Webster Reservoir

2013 Fishing Outlook

The information that is below is an outlook on how the fish populations should be in 2013 and are based on the 2012 Fall sampling.

Wipers

Good

Majority 6 to 15 inches with 15 to 20 inches close behind

Numbers doubled from last year and the fishing should be good. 6 to 15 inch fish accounted for 46%, 15 to 20 inch fish accounted for 42% and 20 plus fish accounted for 12%. The biggest fish sampled weighted 11.0 lbs. Density rating for fish 12 inches and above ranked 5th in the state. The biggest fish sampled weighted 8.79 pounds.

White Bass

Fair

Majority 12 to 15 inches

Numbers doubled from last year with the majority of fish being in the 12 to 15 inch size range accounting for 53%. Fish over 15 inches accounted for 22% and the biggest fish weighted 1.93 lbs. Density rating for fish 9 inches and above ranked 10th this year.

Walleye

Good

Majority 15 to 28 inches

Walleye fishing should be good as numbers are up this year with 85% being over 15 inches and another 15% being in the 7 to 15 inch size range. The largest fish sampled weighted 7.47 lbs. Density rating for fish 15 inches and above ranked #1 in state this year.

Channel Catfish

Good

Majority 16 to 24 inches

Catfishing should be good with the numbers about the same as last year. The population is still fairly young with fish 8 to 10 inches being 7% and fish 11 to 16 inches accounted for 40% and 53% were 16 to 24 inches.

Crappie

Good & Fair

Majority 2 to 6 inches

Although low numbers of fish were caught in the trap nets due to cold fronts passing through crappie fishing should be good for black crappie and fair for white crappie. Had a really good crappie spawn for both with 61% of the blacks and 80% of the whites being 2 to 5 inches. Will still be some 8 to 15 inch fish accounting for 23%. However, the density rating for black crappie is #1 in the state for fish 8 inches and above.

Largemouth Bass

Good

Majority 15 to 20 inches

The bass fishery is starting to come around and should be good. The majority of fish were in the 15 to 20 inch size range accounting for 49% and fish 11 to 15 inches accounted for 40%. The biggest fish sampled weighted 3.68 pounds.

CURRENT FISHING

Crappie

Fair

9 to 17 inches

Heard of some fish being caught up shallow in the coves and along tree lines using jigs. Have also been picking up a few around the north and south breakwater's. Would also try around the irrigation outlet using jigs and around the north & south shore fish attractors. Also heard of some being caught on jig and nightcrawler in 20 feet of water while walleye fishing. All the boat ramps are usable except for Morel.

Walleye

Good

14 to 28 inches

Have had reports of limits of fish being caught along the river channel south of the old swim beach around to Old Marina Cove point anchoring & drifting night crawlers. Also starting to pick up some trolling with diving lures. Remember the 15 inch length limit because will be some short fish caught that need to be released. Stocked 56,671 walleye fingerlings on 05-31-2013

White Bass/Wiper

Fair

10 to 30 inches

Have been hearing reports of white bass and wipers being caught around the fish attractors, breakwater and flood gates casting jigs. Also picking up a few while drifting and trolling diving lures. Stocked 120,000 wiper fry on 05-16-2013

Catfish

Fair

20 to 36 inches

Have had reports of channel cat being caught up to the west end using stink bait. Try fishing the North and South breakwaters as the channels and flatheads will be moving into the rocks to spawn.

Rainbow Trout

Fair

10 to 20 inches

Stocked the fifth and last round of 2100 trout on March 11th. Been catching trout on spinners, salmon eggs and powerbait. Season is over, therefore, no trout permit is needed to fish in the stilling basin, however, the creel of 5 fish still applies.

WATER TEMPERATURE- 74 Degree's

SURFACE ELEVATION- 1879.61 ---- 12.84' below conservation

Currently, the water level is 8.85 feet lower than it was one year ago at this time. The Morel boat ramp is currently unusable due to low water conditions. All other boat ramps are usable at this time. Also, the fish cleaning station is open and ready for fish to be cleaned.

KDWPT has released the "Walleye for Tomorrow" video and uploaded the video to the KDWPT You Tube channel. The video can be viewed at http://youtu.be/8BMsifSvf-U .

KDWPT will be releasing the recently completed “Kansas Crappie Bonanza” video on February 17, 2012. This 25-minute video covers Kansas crappie fishing during spring, summer, fall, and winter with tips and tactics to make you a better crappie angler. Visit the KDWPT homepage on February 17th and click on the Kansas Crappie Bonanza link to view the video!

KDWPT will be releasing the Urban Stocking Fish Program video soon and it can be found at http://youtu.be/5l4QiSfsQbQ

Remember it is illegal to release any fish into public water unless it was taken from that water! Therefore, please discard leftover bait in a trash can.

Now Available: A Webster District newsletter that will include Webster, Kirwin and Keith Sebelius Reservoir's is currently available. If you would like to subscribe to this spring and fall newsletter you can go to the following link to get on the mailing list. The link is: http://kdwp.state.ks.us/news/KDWP-Info/News/Newsletter-Request-Forms/Request-a-Newsletter-for-the-Webster-Reservoir-Fishing-District