Re: Wyandotte County Lake

[joefish]

I'm fishing the Wednesday nighter tournament at Wyandotte this evening.....anyone else planning on heading out there?

[Skeeter9948]

I'm fishing the Wednesday nighter tournament at Wyandotte this evening.....anyone else planning on heading out there?

Where is the report?

What did it take to win the $$?

[joefish]

Well as usual the lake fished fairly tough....we caught fish in one way road on the steeper bank.  I caught everything on a shakey head and my buddy caught his on a wacky rigged worm.  Had one that was about half inch from measuring....wish it would have too considering 1 fish won the whole tournament out of 13 boats.  Good group of guys out there, but man I wish the lake fished better.

The lake is tough for bigger fish, usually get plenty of smaller ones. That is the reason I do not fish the Wed nighters, who ever gets lucky enough to get a keeper is usually the winner.

[kanasbassfisher08]

i did really good last year on a shaky head natural colors 1/8 ounce and once it got later i got all my keepers on a C&C custom bladed jig black and blue with a single tail grub black trailer. fishing it near the weed lines oh and a buzz bait on the weed line too!

[Chris S]

I've decided to break up with bass fishing for a trip or two and fish for crappie....havent fished Wyco much for them as I just recently got myself into a boat.  Is there a decent population in there?

I drifted 3 ned rigs with my son and his buddy last year near the dam and we caught two over 13 inches, they are in there just have to find them on you FF.

[Bluebasser86]

I've decided to break up with bass fishing for a trip or two and fish for crappie....havent fished Wyco much for them as I just recently got myself into a boat.  Is there a decent population in there?

I caught 15 keepers in a few hours out there last year fishing for bass. 14 on a 78 pointer and 1 on a Zell Pop! The rockpiles along the bank straight across from the marina cove and then the rock bank between Stotler and Turtle coves are usually pretty good in the spring. I think they're a lot like the bass in that lake, more than most people would think of them in there, they're just very spooky and hard to catch. 

[Skeeter9948]

I caught 15 keepers in a few hours out there last year fishing for bass. 14 on a 78 pointer and 1 on a Zell Pop! The rockpiles along the bank straight across from the marina cove and then the rock bank between Stotler and Turtle coves are usually pretty good in the spring. I think they're a lot like the bass in that lake, more than most people would think of them in there, they're just very spooky and hard to catch. 

I've had a decent day out there in the past so I know there are fish in there.  I read a post on here a few days ago...(too lazy to go back and look) that said he did well on a jig and big worm.  Thats one thing I haven't tried that I am going to try this evening.  If you put a jig in my hand or a worm I'll soak that baby all day long.  I just hope those fish arent too spooky to eat it!

[Bluebasser86]

I've had a decent day out there in the past so I know there are fish in there.  I read a post on here a few days ago...(too lazy to go back and look) that said he did well on a jig and big worm.  Thats one thing I haven't tried that I am going to try this evening.  If you put a jig in my hand or a worm I'll soak that baby all day long.  I just hope those fish arent too spooky to eat it!

That was me on the KC area thread. I caught a majority of my keepers during the tournaments out there last year on a jig or big worm. Jig caught more numbers but the worm was better for bigger fish, even caught some nice smallies on a 10" worm last year. They weren't spooky about it all. First time I tried it I made about 5 cast before I got one solid "tick" and my line started heading for deeper water. Turned out to be just shy of 3 pounds and won it for us and got big bass that night. I was only getting a few bites a night until dark, then it was on. 

[Skeeter9948]

That was me on the KC area thread. I caught a majority of my keepers during the tournaments out there last year on a jig or big worm. Jig caught more numbers but the worm was better for bigger fish, even caught some nice smallies on a 10" worm last year. They weren't spooky about it all. First time I tried it I made about 5 cast before I got one solid "tick" and my line started heading for deeper water. Turned out to be just shy of 3 pounds and won it for us and got big bass that night. I was only getting a few bites a night until dark, then it was on. 

 I noticed the bite seems to pick up right around dark...I'll probably go out and fish the tournament tomorrow.  My buddy wont put his spinning rod down, but this go around I'm taking your advice and going with the big baits.  Heck even if I get one bite on a 10 inch worm odds are that one will be a solid keeper.  I don't think I saw any guys out there dragging a worm or a big jig.  How do your bladed jigs do out there?  I'm going to pick up a few of em at Mondo the next time I'm in there.....any color suggestions? haha

[kanasbassfisher08]

green!

[joefish]

Hit up Wyco today, was nice early but got crowded later on. Caught several small mouth, most in the 12 to 14 inch range. Did get one 19 inch only weighed in at 1 lb 15 oz, a little t:him.

[kcdinkerz]

hows the bass bite at wyandotte? finaly done with crappie now its strictly bass

[buddygr]

have been fishing the Wyandotte lake for many years.  the bass keep getting smaller all the time, and not many in there.  they don't check people.  Reason for this I am told  they don't have the money they once had  Does anyone.  I fish the wed night .  If you get one over 15  you are pretty much a sure winner.  That is sad.   The county say they have no money, that said would people here but up to offering help to the count just for the stocking for large mouth bass to be stock .  I have went back and checked , and I can not find any where that the county has ever stock bass except for when the lake was built.  It would only help fishing.  This lake should hold large numbers of large mouth bass.  I have been told the bass are inter breading which causes smaller fish   Who is up for this

[Bluebasser86]

have been fishing the Wyandotte lake for many years.  the bass keep getting smaller all the time, and not many in there.  they don't check people.  Reason for this I am told  they don't have the money they once had  Does anyone.  I fish the wed night .  If you get one over 15  you are pretty much a sure winner.  That is sad.   The county say they have no money, that said would people here but up to offering help to the count just for the stocking for large mouth bass to be stock .  I have went back and checked , and I can not find any where that the county has ever stock bass except for when the lake was built.  It would only help fishing.  This lake should hold large numbers of large mouth bass.  I have been told the bass are inter breading which causes smaller fish   Who is up for this

The smallmouth just keep getting larger because that lake is much better suited for smallmouth than it is largemouth. Years when the water is up in the water willows the fishing is much better than it has been the last couple years. The numbers of bass isn't the problem at all, that lake is loaded with 12-14 inch fish, which I believe is part of the problem. The clear water and lack of cover drives a lot of the fish to deep water or off the banks where they suspend and chase bait fish and become extremely difficult to fish for. I fished the Wednesday nighters the last couple years until this year and numbers has never been the problem. We had nights with 30-50 fish coming to the boat and not a single one would measure over 15" (with the exception of smallmouth but they have to be 18" so they didn't help either). Now they've changed the way the creeks flow into the lake that has greatly reduced the amount of runoff coming into the lake which has made an already clear lake even clearer and greatly cut down on the amount of nutrients coming into the lake. 

Stocking more largemouth in Wyco is going to do nothing but waste money and compound the issue even further by creating more competition for an already limited amount of cover. If anything, a lot of the bass need to be removed from the lake to reduce competition.

The white bass and wipers are another huge mistake that has messed up the bass fishing. Largemouth are already at a disadvantage in open water, chasing bait fish as they've lost the element of surprise. Now toss in the fact that they have to out compete those swimming stomachs that are built for speed and open water feeding and their handicap becomes even larger. The results is a bunch of skinny, starving largemouth that for some reason seem to refuse to eat the thriving bluegills and crawdads in the lake. 

The smallmouth have no problem eating the craws and are much more adept at feeding in clear, open water and love the rocky bottom that comprises a majority of the lake. Now with zebra mussels in the lake, the smallmouth will have an even bigger advantage. Every lake with a viable smallmouth population that I've seen, the smallmouth have exploded when zebra mussels got into the lake, Melvern is a prime example.

Provided nothing major happens I think you'll see the lake transition into a good, if not great, smallmouth fishery and the largemouth will become more of an occasional catch but the quality will become better as their numbers drop. It may take several years to get to that point, but I think it will happen. 

[buddygr]

Ok. If you think so. We will see. The waste of money is the trout. But that's ok. Once again we try to address the problem. I just believe we need a new blood line after 50 years of the same line breading year after year. I will say no more

[SuperFluke]

Ok. If you think so. We will see. The waste of money is the trout. But that's ok. Once again we try to address the problem. I just believe we need a new blood line after 50 years of the same line breading year after year. I will say no more

 

Welcome to the forum!  Hope you stick around and continue to post.  Don't let Blue scare you off, he's actually a halfway decent guy.

 

I just fished the Dotte last year, and it was the first year that I had fished it.  I'm not sure there's a simple answer as to what needs to be done.  The lake gets a ton of pressure for its size from the bank and the boat.  You can find 10+ boats out there on a Saturday and you can go to Shawnee Mission Park lake on the same day and see 1.  On top of that they stock literally several tons of catfish and trout each year that have to be competing with the bass for forage.  There's not a ton of cover in the lake, and most of it was high and dry last year.  All of this leads to an uphill battle for the black bass population.  I think the best you can hope for is that the smallmouth do take off as Blue has suggested.

 

Compare this to Lake Jacomo which is managed by the MDC.  Stockings are only done "based on the carrying capacity and the fishing pressure of the lake".  This seems a like a better approach than dumping 30,000 lbs of trout and catfish into the lake every year to sell permits.  Maybe it would be best to try to convince Wyandotte to use a more balanced, data-driven approach when managing the lake to attract a wider variety of fisherman.  You can have a lake that has good populations of several species if managed appropriately.  We can dream, right?  I doubt much will change given that they probably sell a great deal more permits to bank fisherman chasing catfish and trout than they do to the bass guys and gals.

 

I won't be purchasing a Wyandotte permit anytime soon, but I doubt me and 10 other bass guys leaving will cause them to change their mind about how they manage the lake.  I hope it gets better, and I'm glad people care about the bass fishing out there.  I just don't see it changing anytime soon.

[buddygr]

I don't see a change my self. I started fishing this lake when I was 10 years old. I am 62 now. All I see is lake going down hill. O well it is what it is. I guess I want the good old days back.

[joefish]

I don't see a change my self. I started fishing this lake when I was 10 years old. I am 62 now. All I see is lake going down hill. O well it is what it is. I guess want the good old days back.

Maybe when the small mouth get a little bigger it will be like the would days. I enjoy the fight of the small mouth over the LMB.

[Hi Salenity]

That lakes only chance is lots of offshore cover away from the bucket fisherman

Proper stocking of LMB and SMB would be great as long as you could also stock something for them to eat or add feeders?

[Hi Salenity]

It's a big lake open up the speed limits and let jet skiers and the wake-boarders on it to throw off the fishermen a bit...

I bet if you could do all that not nearly as many people would want to fish.... ???

[sizzlefry]

make it a boat only lake

[joefish]

make it a boat only lake

Don't see that ever being an option, many more bank fishermen than boaters so the revenue from permits would be drastically reduced. Not enough $$ according to the government officials.

[joefish]

It's a big lake open up the speed limits and let jet skiers and the wake-boarders on it to throw off the fishermen a bit...

I bet if you could do all that not nearly as many people would want to fish.... ???

Lake. Really not big enough for that, espically this close to the metro city.

[Ku Xiong]

Well, it kind of does not help the fisheries when there has not been any kind of fish sampling for maybe 5-6 years.  Since the county going back to its permits, the state does not want to get involved anymore.  The county feels as if they are losing money, losing control when the the lake was a CFAP.  They could not agree to anything, so the state has decided to quit with the fisheries sampling (i.e. shocking and netting) and the stocking of the lake.  So for the past 5-6 years, it is unknown statistically on the quality and quantity of any given sport fish out there.  The last sampling I was involved in, maybe 2008 or 2009, the SMB were doing great.  Lots of young of year class and a couple breeders.  LMB were numerous also, but mostly the 12-16 inch class.  A lot came from the willows of the dam and the south side of Wilson's Cove.  Looking at it now, the SMB population has exploded.  Mainly taking advantage of the numerous crawdads in that lake.  Something the LMB are not doing.  Im catching more 15-20 inch SMB than keeper LMB.  During this years spawn, I have seen several 4-5 pound LMB on their beds.  So, they are out there.  With this vegetation growth continuing from last year, hopefully it will atleast kind of improve the LMB population with some kind of habitat for it to lay and ambush.  That lake just needs more habitat for the LMB.  I have often heard how great the lake used to be for LMB when the lily pads were in.  It can still happen, it just needs time and the right fisheries management.

 

The trout and catfish are the main money makers for the sales of permits.  I do not see them stopping that.  I do agree with blue, no need to stock more LMB when there is plenty of them in the lake.  I have been thinking about proposing to the parks director of maybe the stocking of Spotted Bass.  Deep clear lake with rock structure and little vegetation.  A habitat more suited for them.  But, issues come up of competition for food.  Another mouth to out compete the LMB.  Good idea?  I would like to see them in there, but mainly just for my selfish enjoyment of catching one and having a place close to home to catch one. 

[Bluebasser86]

make it a boat only lake

 

Never happen, county would lose way too much money.

Lake. Really not big enough for that, espically this close to the metro city.

There's much smaller lakes that allow jetskis and all that nonsense. They buoy off part of the lake and only allow them in the more open areas and all the coves are no wake. Not that I agree with it, but I bet if they allowed it they would draw a lot of people to the lake that don't currently use the lake. Could even make them buy another permit just for pleasure craft? Miola does that and allows fishing boats on for free. Not like they have to worry about the zebra mussels getting into the lake anymore. 

 

Well, it kind of does not help the fisheries when there has not been any kind of fish sampling for maybe 5-6 years.  Since the county going back to its permits, the state does not want to get involved anymore.  The county feels as if they are losing money, losing control when the the lake was a CFAP.  They could not agree to anything, so the state has decided to quit with the fisheries sampling (i.e. shocking and netting) and the stocking of the lake.  So for the past 5-6 years, it is unknown statistically on the quality and quantity of any given sport fish out there.  The last sampling I was involved in, maybe 2008 or 2009, the SMB were doing great.  Lots of young of year class and a couple breeders.  LMB were numerous also, but mostly the 12-16 inch class.  A lot came from the willows of the dam and the south side of Wilson's Cove.  Looking at it now, the SMB population has exploded.  Mainly taking advantage of the numerous crawdads in that lake.  Something the LMB are not doing.  Im catching more 15-20 inch SMB than keeper LMB.  During this years spawn, I have seen several 4-5 pound LMB on their beds.  So, they are out there.  With this vegetation growth continuing from last year, hopefully it will atleast kind of improve the LMB population with some kind of habitat for it to lay and ambush.  That lake just needs more habitat for the LMB.  I have often heard how great the lake used to be for LMB when the lily pads were in.  It can still happen, it just needs time and the right fisheries management.

 

The trout and catfish are the main money makers for the sales of permits.  I do not see them stopping that.  I do agree with blue, no need to stock more LMB when there is plenty of them in the lake.  I have been thinking about proposing to the parks director of maybe the stocking of Spotted Bass.  Deep clear lake with rock structure and little vegetation.  A habitat more suited for them.  But, issues come up of competition for food.  Another mouth to out compete the LMB.  Good idea?  I would like to see them in there, but mainly just for my selfish enjoyment of catching one and having a place close to home to catch one. 

The return of sampling would be great, so they could at least have an idea of what may need done. The loss of vegetation has been a killer for the LMB like you said. I wish they would attempt to introduce some pads back into the lake in the back of the coves (they're all soft, mud bottoms, perfect place for weeds to grow). I would think that milfoil or some other vegetation that grows in a little deeper water would help a lot also. Years when the water is up in the willows, the largemouth seem to do very well. A few years ago it was up past the willows. That spring it wasn't uncommon for me to be able to catch a limit over 15" out of the willows and I had several largemouth in the 17-20 inch range, it was like fishing a different lake. Since then the water has been so low that a lot of the normally productive willows aren't even in the water. 

The trout and catfish will always be stocked in there, but that's mostly a put and take fishery. The trout almost all die once the water gets warm and the catfish aren't going to outcompete the largemouth. I'm sure the catfish are mainly eating craws that the largemouth seem to largely ignore anyways. I've thought the same about spotted bass. My main concern would be how much they might compete with the smallmouth. I love catching spots, but I'd rather catch smallmouth. I think the lake could really benefit from a slot limit, like 12 or 13 inches to 15 inches and maybe an additional 18-21 inch slot to protect those rare large individuals. I'm sure that would really rile up some of the Wednesday night guys but it's a rare fish that reaches the 18" mark in Wyco.