fishing forecast
The Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks has released the 2023 fishing report for Lovewell Lake. Highlights of that report follow:
Catfish- Good. The catfish population will again be very good in 2023 with all sizes of channel cats and flatheads available to anglers and quality sized blue catfish showing up in the sample. Lovewell ranks first in terms of channel catfish density (16”). The fall 2022 channel catfish total catch rate went from 9.2 in 2021 to 9.6. The biggest fish weighed 11.8 pounds with good numbers greater than 5 pounds collected.
Half of the fish were between 16 and 24 inches, 21 percent were 11 to 16 inches, 13 percent were more than 24 inches. The flathead catfish sample was low this year with only 31 fish collected. The sample ranged from 9 to 44 inches with the biggest fish weighing 48 pounds. The majority of the sample was more than 29 inches showcasing the number of big fish available to anglers.
Channels and flatheads will be vulnerable in all hite Rock Creek near Highway 14. During irrigation release, catfish can be caught close to the inlet and outlet structures and are susceptible along the dam and other rocky areas during the spawn.
There were 52 blue catfish in 2022 using low frequency electrofishing in August. There are now 900 tagged blue cats in the reservoir and the study of their movements and growth rates is continuing.
Fish collected in the 2022 study ranged from 10 to 38 inches and weighed up to 30.6 pounds. Five sub stock individuals were sampled in 2022. This is the first indication of natural reproduction of blue catfish.
There is still a 35-inch minimum length limit on blue catfish at Lovewell. All blue catfish less than 35 inches must be released!
Crappie - Good. The crappie population remains very strong in Lovewell. Consistent, steady recruitment since 2014 has allowed this crappie population to become one of the best in the state. The new regulations have also worked well by protecting the smaller, young fish and allowing plenty of these fast-growing fish to reach legal size.
Lovewell ranks first among the state’s reservoirs in terms of white crappie density (8”), second in combined crappie density (8”), and fifth in black crappie density (8”). Anglers should be pleased with the 2023 crappie season at Lovewell.
Majority of sampled crappie were 6 to 10 inches, 20 percent were 10 to 12 inches. These fish all appear to be healthy with excellent body condition measured. Several brush piles are maintained to help concentrate fish for anglers, and decent success can be found fishing around the flooded vegetation in Montana Creek, Intermill Creek, Cabin Cove, and the marina during late April and May when the fish are spawning.
Walleye - Fair. Lovewell Reservoir continues to support a low-density walleye population but provides quality size fish. Poor recruitment from 2013 to 2018 combined with a summer fish kill in 2018 that resulted in extensive walleye mortality has continued to keep total numbers lower than desired.
The walleye density ranks tenth among the state’s reservoirs while the preferred rating will rank sixth. This continues a trend of lower catch rates since the 2012 sample, but the 2019-year class should provide legal fish the next couple of years.
Two million walleye fry were stocked in 2022 to help improve walleye recruitment with two age-0 fish collected during fall sampling. Nearly all of the fish in the sample were greater than 18 inches. Biggest fish weighed 4.6 pounds. Fish condition was excellent again this year. Fishing continues to be good from late April through mid-June with anglers drifting jig and nightcrawler combos having the best success, especially along Two-mile road. Trolling a variety of crankbaits in late July and early August around the dam and Walleye Point has yielded good catches of big walleye.
Anglers are encouraged to carefully measure any questionable fish and handle sublegal fish with care. 18-inch minimum length limit in effect.
White Bass – Fair. Following a decline in 2020, the population exhibited improvement in most areas of the 2022 sample. The density rating (9”) has come up to 3.8 from 1.7 and 1.7 in 2021 which ranks Lovewell at 18th in this year’s fishing forecast. The preferred rating (12”) also improved from 1.3 to 3.5. Fish longer than 15 inches were collected for the third time since 2014 with the biggest fish measuring 15.6 inches and weighing 1.6 pounds. Overall, 50 percent of the sample was 9 to 12 inches, 39 percent were 12 to 15 inches.
As in the past, the best time to fish for Lovewell whites will be in the summer during peak irrigation releases. The inlet and outlet areas historically produce most whites harvested while summer topwater activity can also be productive. Night fishing using floating lights can be fair to good and drifting or slabbing over submerged roadbeds and humps throughout the year is also a great method for a nice stringer of whites.
Wipers – Fair to good. Lovewell continues to see moderate numbers of wipers in the fall netting samples. In 2022, the density rating is 1.6 and the preferred rating is 0.78. Approximately 21 percent of the catch was between 11 and 14 inches, 39 percent were 15 to 19 inches, and 40 percent were 20 to 23 inches. Lovewell ranks tenth in terms of wiper density among the state’s reservoirs with the biggest fish weighing 7.4 pounds.
Wiper fry and fingerlings were stocked in 2020 and produced a fair year class. Fry and fingerlings were requested in 2021 but only 9,000 fingerlings were stocked. In 2022, 600,000 fry were stocked.
Like white bass, decent numbers of wipers can be caught during the irrigation season as the fish migrate to the inlet and outlet areas. Other anglers report good success for bigger wipers trolling crankbaits and deep diving Rapalas along the north shore and the dam. Be sure to identify your catch carefully as those young wipers look very similar to white bass. The daily creel limit on wipers is two.
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