This site exists to allow anglers to post current fishing reports for Kansas waters. Views and opinions expressed here are not necessarily those of the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks. This is an Unofficial Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks Fishing Report Blog.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Region 3 "Dock Squawk" (Southwestern, KS) 2011
Use this article to comment on any fishing issue in Region 3 or Southwestern Kansas. Keep discussions polite and appropriate. Any inappropriate comments will be deleted.
If you have not heard about the proposed laws on baitfish you need to read this article. http://www.kansas.com/2011/04/24/1820577/commission-hears-criticism-of.html
Ok, i was reading on this page that meade hatchery is one of the best in the whole state, they send all kinds of species of fish all over the state. But what about their own lake??? on this hatchery they have channel catfish, hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, walleye and grass carp but they dont stock lake meade but with catfish, we will like to have some action too, im serious if someone catches a largemouth bass feels like they won the kansas lottery, for real is that bad i mean check their fishing report, i think the best i have read on it is fair, we never have good on almost anything. I think that this lake deserve it, its always people trying to fish there, and i say trying because they never catch anything or something small. I was talking to one of the guys that works there and he said they havent stock with largemouth bass there for YEARS that got me desapointed bad i mean what do we need to do in order to get some fish on this lake???? If you want us to buy it, i know there is plenty of people that will, including me. I dont think that if you stock at least one LMB per acre at least twice a year (and im not asking for big fish, even just fingerling size) this lake will be great just like it used to be many years ago, plus i dont think it whould hurt your hatchery at all, so please people from the KDWP think and talk about it i mean that will bring more money to this park wich is really pretty, all we need and ask for is just FISH. What the rest of the people think about what i just said???? and the arkalon park i just dont even want to think about it every year looks worst, looks more like drainage water well to make it easier for you the seward county landfill looks way better then arkalon park and im not making fun of it this is serious i think the KDWP needs to put more attention on lake meade and arkalon park too no just on the bigger lakes please people make comments about it so we can get a good solution for this big problems.
Find a baitshop that sells golden shiners and buy a dozen. Under a bobber or on the bottom it's your choice. If shiners don't bring them in then there's a need for concern IMO.
Concerning the posting on 6/11 I think it would be interesting to even try some walleye and wipers in Meade and wipers in Clark. Not a high dosage though. OTHER SMALL LAKES in the state get them and a lot of the time it works!!!! If it doesn't then drop it.
And sometimes, if the wipers are stocked, people give up trying or never try to catch them and the fish grow to trophy size proportions with minimum pressure. Then one day, wow, an angler lands one.
for that one guy who wrote 'find a baitshop' that wont help to stock fish so we can have the meade lake from 8 or 9 years ago, i just have something to say i like to use lures and catch fish i have cought a 13lbs flathead but i mean BASS or crappie the biggest crappie i have seen there is like 4 inches long plus the crappie on this lake is thanks to this farmer that stock them there few years ago because if we just wait until the ks hatcheries stock them i probably will die of getting old first before they whould stock them there im talking about crappie now but for now we just need bass URGENT!!!! PLEASE KDWP READ THIS WE NEED FISH HERE TOO DONT JUST STCK ON THE BIG AND FAR LAKES
Look at Pratt State Fishing Lake and the fishing reports. That lake is similar to Meade in size and depth. Wipers and walleye of decent size are caught there. I know it doesn't mean for sure they would work in Meade, but is there really a problem with giving it a try? If you think it might mess up the fishery balance in Meade... then isn't it already not in that good of shape anyway?
If you look at other small lakes in the other fishing regions of the state you will notice that walleye, saugeye, and or wipers are stocked in a lot of them. The fishing forecasts on them from biologists' netting does show some nice fish and even some large ones at that. So... what is the hold up at Meade? I would like some feed back from KDWP on this please.
An old timers rule of thumb is that if the bluegill are of larger size the bass population is fine, but a lot of smaller bluegill means an imbalance problem.
Daniel, I am a biologist and can tell you that stocking Meade lake with bass is a no win situation. Meade has a self sustaining population of bass. One successful female nesting will provide more fingerlings than the lake needs. If the bass fishing has deteriorated as you say it has it is probably due to other environmental factors. These factors need to be corrected before the population can recover. Knowing the area I would hazard a guess that the bass population is being over fished. But from the electro fishing results this spring I know there are plenty of bass in the lake some big ones too.
Wow, where do I start? My name is Lowell Aberson and I am the Fisheries Biologist for all the lakes in southwest Kansas, including Meade State Fishing Lake. I believe the original question pertained to largemouth bass at MESL so that is where we will start. Here is a link for you to check out: http://kdwp.state.ks.us/news/Fishing/Fishing-Forecast/Largemouth-Bass/Lakes
This will take you to the fishing forecast page for all small lakes in Kansas. Largemouth bass data is collected using electrofishing equipment and is recorded as number of fish per hour. You will see that Meade State Fishing Lake (MESL) is ranked 15th of more than 90 small lakes in Kansas. While this information is based on spring electrofishing results from 2010, I expect that the results will be very similar this year. Based on the sampling in 2011, the bass population continues to be in excellent shape at MESL.
While the largemouth bass rating for MESL is not at the top of the list a closer look reveals some interesting information. When looking at the largemouth category, the density rating for largemouth bass is based on 12-14 inch fish. In this category, 70.59 fish of this size were sampled per hour of electrofishing in 2010. The next category is the preferred category and that is where the numbers get interesting. This is the number of fish sampled that are 15 – 19 inches. There were 45.10 fish of this size sampled per hour and 1.20 fish per hour that were 20 inches (Lunker rating) or greater. Finally, the 3-year average for MESL is 54.55, indicating that year in and year out it keeps producing adequate numbers to maintain the population. Across the board, the bass population at MESL stacks up pretty well. This is just the first part of my response, there is more coming, I just wanted to get this posted to slow down some of the speculative thoughts and comments. More to come! In the mean time, if you would like to give me a call at my office (620-227-8609), I would be happy to discuss seasonal patterns and tactics you might try to catch a bass at MESL. Lowell Aberson
Ok, Lowell Aberson, im not trying to make look lake mead bad, i mean this park is really pretty like i said on my first post here. its always clean, the people that works there are really nice, all the trees an benches are really nice and very well mantained, but, fishing is what im worried about like i said on my first post "again" look on the same page that you give me look at the biologist rating "fair" that is the best rating we always get every year that is our top rating but i have a little question/opinion if you guys stop stocking catfish(natural predator) the bass, crappie, sunfish, blue gill population will increase, due to the catfish eating all the small fish and making reduce the population on the rest of the species??? there is lots of catfish real big ones too but they are eating all the small ones and the not too smallones too. Im not trying to say that you guys are not doing your jobs i know everybody is real busy and theres no way to make everybody happy. and about arkalon ponds have you been there this year???? and is not just my personal opinion is from some other anglers that i know and some the i have meet at the lake too and sorry about not calling you due to my job i dont really have time during office hours....
Ok, Lowell what's the seaonal tactics for Veterans Lake? How much money was spent on the bubblers at Vet's Lake? You really think it will,make the Toxic Alge bloom go away?And how many Fish have you ate out of Veterans lake? I can asnwer for you, not one!!
Now let’s look at these comments, “would like to have the meade lake from 8 or 9 years ago” and “the biggest crappie i have seen there is like 4 inches long plus the crappie on this lake is thanks to this farmer that stock them there few years ago”
For on thing it is illegal to release any fish into public waters unless caught from that water. Eight or 9 years ago is when the white crappie did show up in MESL and now that particular species is occupying so much of the available space in terms of total biomass that most of the other species of fish are being overwhelmed by them. White crappie nearly always overpopulate, not just our small waters in Kansas but in virtually all small water bodies throughout the country where well meaning anglers stock them.
Think of it this way, one surface acre of water is similar to one pen in a feedlot. You can put 20 calves and 500 lbs of feed in that pen and the calves will grow quite well. You put in 200 calves and 500 lbs of feed and they will not grow nearly as well. A surface acre of water is only capable of producing so many pounds of biomass. This can be a well balanced population of various species and sizes or as is often the case with white crappie in small waters, large numbers of small crappie tie up a large portion of the total biomass.
As far as comparing MESL to Pratt County Lake (PRCL) it really is an “apples and oranges” kind of argument. Meade is pretty much a closed system when it comes to water. We have had water quality issues there for the last several years and it is already starting again this year. Rain and occasional pumping is the only source of water for MESL. In addition to rainfall, the majority of the water for PRCL comes from the Ninnescah River. Along with an adequate supply of water, the river also introduces common carp, gizzard shad, green sunfish and other undesirable species to PRCL. Very restrictive creel and length limits are in place on PRCL to ensure that there are adequate numbers of these large predators in the system to prevent these less than desirable species from overwhelming the more desirable populations of fish.
Finally, as I have said before, I would be more than happy to visit with anyone who has questions. Just give me a call at my office (620-227-8609). If that is not possible during normal work hours, email me your name, phone number and a good time to contact you. My email is lowell.aberson@ksoutdoors.com. Lowell Aberson
In regards to a lake like Meade... what can be done to get rid of the over abundance of small white crappie. I've felt that since studies show black crappie don't usually stunt as much in small lakes and ponds, then why aren't black crappie STOCKED right up front so the white crappie aren't established by well meaning misguided people? I've heard this discussed by biologists but it usually isn't carried though.
Here's what you need to do. Stock northern pike and have the fishermen keep all white crappie. Dispose of the ones not worth cleaning. One reason being is crappie spawn first and the young of the year feast on newly hatched bluegills leaving no forage for largemouth bass later in the year. Like I posted earlier, check the size of the bluegills at Meade. Another option is to use big trout. Stock them in Oct/Nov. to feed on small crappie throughout the winter months. But the easiest thing to do is to stock hybrids. I'm sure everyone thought of that but nobody mentioned it. Lower that water level first though- that's less room for the little fish to hide. The last option here is that the fishermen who fish there aren't as smart as the fish in Meade. It happens.
Now something else to do at Meade lake is to spend the night or arrive at 4:00 a.m. and be quiet towards the break of dawn. That will be a little bit past 5 a.m.. Observe and listen for the lunkers (bass). They are smart enough not to get caught but getting there early will give an idea of what's in there. Be real quiet. If you decide to try this after the above mentioned times, forget it- you'll alert the fish to your presence. If you do everything right and no fish jump or surface early in the morning you could concentrate your fishing efforts for catfish on the dam. That will also confirm no good bass in my book if you don't see any early morning action/sightings. Most summer days they (catfish) are done feeding by 6:15 a.m.. You should be back on the road by 6:45 a.m..
too many crappie huh! wheres the asian people when we need them ;),ima put an add on asian markets throughout sw kansas, no limit on crappie at meade lake take em all. me fish long time.
maybe the catch rules need to change, no limit on predatory species one year or two , all bass released back into the lake, also stocking 1 lb catfish isnt going to help reduce the amount of already one million 4"+ white crappie,.... we have one of the best hatcheries at Meade, that means that we should be number #1 bass lake in all kansas, and if you biologist know theres an over population of white crappie why dont you electro fish , or let me borrow the boat ill go electro fishing if thats what it takes to get a GOOD/EXECELLENT rating on the KDWP rating. im sure plenty of people would show up and help. Also to the guy that says go early in the morning, i was there this week early in the morning and the only FISH i saw were MAINLY carp jumping not BASS.
I too have watched electrofishing. Shock them up and get a lot of them out of there. I still feel that saugeye in some studies are good at munching small stunted white crappie. Maybe you guys like bass more than saugeye.
I think many of the southwestern Kansas small lakes are a challenge for biologists. When these lakes are new or renovated they really produce great growth rates for a while then they seem to get out of balance. So many of them have stunted crappie. Up here a Scott Lake when creel census work is done people show the creel census clerk a lot of illegal fish unknowingly. One time I drove into Scott Lake and saw two separate incidents of people carring sublegal bass and showing them off. We local up here have seen this so many times. There was a study in a huge Missouri Reservoir and they found out that sixty percent of the keeper crappie were caught out every year! We are talking Truman Lake. You know how many acres that lake has. IT has around 50,000 acres. I guarantee you that whenever there is a strong keeper population in a little SW Kansas with bass, or some lake gets a lot of ten inch plus crappie the WORD GETS OUT and they are fished out mostly in that season. Lowell is a very good, intelligent biologist. Talk to him face-to-face. I'm sure he would be willing to help. He sure has done a lot with kids and the outdoors.
I made the three hour trip to Meade this weekend for the fishing tounry. I grew up on this lake as a Kid and to say the least it is a wonderful kept lake on Terra Firma however it is no longer the fishery I remember! The lake needs help. My kid and i caught almost 70 catfish over three days largest one .55 lbs. Tried to throw a cast net for some live bait since the bait shop closed many years ago and in those three days 1 small perch. IS THERE EVEN ANY SHAD LEFT? My kid would spend the hot hours of the day trying for bass or even a perch (NONE) were caught. I have great respect for the grounds crew as the lake is so well kept, however the lake and its water issues need to be addressed ASAP. Fishermen get ahold of Mr. Brownback and voice your concerns, I know that is what I did today.
Thanks Meade lake Staff for a GREAT WEKKEND CAMPING and fishing.
I think with most of these small western Kansas lakes they usually put in small channel cats at three to the pound unless there are some older brood fish left from Pratt. I noticed that Horsethief got a lot of channel cats that average over a pound a piece this year as an exception. With all of the fishing pressure on Meade, Scott, and some others these little fish just usually don't get a chance to grow much. Two biologists have stated to me in the last several years that around fifty percent of these fish are caught out every year. It isn't that easy for the hatcheries to grow a lot of one pound plus fish and then stock them. Channel catfish are underutilized in a lot of our reservoirs and I wonder if they could be seined by KDWP and trucked to some to these smaller lakes. Would this be too expensive?
It's a simple answer to the stocking of Fish.More License sold more fish.It's a no brainer,where there is more populated places to fish,they get get the Fish !!!
In regards to recent posts concerning Meade State Fishing Lake, I would offer the following summary.
In October 2010, a meeting was held and attended by all KDWP employees directly involved with management at Meade, including Parks, Public Lands and Fisheries staff, and their supervisors and administrators including the Secretary of KDWP. Planned actions for the future were discussed and we are moving forward with those actions as funding and manpower allows.
One of the key concerns at Meade involves nutrient loading and the effects on water quality. Excessive nutrient loads have been documented by the KS Dept of Health and Environment at Meade SFL and water fowl waste has been identified as a primary source.
Water quality is a key factor affecting the prosperity of the fish community and recreational use in general. Trying to improve water quality is an important first step to enhancing the fishery and the aquatic resource overall.
We are in the process of pursuing a grant and other avenues of funding for implementing a regime for attempting to improve water quality. If any individuals or groups have an interest in donating financially to this effort, please feel free to contact us.
I assure you our staff is dedicated to providing the best fishery and the finest outdoor recreational opportunities they can given manpower and budgetary constraints and the limitations of this aquatic resource system.
Thank-you for your interest in this valuable SW KS resource.
Steve Price Regional Fisheries Supervisor KS. Dept. of Wildlife, Parks & Tourism Box 338, 1426 Hwy 183 Alt. Hays, KS 67601 (785) 628-8614
there you go man thats the kind of reaction we need not just writting comments back on this forum and if you need help to make lake meade the way everybody dreams. COUNT ON ME ill stop by the office pretty soon to make a donation and to help as much as i can.
Steve, whats the project in mind? how much is this project going to cost? can people volunteer to keep contractors out? and how much is the state going to put in out of my tax money? Making this lake better then before is possible with everybodys cooperation. can you put a link to cost and what the actual project is about please so everybody gets an idea of the future of meade lake.
We are in the process of working with the KS Dept of Health and Environment to complete a plan of action and to pursue a financial grant for attempting to improve water quality at Meade SFL. We have not yet secured the grant or finalized the plan; we hope to do this soon. Processes currently under consideration include methods to reduce the degree to which geese use the lake, floating biomats to extract nutrients from the water, and recirculation of lake water to filter nutrients. Other options may be considered as well as per the guidance of KDHE and other professionals. We can provide more information when the plan is finalized. Donations would be directed towards this water quality improvement project and/or towards other improvements related to fishing and other outdoor recreation opportunities solely at Meade SFL.
Thanks again for your interest and support.
-- Steve Price Regional Fisheries Supervisor KS. Dept. of Wildlife, Parks & Tourism Box 338, 1426 Hwy 183 Alt. Hays, KS 67601 (785) 628-8614
I have a question for KDWP in regards to Horsethief Reservoir. Are there plans to plant trees? A lot of people are wondering why trees were not planted a couple of years ago. New baby trees planted now would take how many years to provide shade. Was this considered? What are the plans? On the 4th of July Scott Lake had 6,800 people. Some of these people complained to the park rangers up there that they have tried Horsethief but no trees!
I wonder if Horsethief will hold a lot of water usually. I am glad it was built. They have to release the same amount that flows in so you have a run-off situation every several years. I wouldn't be surprised if it usually maintains from 120 to 225 acres most years. Growing up just south of there I doubt it will be like Clark and stay pretty full. Anyway as deep as it is it will probably always be a fishery. But... people who can't wait till it fills up and stays usually full are "looking at pie in the sky".
I herd they lost some nice Big Saugeye At Veteran's Lake Great Bend last week. Oop's they dont want nobody know it's a lake. It's a park now,I mean Dog Park LOL !! You have to be a member to know,Great Bend's Secrets !!!!!
so what happend at mead what did y'all did to fix the problem let me guess NOTHING LIKE ALWAYS just let the time pass a few months and everybody forgets all the comments and the guys in charge happy because they wont do nothing and still getting paid with our taxes what a job i need one of those and i dont care if y'all erase this message ill re-write it again every time instead of erasing this mssg do something about lake made dont just stock it with catfish cmon
I am an avid bass fisherman but usually travel to Ute Lake in New Mexico. This afternoon I went to Arkalon park outside of Liberal Kansas and was fairly amazed at the ponds, lakes and water quality. Just as I was getting exited I read a sign, "no tubes." I assume this is not for tube fishing and am going to ignore. I'll keep you updated.
As for Meade Lake, allow waterfowl hunting in the winter. I'm just amazed that southwest kansas is the only place in the country where you cant hunt ducks on our only lake.
Ok, i dunno about you folks but honestly i couldd give a rats behind about Meade lake, yes the have nice facilties and if you want a picnic at a crowded small lake its fine. The REAL lake in this area is Clark, bar none hands down the best body of water in SW Kansas, but the wierdest thing is the difference between these 2 lakes, Meade is a pay to viisit lake and has been going downhill since they purposely destroyed the water well running water to it back in the early 90's to late 80's and flow has never been restored to what it was. The excuse for the artesian well is a joke, something about irrigation when i know that not to be true and had in fact gotten the "bacteria" in the well story before they mounted the sign, im convnced they destroyed the artesian well to increase flow to the hatchery. anyways what im trying to say hewre is that Clark is free, its BIG and DEEP, and there have been many many many improvements to Clark with a MUCH MUCH SMALLER BUDGET. If you dont believe me, take a trip to Clark and ask some of the people who have been visiting it for decades, we'll tell ya whats up.
oh and by the way, im not tring to insult our "biologist" but you need to do more field work and water testing before you just go off on a random theory and state it as fact. I've been a wetlands/freshwater fish biologists for over 30 years in 15 different states and i absolutely cannot come to your conclusions after doing as much physical testing as i have.
did they ever get rid of the massive turtle population out there at Arkalon? I was out there last year in the summer and fall and hardly caught anything larger than 3-6 inches but i saw about a good 60-100 turtles around the area of varying species and very large sizes. in fact i dont think any of the turtles i saw were anything close to being consider "small". If im right, the soft shelled turtles are protected federally (they do somew sort of migration along this stretch of river from new mexico and oklahoma)so definately leave those alone when they are migrating through but the other ones are full on huge kansas snappers with a bit of a temper towards anything near them. These things can easily eat their own body weight in fish multiple times a week. I propose opening a season on these large snappers right after they breed so as to ensure a healthy future population but improve fishing for years. I guarantee you they are eating themselves fat off of the fish in ALL of the ponds. To me it makes since to knock the turtle population down or stop spending money on stocks. otherwise they are just eating our money.
41 comments:
gonna try larned FiSH habitats this morning
If you have not heard about the proposed laws on baitfish you need to read this article. http://www.kansas.com/2011/04/24/1820577/commission-hears-criticism-of.html
Ok, i was reading on this page that meade hatchery is one of the best in the whole state, they send all kinds of species of fish all over the state. But what about their own lake??? on this hatchery they have channel catfish, hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, walleye and grass carp but they dont stock lake meade but with catfish, we will like to have some action too, im serious if someone catches a largemouth bass feels like they won the kansas lottery, for real is that bad i mean check their fishing report, i think the best i have read on it is fair, we never have good on almost anything. I think that this lake deserve it, its always people trying to fish there, and i say trying because they never catch anything or something small. I was talking to one of the guys that works there and he said they havent stock with largemouth bass there for YEARS that got me desapointed bad i mean what do we need to do in order to get some fish on this lake???? If you want us to buy it, i know there is plenty of people that will, including me. I dont think that if you stock at least one LMB per acre at least twice a year (and im not asking for big fish, even just fingerling size) this lake will be great just like it used to be many years ago, plus i dont think it whould hurt your hatchery at all, so please people from the KDWP think and talk about it i mean that will bring more money to this park wich is really pretty, all we need and ask for is just FISH. What the rest of the people think about what i just said???? and the arkalon park i just dont even want to think about it every year looks worst, looks more like drainage water well to make it easier for you the seward county landfill looks way better then arkalon park and im not making fun of it this is serious i think the KDWP needs to put more attention on lake meade and arkalon park too no just on the bigger lakes please people make comments about it so we can get a good solution for this big problems.
Find a baitshop that sells golden shiners and buy a dozen. Under a bobber or on the bottom it's your choice. If shiners don't bring them in then there's a need for concern IMO.
Concerning the posting on 6/11 I think it would be interesting to even try some walleye and wipers in Meade and wipers in Clark. Not a high dosage though. OTHER SMALL LAKES in the state get them and a lot of the time it works!!!!
If it doesn't then drop it.
And sometimes, if the wipers are stocked, people give up trying or never try to catch them and the fish grow to trophy size proportions with minimum pressure. Then one day, wow, an angler lands one.
for that one guy who wrote 'find a baitshop' that wont help to stock fish so we can have the meade lake from 8 or 9 years ago, i just have something to say i like to use lures and catch fish i have cought a 13lbs flathead but i mean BASS or crappie the biggest crappie i have seen there is like 4 inches long plus the crappie on this lake is thanks to this farmer that stock them there few years ago because if we just wait until the ks hatcheries stock them i probably will die of getting old first before they whould stock them there im talking about crappie now but for now we just need bass URGENT!!!! PLEASE KDWP READ THIS WE NEED FISH HERE TOO DONT JUST STCK ON THE BIG AND FAR LAKES
Look at Pratt State Fishing Lake and the fishing reports. That lake is similar to Meade in size and depth. Wipers and walleye of decent size are caught there. I know it doesn't mean for sure they would work in Meade, but is there really a problem with giving it a try? If you think it might mess up the fishery balance in Meade... then isn't it already not in that good of shape anyway?
If you look at other small lakes in the other fishing regions of the state you will notice that walleye, saugeye, and or wipers are stocked in a lot of them. The fishing forecasts on them from biologists' netting does show some nice fish and even some large ones at that. So... what is the hold up at Meade? I would like some feed back from KDWP on this please.
An old timers rule of thumb is that if the bluegill are of larger size the bass population is fine, but a lot of smaller bluegill means an imbalance problem.
Daniel, I am a biologist and can tell you that stocking Meade lake with bass is a no win situation. Meade has a self sustaining population of bass. One successful female nesting will provide more fingerlings than the lake needs. If the bass fishing has deteriorated as you say it has it is probably due to other environmental factors. These factors need to be corrected before the population can recover. Knowing the area I would hazard a guess that the bass population is being over fished. But from the electro fishing results this spring I know there are plenty of bass in the lake some big ones too.
Wow, where do I start? My name is Lowell Aberson and I am the Fisheries Biologist for all the lakes in southwest Kansas, including Meade State Fishing Lake. I believe the original question pertained to largemouth bass at MESL so that is where we will start. Here is a link for you to check out:
http://kdwp.state.ks.us/news/Fishing/Fishing-Forecast/Largemouth-Bass/Lakes
This will take you to the fishing forecast page for all small lakes in Kansas. Largemouth bass data is collected using electrofishing equipment and is recorded as number of fish per hour. You will see that Meade State Fishing Lake (MESL) is ranked 15th of more than 90 small lakes in Kansas. While this information is based on spring electrofishing results from 2010, I expect that the results will be very similar this year. Based on the sampling in 2011, the bass population continues to be in excellent shape at MESL.
While the largemouth bass rating for MESL is not at the top of the list a closer look reveals some interesting information. When looking at the largemouth category, the density rating for largemouth bass is based on 12-14 inch fish. In this category, 70.59 fish of this size were sampled per hour of electrofishing in 2010. The next category is the preferred category and that is where the numbers get interesting. This is the number of fish sampled that are 15 – 19 inches. There were 45.10 fish of this size sampled per hour and 1.20 fish per hour that were 20 inches (Lunker rating) or greater. Finally, the 3-year average for MESL is 54.55, indicating that year in and year out it keeps producing adequate numbers to maintain the population. Across the board, the bass population at MESL stacks up pretty well.
This is just the first part of my response, there is more coming, I just wanted to get this posted to slow down some of the speculative thoughts and comments. More to come! In the mean time, if you would like to give me a call at my office (620-227-8609), I would be happy to discuss seasonal patterns and tactics you might try to catch a bass at MESL.
Lowell Aberson
Ok, Lowell Aberson, im not trying to make look lake mead bad, i mean this park is really pretty like i said on my first post here. its always clean, the people that works there are really nice, all the trees an benches are really nice and very well mantained, but, fishing is what im worried about like i said on my first post "again" look on the same page that you give me look at the biologist rating "fair" that is the best rating we always get every year that is our top rating but i have a little question/opinion if you guys stop stocking catfish(natural predator) the bass, crappie, sunfish, blue gill population will increase, due to the catfish eating all the small fish and making reduce the population on the rest of the species??? there is lots of catfish real big ones too but they are eating all the small ones and the not too smallones too. Im not trying to say that you guys are not doing your jobs i know everybody is real busy and theres no way to make everybody happy. and about arkalon ponds have you been there this year???? and is not just my personal opinion is from some other anglers that i know and some the i have meet at the lake too and sorry about not calling you due to my job i dont really have time during office hours....
Ok, Lowell what's the seaonal tactics for Veterans Lake? How much money was spent on the bubblers at Vet's Lake? You really think it will,make the Toxic Alge bloom go away?And how many Fish have you ate out of Veterans lake? I can asnwer for you, not one!!
Now let’s look at these comments, “would like to have the meade lake from 8 or 9 years ago” and “the biggest crappie i have seen there is like 4 inches long plus the crappie on this lake is thanks to this farmer that stock them there few years ago”
For on thing it is illegal to release any fish into public waters unless caught from that water. Eight or 9 years ago is when the white crappie did show up in MESL and now that particular species is occupying so much of the available space in terms of total biomass that most of the other species of fish are being overwhelmed by them. White crappie nearly always overpopulate, not just our small waters in Kansas but in virtually all small water bodies throughout the country where well meaning anglers stock them.
Think of it this way, one surface acre of water is similar to one pen in a feedlot. You can put 20 calves and 500 lbs of feed in that pen and the calves will grow quite well. You put in 200 calves and 500 lbs of feed and they will not grow nearly as well. A surface acre of water is only capable of producing so many pounds of biomass. This can be a well balanced population of various species and sizes or as is often the case with white crappie in small waters, large numbers of small crappie tie up a large portion of the total biomass.
As far as comparing MESL to Pratt County Lake (PRCL) it really is an “apples and oranges” kind of argument. Meade is pretty much a closed system when it comes to water. We have had water quality issues there for the last several years and it is already starting again this year. Rain and occasional pumping is the only source of water for MESL. In addition to rainfall, the majority of the water for PRCL comes from the Ninnescah River. Along with an adequate supply of water, the river also introduces common carp, gizzard shad, green sunfish and other undesirable species to PRCL. Very restrictive creel and length limits are in place on PRCL to ensure that there are adequate numbers of these large predators in the system to prevent these less than desirable species from overwhelming the more desirable populations of fish.
Finally, as I have said before, I would be more than happy to visit with anyone who has questions. Just give me a call at my office (620-227-8609). If that is not possible during normal work hours, email me your name, phone number and a good time to contact you. My email is lowell.aberson@ksoutdoors.com.
Lowell Aberson
In regards to a lake like Meade... what can be done to get rid of the over abundance of small white crappie. I've felt that since studies show black crappie don't usually stunt as much in small lakes and ponds, then why aren't black crappie STOCKED right up front so the white crappie aren't established by well meaning misguided people? I've heard this discussed by biologists but it usually isn't carried though.
Here's what you need to do. Stock northern pike and have the fishermen keep all white crappie. Dispose of the ones not worth cleaning. One reason being is crappie spawn first and the young of the year feast on newly hatched bluegills leaving no forage for largemouth bass later in the year. Like I posted earlier, check the size of the bluegills at Meade. Another option is to use big trout. Stock them in Oct/Nov. to feed on small crappie throughout the winter months. But the easiest thing to do is to stock hybrids. I'm sure everyone thought of that but nobody mentioned it. Lower that water level first though- that's less room for the little fish to hide. The last option here is that the fishermen who fish there aren't as smart as the fish in Meade. It happens.
Now something else to do at Meade lake is to spend the night or arrive at 4:00 a.m. and be quiet towards the break of dawn. That will be a little bit past 5 a.m.. Observe and listen for the lunkers (bass). They are smart enough not to get caught but getting there early will give an idea of what's in there. Be real quiet. If you decide to try this after the above mentioned times, forget it- you'll alert the fish to your presence. If you do everything right and no fish jump or surface early in the morning you could concentrate your fishing efforts for catfish on the dam. That will also confirm no good bass in my book if you don't see any early morning action/sightings. Most summer days they (catfish) are done feeding by 6:15 a.m.. You should be back on the road by 6:45 a.m..
too many crappie huh! wheres the asian people when we need them ;),ima put an add on asian markets throughout sw kansas, no limit on crappie at meade lake take em all. me fish long time.
maybe the catch rules need to change, no limit on predatory species one year or two , all bass released back into the lake, also stocking 1 lb catfish isnt going to help reduce the amount of already one million 4"+ white crappie,.... we have one of the best hatcheries at Meade, that means that we should be number #1 bass lake in all kansas, and if you biologist know theres an over population of white crappie why dont you electro fish , or let me borrow the boat ill go electro fishing if thats what it takes to get a GOOD/EXECELLENT rating on the KDWP rating. im sure plenty of people would show up and help. Also to the guy that says go early in the morning, i was there this week early in the morning and the only FISH i saw were MAINLY carp jumping not BASS.
I too have watched electrofishing. Shock them up and get a lot of them out of there. I still feel that saugeye in some studies are good at munching small stunted white crappie. Maybe you guys like bass more than saugeye.
I think many of the southwestern Kansas small lakes are a challenge for biologists. When these lakes are new or renovated they really produce great growth rates for a while then they seem to get out of balance. So many of them have stunted crappie. Up here a Scott Lake when creel census work is done people show the creel census clerk a lot of illegal fish unknowingly. One time I drove into Scott Lake and saw two separate incidents of people carring sublegal bass and showing them off. We local up here have seen this so many times. There was a study in a huge Missouri Reservoir and they found out that sixty percent of the keeper crappie were caught out every year! We are talking Truman Lake. You know how many acres that lake has. IT has around 50,000 acres. I guarantee you that whenever there is a strong keeper population in a little SW Kansas with bass, or some lake gets a lot of ten inch plus crappie the WORD GETS OUT and they are fished out mostly in that season. Lowell is a very good, intelligent biologist. Talk to him face-to-face. I'm sure he would be willing to help. He sure has done a lot with kids and the outdoors.
I made the three hour trip to Meade this weekend for the fishing tounry. I grew up on this lake as a Kid and to say the least it is a wonderful kept lake on Terra Firma however it is no longer the fishery I remember! The lake needs help. My kid and i caught almost 70 catfish over three days largest one .55 lbs. Tried to throw a cast net for some live bait since the bait shop closed many years ago and in those three days 1 small perch. IS THERE EVEN ANY SHAD LEFT? My kid would spend the hot hours of the day trying for bass or even a perch (NONE) were caught. I have great respect for the grounds crew as the lake is so well kept, however the lake and its water issues need to be addressed ASAP. Fishermen get ahold of Mr. Brownback and voice your concerns, I know that is what I did today.
Thanks Meade lake Staff for a GREAT WEKKEND CAMPING and fishing.
I think with most of these small western Kansas lakes they usually put in small channel cats at three to the pound unless there are some older brood fish left from Pratt. I noticed that Horsethief got a lot of channel cats that average over a pound a piece this year as an exception. With all of the fishing pressure on Meade, Scott, and some others these little fish just usually don't get a chance to grow much. Two biologists have stated to me in the last several years that around fifty percent of these fish are caught out every year. It isn't that easy for the hatcheries to grow a lot of one pound plus fish and then stock them. Channel catfish are underutilized in a lot of our reservoirs and I wonder if they could be seined by KDWP and trucked to some to these smaller lakes. Would this be too expensive?
It's a simple answer to the stocking of Fish.More License sold more fish.It's a no brainer,where there is more populated places to fish,they get get the Fish !!!
great and now we have blue-green algae bloom at meade again just on time to put the cherry on top of the cake
In regards to recent posts concerning Meade State Fishing Lake, I would offer the following summary.
In October 2010, a meeting was held and attended by all KDWP employees directly involved with management at Meade, including Parks, Public Lands and Fisheries staff, and their supervisors and administrators including the Secretary of KDWP. Planned actions for the future were discussed and we are moving forward with those actions as funding and manpower allows.
One of the key concerns at Meade involves nutrient loading and the effects on water quality. Excessive nutrient loads have been documented by the KS Dept of Health and Environment at Meade SFL and water fowl waste has been identified as a primary source.
Water quality is a key factor affecting the prosperity of the fish community and recreational use in general. Trying to improve water quality is an important first step to enhancing the fishery and the aquatic resource overall.
We are in the process of pursuing a grant and other avenues of funding for implementing a regime for attempting to improve water quality. If any individuals or groups have an interest in donating financially to this effort, please feel free to contact us.
I assure you our staff is dedicated to providing the best fishery and the finest outdoor recreational opportunities they can given manpower and budgetary constraints and the limitations of this aquatic resource system.
Thank-you for your interest in this valuable SW KS resource.
Steve Price
Regional Fisheries Supervisor
KS. Dept. of Wildlife, Parks & Tourism
Box 338, 1426 Hwy 183 Alt.
Hays, KS 67601
(785) 628-8614
there you go man thats the kind of reaction we need not just writting comments back on this forum and if you need help to make lake meade the way everybody dreams. COUNT ON ME ill stop by the office pretty soon to make a donation and to help as much as i can.
and thank you for listening to us and to try to help this lake, lets make it happend
Steve, whats the project in mind? how much is this project going to cost? can people volunteer to keep contractors out? and how much is the state going to put in out of my tax money? Making this lake better then before is possible with everybodys cooperation. can you put a link to cost and what the actual project is about please so everybody gets an idea of the future of meade lake.
We are in the process of working with the KS Dept of Health and Environment to complete a plan of action and to pursue a financial grant for attempting to improve water quality at Meade SFL. We have not yet secured the grant or finalized the plan; we hope to do this soon. Processes currently under consideration include methods to reduce the degree to which geese use the lake, floating biomats to extract nutrients from the water, and recirculation of lake water to filter nutrients. Other options may be considered as well as per the guidance of KDHE and other professionals. We can provide more information when the plan is finalized. Donations would be directed towards this water quality improvement project and/or towards other improvements related to fishing and other outdoor recreation opportunities solely at Meade SFL.
Thanks again for your interest and support.
--
Steve Price
Regional Fisheries Supervisor
KS. Dept. of Wildlife, Parks & Tourism
Box 338, 1426 Hwy 183 Alt.
Hays, KS 67601
(785) 628-8614
I would like to send you some pictures of litter I took this morning at Cheney State Park. I need an e-mail address rather than this form, though.
open hunting at meade and that will reduce waterfowl use.
I have a question for KDWP in regards to Horsethief Reservoir. Are there plans to plant trees? A lot of people are wondering why trees were not planted a couple of years ago. New baby trees planted now would take how many years to provide shade. Was this considered? What are the plans? On the 4th of July Scott Lake had 6,800 people. Some of these people complained to the park rangers up there that they have tried Horsethief but no trees!
horsethief reservoir is not under kdwp.
I wonder if Horsethief will hold a lot of water usually. I am glad it was built. They have to release the same amount that flows in so you have a run-off situation every several years. I wouldn't be surprised if it usually maintains from 120 to 225 acres most years. Growing up just south of there I doubt it will be like Clark and stay pretty full. Anyway as deep as it is it will probably always be a fishery. But... people who can't wait till it fills up and stays usually full are "looking at pie in the sky".
I herd they lost some nice Big Saugeye At Veteran's Lake Great Bend last week. Oop's they dont want nobody know it's a lake. It's a park now,I mean Dog Park LOL !! You have to be a member to know,Great Bend's Secrets !!!!!
so what happend at mead what did y'all did to fix the problem let me guess NOTHING LIKE ALWAYS just let the time pass a few months and everybody forgets all the comments and the guys in charge happy because they wont do nothing and still getting paid with our taxes what a job i need one of those and i dont care if y'all erase this message ill re-write it again every time instead of erasing this mssg do something about lake made dont just stock it with catfish cmon
I am an avid bass fisherman but usually travel to Ute Lake in New Mexico. This afternoon I went to Arkalon park outside of Liberal Kansas and was fairly amazed at the ponds, lakes and water quality. Just as I was getting exited I read a sign, "no tubes." I assume this is not for tube fishing and am going to ignore. I'll keep you updated.
As for Meade Lake, allow waterfowl hunting in the winter. I'm just amazed that southwest kansas is the only place in the country where you cant hunt ducks on our only lake.
Ok, i dunno about you folks but honestly i couldd give a rats behind about Meade lake, yes the have nice facilties and if you want a picnic at a crowded small lake its fine. The REAL lake in this area is Clark, bar none hands down the best body of water in SW Kansas, but the wierdest thing is the difference between these 2 lakes, Meade is a pay to viisit lake and has been going downhill since they purposely destroyed the water well running water to it back in the early 90's to late 80's and flow has never been restored to what it was. The excuse for the artesian well is a joke, something about irrigation when i know that not to be true and had in fact gotten the "bacteria" in the well story before they mounted the sign, im convnced they destroyed the artesian well to increase flow to the hatchery. anyways what im trying to say hewre is that Clark is free, its BIG and DEEP, and there have been many many many improvements to Clark with a MUCH MUCH SMALLER BUDGET. If you dont believe me, take a trip to Clark and ask some of the people who have been visiting it for decades, we'll tell ya whats up.
oh and by the way, im not tring to insult our "biologist" but you need to do more field work and water testing before you just go off on a random theory and state it as fact. I've been a wetlands/freshwater fish biologists for over 30 years in 15 different states and i absolutely cannot come to your conclusions after doing as much physical testing as i have.
did they ever get rid of the massive turtle population out there at Arkalon? I was out there last year in the summer and fall and hardly caught anything larger than 3-6 inches but i saw about a good 60-100 turtles around the area of varying species and very large sizes. in fact i dont think any of the turtles i saw were anything close to being consider "small". If im right, the soft shelled turtles are protected federally (they do somew sort of migration along this stretch of river from new mexico and oklahoma)so definately leave those alone when they are migrating through but the other ones are full on huge kansas snappers with a bit of a temper towards anything near them. These things can easily eat their own body weight in fish multiple times a week. I propose opening a season on these large snappers right after they breed so as to ensure a healthy future population but improve fishing for years. I guarantee you they are eating themselves fat off of the fish in ALL of the ponds. To me it makes since to knock the turtle population down or stop spending money on stocks. otherwise they are just eating our money.
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