Kingman State Fishing Lake

Located forty five minutes away from Wichita, Kingman SFL is a popular place to fish among the Wichita bass fishing community. It is known for being shallow, weedy, and producing some of the only northern pike in Kansas.
In the early spring and late fall, the lake looks like any other Kansas SFL, but in the summer, 3/4 of the lake is covered by dense vegetation in the form of lily pads. Being only ten feet deep at its deepest, there are almost no areas of the lake that the weeds don't touch.
Other than lily pads, the lake offers lots of brush, laydowns, several rock piers, and up to two feet of clarity. Once the weeds boom in the summer, the lake becomes a jungle, filled from bank to bank with fish attracting cover. This makes the lake fish allot bigger than the typical <150 acre lake.
The lakes bass population is sparse, but has a good average size. Most of the fish you will catch at Kingman will be over two pounds. The fishing can be tough, but if you figure this lake out, it can be allot of fun.
White perch have spread to Kingman, but the many predator species have kept their populations manageable.

Largemouth
Population: Fair
General Size: 15-17"
Big Fish: 8lb (Rumored)
Location: The rock piers are great places to fish before the weeds grow. Pretty much anywhere after that.
Cover: Lilly pads, brush, laydowns, riprap
Baits: Swimbaits, frogs, senkos, texas rig, jigs, spinner baits

Coffey County Lake

Unanimously accepted as the best smallmouth (and alligator...) fishery in the state by both anglers and KDWP, Coffee County is one of the most unique lakes in Kansas. It is listed on most clubs schedules in the October and March section because of the warm water the Wolf Creek nulcear power plant produces and can support consistent fishing even in late January. The lake has anywhere from two to four feet of clarity and mainly consists of rip rap, mud banks, gravel flats, standing timber and sparse aquatic vegetation.
Since (and before) the lake was opened to fishing 16 years ago, anglers have marveled over the fisheries excellent population of wiper, channel catfish, white bass, and especially smallmouth and largemouth bass. In its early years, 5 fish for 25 lbs was not uncommon. The fishing has declined since then, but remains excellent.
Almost as extreme as the fishing opportunities that the lake presents is the extreme situations that Coffey County anglers have stumbled into over the years. While there is a great chance of catching a 3 lb. smallie, there is also the off chance that you will get arrested for being a terrorist (not really, as long as you don't cross the buoy rope by the outlet and inlet...). Security is tight, and tightening as national security increases. You can expect your vehicle and boat to be searched every time you enter the park.
The fact that zebra mussels are making their way through Kansas only furthers their paranoia. Being a power plant lake, zebra mussels pose a huge financial threat to Wolf Creek. Zebra mussels have been known to grow on tubes and other important power plant parts, rendering them dysfunctional. If zebra mussels do enter the lake, Wolf Creek will have no option except to spend allot of money keeping the power plant clean of zebra mussels. Unfortunately, Up river from Coffey County, Marion Reservoir has confirmed a zebra mussel presence in their lake. It is no a longer an "if" for Coffey County, but a "when."
On top of terrorist and aquatic nuisance threats, the lake its self is dangerous. A windy day can turn the lake into a death trap. In a little less than two decade of being open to the public, the lake has drowned four anglers. Since then, the lake closes whenever the wind begins to pick up.
If you decide that the great fishing is worth all of the trouble this lake can dish out, and show up early in the morning, you can expect to have your vehicle and boat searched and your live wells bleached. They will then check your fishing license, give you a radio so that you will know if they close the lake while your on the water, and tell you to wear your life jacket at all times. If you make it through the search, you get to wait fifteen minutes to an hour for the steam produced by the power plant over night to clear off and the boat ramp (one of the nicest boat ramps in the state) to open up. And then you are ready to experience some of the best fishing that Kansas has to offer. One of the most unique experiences I have had in this sport is fishing under the shadow of the Wolf Creek nuclear power plant; visiting this lake is really a must for anyone who loves Kansas bass fishing.

Largemouth
Population: Good
General Size: 15-18"
Big Fish: 6lb (network) 10lb (rumored)
Location: By the damn is a safe bet. Up river, when its open, produces.
Cover: Standing timber, rip rap, aquatic vegetation, laydowns, brush
Baits: tubes, crankbaits, top water, spinnerbaits, wack rig, flukes, lipless crankbaits, senkos, texas rig, shakey head

Smallmouth
Population: Excellent
General Size: 15-17"
Big Fish: 2.5lb (personal and KDWP FF) 3lb (witnessed) 5lb (network)
Location: The warm water inlet and outlet are both excellent smallmouth locations, they have large rip rap arms drop down to 20-25 ft and aquatic vegetation lines the banks, across from the arms. The damn side of the lake and the islands are also great areas.
Cover: Rip rap and aquatic vegetation
Baits: tubes, spinnerbaits, crankbaits, senkos, topwater, wacky rig, texas rig (brush hogs), shakey head

(The picture is from this site: http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/photo-gallery/index.cfm?&cat=Operating_Nuclear_Power_Plants&font=9&page=list&begin=61&perpg=12)

Perry Reservoir

Maybe the hottest bass fishery in Kansas today, largemouth bass populations in Perry Reservoir have drastically improved over the last five years. Several years of low water allowed vegetation to grow on the newly dry bank. The dry years were followed by an extremely wet year and largemouth bass flourished in the submerged vegetation. The high water also caused many farm ponds up river from Perry to flood, releasing countless numbers of mature largemouth bass into the lake. The end result was an incredible bass fishery.
The secret of Perry Reservoir's great bass population alluded many anglers for several years and even alluded the KDWP Fishing Forecast up until this year, but the secret is out. Perry is on almost every Kansas BASS club, and tournament trail's schedules. In 2009, the KDWP finally hit the lake at the right time and found the fish with their sampling. It is second only to the famed La Cygne bass factory in the fishing forecast.
Being the pleasure boat location that it is, Perry Reservoir has not surprisingly been inhabited by zebra mussels. They have become more and more common in recent years and are predicted to reach a record high at Perry this year. Their impact has already been felt. The once muddy water has been replaced by two to three feet of clarity (perfect clarity for bass fishing). In one way, this will directly help bass because they will be able to find their prey more easily. In another way, this indirectly hurts the bass because zebra mussels compete with shad for plankton. After seeing the way that the clear water helped El Dorado, I have little doubt that the bass will benefit more from the clearer water than what they will lose from declining shad populations. This feed right into the hands of biologist Kirk Tjelmeland who is trying to establish a smallmouth population in the lake. Over the last couple years, he has poured thousands of smallmouth fingerlings into Perry their pressence as a game fish is just begining to be felt. They recieved a poor rating in the forecast. Smallmouth are sight feeders and the clear water should boost their development in the lake.

Largemouth
Population: Excellent
General Size: 14-18"
Big Bass: 5lb (personal) 6.5lb(KDWP FF) 7lb (network) I don't know what the lake record is, but it has probably been set in recent years and is probably over 8.
Location: It really depends on where the bass are in their annual cycle. For prespawn and during the spawn, fish flooded trees and shallow pea gravel areas. Look for post spawn bass on the rip rap areas and boulder areas.
Cover: Brush, riprap, boulders, laydowns, flooded trees, flooded vegetation
Bait: Crankbaits, wacky rig, senkos, spinnerbaits, jigs, texas rig (brush hogs, or tubes), top water poppers and buzz baits

Smallmouth:
Population: Poor
General Size: <10"


(Above is a picture of a post spawn 20" Perry Reservoir largemouth. The population rating on this post and all my other posts is based on my own opinion, and is not necessarily the same as the KDWP rating. This lake is a favorite of mine, and most of the material i used in its review is from my own experiences. However, I got a few facts from this article:
http://cjonline.com/stories/021008/out_245552975.shtml)

Big Hill Reservior

Big hill reservoir has taken on the nick name of "Little Lake of the Ozarks" because of its clear water and abundant standing timber. The area directly in front of the damn was the only area that had its trees cleared prior to the construction of the damn. Once you hit the tree line, there is a lane for boats to safely travel the lake, but other than that, it is a jungle. In between the standing timber, dense aquatic vegetation lines much of the bank.
Big Hill is as good an example of a bass lake as Kansas has to offer. The lake supports a good population of largemouth and smallmouth bass. At times finicky, if you hit this lake at the right time with the right bait, it can be explosive. 25lb limits are not out of the question.
Unlike most Kansas lakes, most of the fishing pressure is geared towards black bass at Big Hill. It is a popular tournament location and is consistently on most Kansas club's schedules.
While Big Hill has managed to avoid the major aquatic nuisance species in Kansas (zebra mussels and white perch), it has recently contracted the Largemouth Bass Virus. LBV is a temporary problem and other fisheries that have contracted the disease have rebounded within a few years of its climax. The disease causes bass to develop a pink slime all over there body, become too weak to swim, and eventually die. Unfortunately, bigger bass are more prone to the disease than smaller bass are. Nothing casts a depressing tone on a day of fishing like a dying 6lber floating on the surface. Last I checked, the effects of LMV on Big Hill were not as drastic as they have been on other lakes.

Largemouth
Population: Good
General size: 14-18"
Big Fish: 6.75lbs (KDWP FF), 7lbs (network). i would assume that the record is well over 8, but i don't know what it actually is.
Location: The NE side of the lake produces the most. I would recommend starting at the second boat ramp.
Cover: Brush, Vegetation, Laydowns, Standing Timber, Rip rap
Baits: Jigs, Carolina Rigs, Texas Rig (brush hog is a safe bet), Spinnerbaits, Senkos, Flukes, Crankbaits (where you can get away with throwing them), 10" Worms

Smallmouth
Population: Good
General Size: 12-15"
Big Fish: 6lbs (network)
Location: The south end of the lake belongs to the smallies. Fish along the damn, and anywhere else below the tree line with rocks. Other than that, there is often a 17+" smallie surprise thrown into the mix when fishing for largemouth up lake.
Cover: Riprap, brush
Baits: Jigs, Crawdad Crankbaits, shaky head, tubes, senkos

(I have only fished one tournament on Big Hill. Much of this information comes from the many stories I have heard about Big Hill from respectable and reasonably reliable sources [they are fishermen]. If you see anything that you think is incorrect, feel free to tell me in the comments section).

Sedgwick County Park: Vic's Lake

It is hard for me to imagine a Wichita lake that is more popular and recieves more fishing pressure than Vic's Lake. Its clear water (up to 4 feet) is typical of the many sandpits in West Wichita. Between the sand, laydowns, and rocks, the lake supports a healthy population of aquatic vegetation. I don't know what its technical name is, but i have heard it refered to as coon tail and hydrilla. It is definitely a pro for bass fishermen. Most of the bass you catch will be within the weedline.
Vic's lake is known for the hundreds of pounds of catfish and trout poured into it every year and most of the pressure is geared toward those species, but if you have the patience to wait out a slow bite, you could catch a lunker. Fishing offshore humps with long casts, I have seen 5lbers caught by my partner and caught fish up to 3lbs personally. Fish that have reached these sizes can prey upon said trout and become real monsters. The rumored record is 8 lbs, and I know people who have caught 6 lbers. However, the trout program is fairly new. I'm predicting a real monster to come out of this lake one of these springs.

Largemouth
Population: Fair
General Size: 14-15"
Big Bass: 3lbs (personal) 5lbs (witnessed) 6lbs (network) 8lbs (rumor)
Baits: Jigs, Carolina Rig, senkos, Top water
Locations: The rocks along the east side produce good numbers, the big bass are out deep
Cover: Grass line, rip rap, laydowns

El Dorado Reservior

El Dorado was once a famed, clear water, bass fishery that even made an appearance in Bassmaster magazine. Its flooded forests, rocky points, and flooded roads and railroads made it an ideal place for bass to thrive and 4-5lb fish were common.
Since the early 90s, the black bass population has been declining. Its decline is said to have been caused by up river agriculture causing river bank erosion and muddy water, the slow erosion of the standing timber, over fishing (at one point there was up to four tournaments a weekend and a jackpot tournament every Wednesday night), and over harvesting (the many bank fishermen the lake attracted due to good numbers of walleye, crappie, and catfish would keep every bass they caught, no matter the length).
Since then, the lake has gone through many extreme changes that have not necessarily hurt bass populations, but definitely changed the lake. El Dorado was one of the first lakes in Kansas to be inhabited by zebra mussels. At the peak of their spread, the lake gained clearity of up to 2 ft, but since then, zebra mussel population have decreased and the muddy waters have returned. Helped by the clear waters brought on by zebra mussels, smallmouth bass populations recently became prevalent in the absence of a declining largemouth population. KDWP recently introduced waterwillow to the lake and it has become fairly common since. At its height, it took an average of 5 fish for 15-20lbs to win a tournament at El Dorado Lake. Now, if you can put together a limit of 10lbs, you will win most tournaments.
Very recently, kansas's other prevalent nuisance specie, white perch, have spread to El Dorado. Their impact on black bass should be interesting. They could potentially hurt bass populations, but will almost definitely increase the population of big bass of which white perch is an ideal prey.
They have, however, hurt the lake's tournament potential. As a means of keeping white perch populations down, KDWP has increased the length limit of all black bass to 18". Good bye weigh in tournaments.

Largemouth
Population: Poor
General Size: 12-16"
Big Bass: 6lbs (people have caught 8+ lbers in the glory days)
Baits: Crankbaits, senkos, texas rig, spinnerbaits, jigs, and carolina rigs
Locations: Generally, the farther North you go, the more largemouth you catch.
Structure: Man made brush piles, flooded trees, water willow, and rip rap

Smallmouth:
Population: Fair
General Size: 10-18"
Big Bass: 5lbs (I hear about more 5lb smallies caught there than 5lb largemouths)
Baits: Lipless crankbaits, senkos, jigs, spinnerbaits, top water, shaky head, carolina rig, texas rig, tubes
Locations: The south end of the lake and anywhere with rocks.
Structure: Riprap, rocks

(I have fished this lake since 2005. Much of the information about the lake's background i got from other fishermen who fished it in its prime. If you see a discrepancy, tell me in the comments section)