Trout Fishing Tips

Printed copies of the 2008 Kansas Fishing Regulations Summary won't be available until early January, but anglers should be aware of several new regulations that take effect Jan. 1, 2008.

Some of the changes include reduced fees youth trout, paddlefish and the 24-hour fishing license. Other changes affect gigging (i.e., spear fishing), length and creel limits, and more.

Changes affecting trout fishing in Kansas include:

• Willow Lake in Tuttle Creek State Park has been added to the list of waters where a trout permit is required for all anglers from Oct. 15 through April 15; and

• Lake Shawnee in Shawnee County requires anglers fishing for or possessing trout to have a trout permit Oct. 15-April 15.

• A 20-inch minimum length limit and one-fish creel limit on brown trout has been established in the Mined Land Wildlife Area;

• Youth 15 and younger no longer have to possess a trout permit to fish during the trout season in designated trout waters, but there is a daily creel limit of two trout for those youth (unless they purchase a trout permit, which allows a full daily trout creel limit);

You can read the rest of the 2008 Kansas Fishing Regulation Changes by clicking here.

Labels: Kansas, kansas trout fishing, trout fishing in kansas

The Trout Fishing Season in Kansas opens October 15th and runs through April 15th. During this time, many lakes and ponds are stocked with rainbow and brown trout.

After the trout fishing season ends, you still may be able to catch a few trout left over from the stockings, but you'll have to wait for the next season for more trout stockings.

However, the Mined Land Wildlife Area Unit #30 (Cherokee County) and Tuttle Creek State Park Willow Lake do offer year round trout fishing (a year round trout permit is required).

Some local governments in areas such as Topeka and Kansas City have their own trout stocking programs. Many of these require a fee, but the state permit is not required. Local city and county recreation departments should be able to give you details.

Here's a list of lakes in Kansas which are stocked with trout during the trout fishing season. Every angler (whether you're catching trout or not) must have a trout fishing permit to fish in these lakes:

• Cedar Bluff Stilling Basin
• Cimarron Grasslands Pits
• Dodge City Lake Charles
• Ft. Scott Gun Park Lake
• Garnett Crystal Lake
• Glen Elder State Park Pond
• Kanopolis Seep Stream
• KDOT East Lake in Wichita
• Lake Henry in Clinton State Park
• Mined Land WA Unit #30
• Pratt Centennial Pond
• Sandsage Bison Range and Wildlife Area Sandpits (Periodically Dry)
• Topeka Auburndale Park
• Vic’s Lake and Slough Creek in Sedgwick County Park
• Walnut River Area in El Dorado State Park
• Webster Stilling Basin
  

The lakes below are also stocked with trout during the season, but only trout anglers need to have trout permit:

• Ft. Riley Cameron Springs
• Great Bend Veterans Memorial Park Lake
• Hutchinson Dillon Nature Center Pond
• Kanopolis State Park Pond
• Moon Lake on Fort Riley
• Moss Lake and Horseshoe Lake in Sedgwick County Park
• Salina Lakewood Lake
• Scott State Fishing Lake
• Scott State Park Pond
• Sherman County Smoky Gardens Lake
• Solomon River between Webster Reservoir Rooks County #2 Road
  

In May 2007 , a new state record for brown trout was set. The fish weighed in at 7.68 ounces and measured 10.66 inches in length.

The Kansas state record for the largest rainbow trout (set in 1982) is currently 9.31 lbs, measuring 28.25 inches in length.

Labels: kansas trout fishing, Kansas trout fishing season, kansas trout record, trout fishing in kansas