Lovewell trading fishing resources with South Dakota

The Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks issued the following Lovewell Lake Fishing Report on Monday:

Walleye—Fair to good for fish ranging in size from16 to 25 inches. Fish can be found in shallower flats and bays that hold schools of baitfish. It may be possible to find fish patrolling lake flats. Fish can be found along the White Rock Creek channel between Cedar Point and Walleye Point in 20 to 25 feet of water. The use of jigging spoons, minnows, brightly colored lures and trolling worms are suggested. Three million walleye fry were stocked into Lovewell in April. 

White Bass and Wipers—Good with white bass ranging from 7 to 14 inches and wipers from 15 to 25 inches.

Look for windblown points and rocky shorelines in the main lake. Fish can also be caught near brush piles or along creek channels and drop offs where they are looking for shad. A variety of jigs, spoons, spinners, or minnows can catch fish all year. Six hundred thousand wiper fry were stocked into Lovewell in May.

Crappie—Fair to Good with fish ranging in size from 8 to14 inches. Crappie begin to spawn when water temperatures are in the 50s and 60s. Expect to find crappie in shallow structures or staging in nearby channels and drop-offs. After the spawn, crappie will return to deeper brushpiles and creek channels searching for shad. A variety of jigs or minnows are popular with crappie fishing. There are very good numbers of crappie in the reservoir now so success can be had throughout the year.

Catfish—Good with size ranging from 16 to 35 inches. Fall sampling indicated very high numbers of channel catfish and good numbers of quality blue catfish in the reservoir. Channels can be targeted throughout the reservoir. Best baits to use include stinkbait, shad gizzards, shad sides, shrimp, and nightcrawlers. Dead or cut bait can be effective on windblown shorelines. Anglers often report good spring catches of blue catfish near Walleye Point, the marina, and Cedar Point.

There is a 35 inch minimum length limit on blue catfish in Lovewell.  All blue catfish less than 35 inches must be released immediately.

Anglers can now find GPS coordinates, descriptions, and histories of some of the major brush piles in Lovewell by following this internet link  and selecting the individual brush pile to find out more information. More Georgia Cubes were added in April 2020. 

` Leftover bait is to be deposited in a trash can, even baitfish. It is illegal to release any fish into public water unless it was taken from that water.

On Monday the current water temperature was reported to be 66 degrees.           

Current water level: 0.0 feet low. The lake has recovered from last year’s drawdown and not is filled to conservation level.