Glen Elder Reservoir

Glen Elder District Newsletter

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The fall 2011 newsletter is now complete and has lots of good information. This edition includes articles on fall fishing ideas, the Lovewell fish barrier, Glen Elder youth fishing tournament results, the trout program, and much more. To subscribe, simply click on this link and enjoy.

2012 Fishing Forecast

Below you will find a general description of the fish populations you can expect to find in 2012 based on this year's sampling.

Walleye

Good

16-22 inches and 9-11 inches

We collected a very nice sample of walleye during fall netting with all of the adult fish between 16 and 22 inches. Nearly 50% of the adults were over the 18 inch minimum length limit. We also saw fair numbers of age-0 fish indicating a 2011 year class was produced.

White Bass

Good

11-15 inches and 6-9 inches

White bass numbers were up during our 2011 fall sampling with most of the adults between 11 and 15 inches or 1-2 pounds, and only a few over 15 inches. There was also a big year class of whites produced so expect to catch many of those 7 to 10 inch fish as well.

Wipers

Fair

17-22 inches with a few up to 26 inches

Our sampling indicated a decline in the wiper numbers due to the lack of stocking since 2008. These fish continue to grow well with several of those 3 year olds already reaching 5 pounds. Fish from the 2006 stocking are still out there and will run 6 to 9 pounds. I plan to stock wipers here in 2012.

Channel Catfish

Good

All Sizes

We had one of our best channel catfish samples this fall with good numbers of all sizes collected. The greatest number of catfish were between 14 and 25 inches, but several nice fish over 30 inches were collected as well with the biggest 16.2 pounds. Anglers should expect good angling success for these guys in 2012.

Crappie

Good

8 to 15 inches

Despite very low catches in the nets due to cold water temperatures, I expect another good crappie year in 2012. There are still plenty of 10-12 inch fish with some smaller 7-9 inch guys coming into the population. Fish up to 16 inches can be found as well, but they will be fewer in number this year. High numbers of 2-4 inch crappie were collected and may lead to a nice 2011 year class if they can survive.

Black Bass

Good

6-20 inches

The bass population is still dominated by smallmouth bass between 9 and 19 inches, but we saw much better numbers of largemouth bass while sampling last spring. These guys range from 11 to 16 inches and should provide some good action as well. Smallies up to 6 pounds were reported by anglers last year so look out for some trophies as well.

Winter Fishing Opportunities

Crappie

Fair

7-16 inches

Anglers have been doing very well fishing for crappie along the river channel between the bluffs and the dam. Depths of 20 to 30 feet have been reported with most fish coming within a few feet off the bottom. Jig size and color doesn't really seem to be as important right now as just finding the schools and staying with them. The bite seems to be good throughout the day as well. There are also some fish being taken from the brush piles, but not near as many as along the river channel. Crappie fishing off the boat slips has been very poor the last several weeks.

White Bass

Fair

6-17 inches

There really haven't been many anglers chasing white bass right now with the good crappie bite, but the best place to look is going to be west of the causeway. Slabbing in the river channels near the refuge line and around Boller Point are probably your best bets to find some whites. The guys that made it out ice fishing reported nice catches of 13-17 inch whites along both river channels using small spoons.

Trout

Fair

0.5-4 pounds

We stocked another batch of 1,100 trout on Tuesday, January 10th and these fish looked very healthy. This should help improve angling success for those that have had limited luck from the first stocking. Best success can be found 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. One angler last week caught some very nice fish using orange Powerbait near the tube.

The trout pond was 50% ice covered on January 30 with the area near the dam and parking lot open.

Walleye

Fair

15-23 inches

Anglers have started picking up fair numbers of walleye along the river channel on the north side between the swim beach cove and the west end of the park. Depth varies, but fishing between 20 and 30 feet seems to be working best with jig/crawler combinations. 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 as well.

Check out the note below about a Walleye Angler Survey.

Ice Update

50% Ice Covered

Very Thin

The Marina boat ramp has opened up, but the Osage ramp and Boller ramp still have ice in front of them. About half of the lake is open water now, but boaters have been able to drive through the thin ice and get west and south toward the bluffs. The next few days should allow for much of this ice to thaw and open up more of the reservoir.

KDWP has posted an online Walleye Angler Survey that you can fill out with a focus on general walleye fishing questions and regulations pertaining to Glen Elder and Lovewell Reservoirs. If you would like to provide your opinions on walleye management at these reservoirs, you may do so by clicking on the link and completing a survey. Your answers will remain anonymous and help us gain a better understanding of angler attitudes and opinions.

Click here to complete the Walleye Angler Survey

Anglers can now find GPS locations for each of the brush piles located in the reservoir. Simply click on this link Good Fishing Spots and select the individual brush pile. As we enhance these brush piles throughout the year, we'll make a note under each individual location. Check for the recent updates from April 2011!

For current water temperature and reservoir elevation, simply click on the "Glen Elder Reservoir" link above this report.

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