Outdoors

Lake Levels

LakeNormalCurrentRel

Arbuckle872.0865.461

Big Hill858.0855.860

Cedar Bluff2144.02126.650

Cheney1421.61417.150

Clinton875.5873.147

Council Grove1274.01271.1116

El Dorado1339.01335.397

Elk City796.0792.4416

Fall River950.5946.654

Grand742.0741.120

Hillsdale917.0915.008

Hulah733.0730.9016

John Redmond1039.01035.82136

Kanopolis1463.01462.3125

Kaw1009.851008.2140

Keystone723.0720.090

Kirwin1729.31729.010

Lovewell1582.61580.71115

Marion1350.51347.357

Melvern1036.01033.8935

Milford1144.41144.84300

Norton2304.32298.081

Perry891.5893.4325

Pomona974.0972.730

Skiatook714.0701.940

Stockton867.0861.9140

Table Rock915.0914.951350

Tenkiller632.0627.04259

Texoma618.5609.9180

Toronto899.5899.932

Truman706.0704.250

Tuttle Creek1075.01080.37300

Waconda1455.61454.6076

Webster1892.51886.470

Wilson1516.01515.505

Fishing Report

Local

Trout Season started Oct. 15.

Cheney: White bass fair along the dam and deep drop-offs trolling crankbaits or sassy shad. Wipers good with jigging spoons or live bait on deep contours. Walleye fair trolling 3-4-inch shad imitation crankbaits along dropoffs. Crappie fair with jigs or minnows around structure. Catfish good using cutbaits and stinkbaits lakewide.

Council Grove: Catfish fair over flats 4-10 feet deep drifting shad or cutbait. Saugeye fair using shad-imitating plastics or crankbaits along rocky, windblown shorelines. White bass fair trolling crankbaits, plastics or spoons over points, ledges and humps. Wiper fair along windblown shorelines using crankbaits, jigs or spinners. Crappie fair using jigs or jig-n-minnows along the dam and near breaks in 9-14 feet deep.

El Dorado: Wiper fair to good near breaks, humps or roads with slab spoons or trolling crankbaits. White bass fair to good with slab spoons off points and trolling crankbaits along rocky shorelines. Crappie fair near breaks or structure in 12-15 feet of water using minnows or jigs. Catfish fair drifting shad. Walleye fair trolling crankbaits along breaks and channels.

Marion: Catfish good off the dam. Crappie fair in brush using small jigs or minnows. White bass good with twistertails and shad off points. Wipers good off main lake points and flats trolling shad and crankbaits.

Kansas

Cedar Bluff: Crappie fair to good vertically fishing minnows, small slab spoons or jigs over steep drops and around the fish attractors. Walleye fair over points, submerged roads and parking lots casting crankbaits or jig-n-minnows. White bass/wipers fair to good vertically fishing small slab spoons over points and drop offs. Trout not stocked yet.

Fall River: Catfish good over mud flats on worms, shad sides or prepared baits. Crappie good with jigs and minnows near brush in river, south Rock Ridge Cove and over channel breaks. Largemouth bass fair near river stumps on twister tails, worms, crank and spinner baits. White bass good using twister-tail jigs, spinners or shad-imitator crankbaits over mud flats or on channel breaks.

Glen Elder: Crappie fair off swim beach, Campground 3, Marina Cove and the bluffs with minnows or jig-n-minnows in deep water brushpiles. White bass/wipers fair using slab spoons, roadrunners and Kastmasters near the causeway, state park area, Walnut Creek and off the dam. Walleye fair along the dam trolling crankbaits. Smallmouth bass good using soft plastics, Senkos and jointed shad raps shallow around the dam, swim beach cove and state park area. Catfish fair drifting along Granite Creek area and old Highway 24 road bed or in the outlet using shad and nightcrawlers.

Milford: Catfish good using shad sides and cutbaits near river ledges and drifting flats. Crappie good in coves with 5-15 feet of water near brush or rocks using jigs and minnows. Walleye fair with crankbaits or jigging spoons off points or over channel ledges 15-20 feet deep. White bass/wipers good off windy points with crankbaits or jigs and near humps on live bait or spoons. Smallmouth bass good with jerkbaits or crankbaits off rocky points and bluffs. Largemouth bass fair near flooded brush and vegetation on plastics and spinnerbaits and topwaters early and late.

Toronto: Catfish good on mud flats on windy side of lake using worms, stinkbaits or shad sides. Largemouth bass fair using twister-tailed jigs, worms, spinners or crankbaits around stumps in the river. White bass good on mud flats with twister-tailed jigs, spinners or crankbaits. Crappie good with jig or minnow near stumps in Mann's, Woodson and Toronto coves and in Walnut Creek.

Tuttle Creek: Catfish fair to good with worms at the tubes and chumming in 20 feet of water in the reservoir. Crappie fair near brushpiles 10-15 feet deep on jigs. White bass good trolling or on spoons. Saugeye fair using jigs and crankbaits at the tubes and the River Pond. Trout fair.

Wilson: Catfish fair on windy side of lake with cut bait or worms. Stripers fair to good on mainlake points with slab spoons or bucktailed jigs. Walleye fair with slab spoons or white twister-tailed jigs along the edges of the river channel up west or around the weedbeds. White bass fair on white twistertailed jigs near flooded vegetation. Black bass good near flooded vegetation, the rocks or any structure using crankbaits, plastics or topwater lures.

Waterfowl Report

Low Plains Early Zone Duck Season, through Dec. 4, Dec. 17-Jan. 1

Cedar Bluff WA: Water level is 17.4 feet below conservation pool. Approximately 200 ducks observed, mostly blue-winged teal. Hunting conditions fair, with no flooded shoreline vegetation. Success rated fair.

Cheyenne Bottoms WA: Duck numbers range from 20,000-30,000, mostly pintail, shoveler and teal. Approximately 5,000-10,000 white-fronted geese present. Pool 1A, 14 inches; Pools 1B and 1C, 17 inches; Pools 2, 3A and 4A are dry; Pool 3B, 9 inches' Pool 4B, 13 inches; Pool 5 has very limited water. Hunting conditions are fair. Success rated good.

Jamestown WA: Water levels are good. Approximately 2,000 ducks present, a good mix of teal, gadwall, wigeon, pintails and mallards. Hunting conditions are good, with little food and open water areas. Success rated good.

McPherson Valley Wetlands: Water levels poor throughout the wetlands. Approximately 75 ducks are using the public area. Hunting conditions are fair, good vegetation present in most pools. Success expected to be poor. All of McPherson Valley Wetlands is in early zone.

Texas Lake: Approximately 100 ducks and a few sandhill cranes observed on the area. All pools are full. There are also small pools north and northwest of Pool 6. Good vegetation present in all pools, with numerous openings. Hunting success expected to be fair.

Low Plains Late Zone Duck Season, youth season Saturday-Sunday

Byron Walker: Lake is full and marshes are filling. Approximately 300 ducks and 200-300 geese present. Hunting conditions poor, with no water in marshes and lake 32" low. Success expected to be limited.

Cheney: Reservoir is 4.4 feet below conservation pool. Approximately 45 ducks, 75 geese using the area. Conditions rated poor. Success rated poor.

Council Grove: Lake is 2.9 feet below conservation pool. Approximately 65 ducks, mostly divers, on the area. Hunting conditions rated fair. Success rated poor.

Glen Elder: Water level is 1.0 feet below conservation pool. Estimating 3,000 ducks present. Hunting conditions fair, with exposed mudflats around the lake. Success expected to be fair.

Kanopolis: Water level is 0.7 feet below conservation pool. Approximately 100 ducks present. Hunting conditions poor, with little flooded vegetation. Hunting success expected to be poor.

Lovewell: Water level 1.9 feet below conservation level. Several thousand ducks present. Hunting conditions are fair, mudflats have little vegetation available. Success expected to be fair.

Marion: Water is 3.1 feet below conservation pool. No ducks are present, 300 Canada geese. Hunting conditions are poor. Expected hunting success to be poor.

Melvern: Water is 2.1 feet below conservation pool. Very few ducks present. All marshes have some water in them, with plenty of vegetation. Expected hunting success to be poor.

Milford: Water is 0.4 feet above conservation pool. No waterfowl observed. Conditions are poor, with summer floods, habitat and food is scarce in wetlands. Success expected to be variable.

Quivira: Currently closed to hunting. A Whooping Crane was sighted Wednesday and is still present.

Slate Creek: No ducks are on the area. Water levels are low to dry. Hunting conditions are poor. Hunting success expected to be poor.

Tuttle Creek: Water is 5.4 feet above conservation pool. Olsburg marsh is full. Approximately 400-500 ducks are present. Hunting conditions poor to fair, with little shoreline vegetation around the lake or in the marshes. Hunting success considered to be poor to fair.

Webster: Water is 6.0 feet below conservation level. Only a few ducks are on the area. Hunting conditions fair, with sparse vegetation along South shoreline. Expected hunting success is poor.

Wilson: Water is 0.5 feet below conservation pool. Several hundred ducks are on the area. Hunting conditions are good, with flooded vegetation around the lake. Hunting success is expected to be fair.

Low Plains Southeast Zone, youth season Saturday-Sunday

El Dorado: Water is 3.4 feet below conservation pool. No ducks observed, with 300 Canada geese present. Hunting conditions rated poor. Success expected to be poor.

Elk City: Water level is 3.6 feet below conservation pool. Few ducks observed. Marshes mostly dry, reservoir has mud flats. Hunting conditions fair. Expected hunting success to be fair.

Fall River: Water level is 3.9 feet below conservation pool. Few ducks observed on the area. Hunting conditions good. Expected hunting success is poor.

John Redmond: Water level is 3.2 feet below conservation pool. Few ducks observed on the area. Hunting conditions poor. Expected hunting success is poor.

Kaw: Approximately 20-30 ducks on the area. Water levels low in the river. Hunting conditions are poor. Hunting success poor.

Marais des Cygnes: Units A-East, F-North and F-South have good to excellent water, Unit G has some huntable water. Approximately 2,000-5,000 ducks on the area. Hunting conditions rated good, success expected to be fair.

Neosho: Approximately 1,450 ducks, including pintail, gadwall, shoveler and teal, are on the area, along with 350 geese. Refuge pool is 3.0 feet low. Habitat is good, pumping to fill most pools. Hunting success expected to be fair.

Toronto: Water level is 0.4 feet above conservation pool. Few ducks observed on the area. Hunting conditions rated fair. Expected hunting success is poor.

High Plains Duck Season, through Jan. 2, Jan. 21-29

Norton: Water level is 6.2 feet below conservation pool. Approximately 600 ducks present, mostly blue-winged teal. Hunting conditions good, with flooded vegetation. Hunting success expected to be fair to good.