not have any reports of fish being caught this week, however, would try up to the west end using shad and cut bait. Would also try up in the shallows using shad or worms on the bottom.

 Largemouth/Spotted Bass  Fair  Various  Did not have any reports of fish being caught this week, however would try fishing in the coves and along the dam. Most of the fish are running in the 12 to 18 inch size range.

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WEBSTER RESERVOIR    (3,740 Acres)

Updated 11/29/2011

Lake Map

Lake Elevation at Normal Pool:1892.5 Temperature: 46

Inflow: 20 cfs Outflow: 85 cfs Level: 1.40 feet low

Wipers/White Bass  Fair  Various Sizes  Did not have any reports of fish being caught this week. However, would try trolling diving lures along the dam, along the North shore from the Dam to the Double Mushroom and Lakeview area. Would also try jigging in the trees around the Old swim beach and Old Marina point. Stocked 200,000 wiper fry on May 9.

 Crappie  Fair  6 to 15 inches  Did not have any reports of fish being caught this week. However, would try fishing around the Breakwater's on the North and South side's using jigs, around the fish attractors and outlet using jigs, jigs with minnows.

 Walleye  Fair  9 to 28 inches  Did not have any reports of fish being caught this week. However, would try trolling crankbait's along the dam, and fishing around the old swim beach and broken up concrete ramp using jigs. A lot of shorts are being caught so handle with care so they will be here for next year. Also remember the 15" length limit. Stocked 35,000 walleye on May 23.

 Channel Catfish  Fair  Varies  Did not have any reports of fish being caught this week. However, would try fishing up in the shallows during the warm part of the day using shad, stink bait or shrimp on the bottom.

 Rainbow Trout  Good  10 to 22 inches  Trout are being caught on kastmasters, power bait and salmon eggs. Have also heard of some being caught on worms. Some pretty nice fish were stocked again this year, so get out and enjoy the nice weather and catch some trout. Had reports of a 5 pound fish being caught. The second load of trout was stocked on Thursday the 17th.

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WILSON RESERVOIR  (1,917 Acres)

Updated 12/2/2011

Lake Map

Lake Elevation at Normal Pool: 1516.0 Temperature:

Inflow: 10 cfs Outflow: 15 cfs Level: 0.97 feet high

Channel Catfish  Fair  2-7 pounds  As the water continues to cool this fall the catfish will remain active and cut bait is often the bait of choice. There are also a fair number of shad dying off right now with the cold water temperatures and catfish love to feed on dead shad. Look for the gulls and fish the windblown side of the reservoir where the shad are drifting to.

 Crappie  Slow  Varied  There should also be some fish starting to show up in the brush piles near Minooka and around the bluffs, but I haven't heard any reports. Jigs can often outfish minnows this time of year so you may want to try 1/8 or 1/4 ounce jigs with a variety of plastics and tubes. White is always a good choice, but pink and chartreuse also work well.

 Stripers  Fair to Good  4 to 7 pounders mostly  As the water continues to cool down they will remain on the main lake points. Slab spoons are the boaters favorite and bucktail jigs are the wade anglers preferred bait.

 Walleye  Fair to Good  Variety  As the water starts to cool down the walleye will show up shallower - generally along the edges of the river channel up west or around the weedbeds. Slab spoons are the bait of choice in the fall!!! Also some walleye tend to stay shallow around the weedbeds and white twister tailed jigs of some type are the bait of choice for those fish. Read a recent article about throwing flukes around the weedbeds in 6 feet or less of water - bet that might work too here!!  

White Bass  Fair  Not many, but they are mostly 15-16 inches and very healthy  White twister tailed jigs around the edges of the flooded vegetation often work into the fall- sometimes whites will hit topwater lures thrown for bass in these areas. Got a report that the whites were schooling on shad and some anglers really got into them. We did find good numbers of shad and baby white perch when we seined. We did see quite a few nice white bass around the Minooka boat ramp area.

 Black Bass  Slow  Variety  These guys will be tougher to catch with the cold water temperatures. Anglers should plan on fishing slow presentations of white and chartreuse spinnerbaits and soft plastics near rocky ledges, channel breaks, and dropoffs.

 White Perch  Fair to Good  9 to 13 inches Worms on the bottom should catch white perch through the fall if you can find the concentrations of fish - small slab spoons are also a good bet all through the fall and winter. Start looking towards the upper end around Elm Creek and Duval. Continue to keep all you catch and remember - IT IS ILLEGAL TO HAVE A WHITE PERCH ALIVE IN YOUR POSSESSION - IF YOU CATCH IT AND WANT TO KEEP IT - IT HAS TO BE DEAD IN A COOLER OR LIVEWELL. THEY ARE NO LONGER LEGAL AS LIVE BAIT FOR STRIPERS OR OTHER FISH!!!!!

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