Wilson Reservoir Fishing Information

Counties:

Russell

GPS:

N38 54.715 W98 30.066

Surface Acres:

9,040 acres

Maximum Depth:

65 feet

Normal Lake Level:

1516 msl. This lake generally has a fairly stable water level.

US Army Corps of Engineers 785-658-2551

Wilson Reservoir Fishing Report - Updated: 09/11/2025

Species	Rating	Size	Baits, Method, Location
Striped Bass	Fair	7-25 pounds	Some Larger fish are relating to deeper water near Rock Town, Lucas campground, mouth of Marshall Cove, Hell Creek and towards the dam. Try trolling crankbaits, casting/jigging large bucktail jigs, or drifting live shad or sunfish along channel breaks. Look for surface activity early in the morning and late in the afternoon
Walleye	Good	18-27 inches	Trolling or casting crankbaits and swimbaits over main lake points or the flats early morning or late evening are your best bets.
Blue/Channel Catfish	Good	2-30+ pounds	Channel Catfish: Fish can be found from shallow to moderate depths. Try cut bait, dough bait, or punch bait thorough the reservoir. Several reports of limits being caught recently. Blue Catfish: scattered throughout the reservoir, try fresh cutbait in 6-30 feet of water on river channel swings or flats near these swings. New Blue Catfish Regulation: Creel limit of 10 fish per day with only one fish over 30 inches.
White Bass	Fair	12-18 inches, up to 3 pounds	Casting shad imitating swimbaits and bucktail jigs over windblown points and using slab spoons along the river channel.
Black Bass	Good	12-20 inches	Soft plastics, spinnerbaits, and crankbaits around structure.
White Perch	Poor	4 to 12 inches	- IT IS ILLEGAL TO HAVE A WHITE PERCH ALIVE IN YOUR POSSESSION - IF YOU CATCH IT AND WANT TO KEEP IT - IT HAS TO BE DEAD IN A COOLER OR LIVEWELL. THEY ARE NO LONGER LEGAL AS LIVE BAIT FOR STRIPERS OR OTHER FISH!!!!!
General Comments
Lake Elevation = 5.37 feet below conservation pool. We have two Aquatic Invasive Species - white perch and zebra mussels and have joined Cheney and El Dorado as lakes with both species. The law now says that if anyone leaves the lake with water in your livewell or boat, you are subject to a ticket for transporting Zebra Mussels since they will spawn and the microscopic little mussels will probably be in every drop of water in the lake. Make sure you drain all water from the boat before you leave the boat ramp area!!! We have been taking veliger samples and the samples were high so be sure to drain and dry everything!!!!!!

Creel Length/Limits

Fishing Population	Creel Limit	Min Length Limit
Bluegill
Channel Catfish	10
Crappie	50
Flathead Catfish	5
Largemouth Bass	5	15"
Smallmouth Bass	5	15"
Spotted Bass	5	15"
Striped Bass	2
Walleye	5	15"
White Bass
White Perch
Blue Catfish	10	No More Than 1 Blue Catfish 30" or longer

* Largemouth, Smallmouth, Spotted Bass in Combination
** Striped Bass or Wiper in Combination
*** Walleye, Sauger or Saugeye in Combination

Fishing Forecast Information

View Fishing Forecast definitions

+Flathead Catfish Forecast

NAME	Density	Preferred	Lunker	Big fish	Bio rating
	(>20")	(>28")	(>34")	(lbs.)	BR
KIRWIN	39.73	19.71	12.95	48.41	G
SEBELIUS	34.44	27.66	22.47	65.42	G
LOVEWELL	23.90	15.64	8.70	56.83	G
GLEN ELDER	23.56	10.10	5.07	65.29	G
HILLSDALE	21.54	15.38	5.38	51.76	F
WEBSTER	21.34	11.27	4.98	37.67	F
WILSON	15.79	9.19	2.64	46.26	G
KANOPOLIS	11.02	5.63	0.62	30.29	G
CHENEY	8.70	6.52	3.17	66.74	F
TORONTO	5.40	1.79	0.45	41.59	G
FALL RIVER	3.32	1.56	0.78	32.62	G
CLINTON	0.26	0.16	0.16	66.08	F

+Largemouth Bass Forecast

NAME	Density	Preferred	Lunker	Big fish	Bio rating
	(>12")	(>15")	(>20")	(lbs.)	BR
SEBELIUS	230.02	77.82	0.62	5.24	G
WILSON	42.91	33.66	0.32	5.63	G
WEBSTER	30.51	22.88	0.00	3.80	F
BIG HILL	28.78	10.71	0.89	6.81	G
CEDAR BLUFF	24.79	8.51	0.24	6.52	G
KIRWIN	21.48	18.47	0.00	3.72	G
LACYGNE	16.98	12.54	1.80	7.91	G
MILFORD	8.73	2.29	0.00	4.21	F
GLEN ELDER	7.59	6.51	0.07	3.70	F
MELVERN	7.04	1.43	0.00	2.03	P
WOLF CREEK	6.94	4.78	0.58	5.49	P
EL DORADO	6.23	3.43	0.20	4.42	P
CLINTON	5.52	2.11	0.00	4.75	P
PERRY	4.09	2.12	0.30	6.00	P
HILLSDALE	1.91	1.47	0.00	2.99	P
TORONTO	1.50	1.50	0.00	3.71	P

+Walleye Forecast

NAME	Density	Preferred	Lunker	Big fish	Bio rating
	(>15")	(>20")	(>25")	(lbs.)	BR
MARION	3.54	0.46	0.00	4.65	G
KIRWIN	2.92	0.44	0.03	6.44	G
EL DORADO	2.65	1.10	0.08	7.08	G
WEBSTER	2.59	0.88	0.06	6.32	G
CEDAR BLUFF	2.53	0.55	0.02	6.13	G
MILFORD	2.20	0.42	0.00	5.34	G
WILSON	1.98	1.03	0.04	6.41	G
GLEN ELDER	1.86	0.27	0.03	6.61	F
HILLSDALE	1.19	0.40	0.10	7.06	G
CHENEY	1.05	0.55	0.10	6.79	P
WOLF CREEK	0.81	0.31	0.04	6.56	F
LOVEWELL	0.76	0.38	0.00	5.56	F
POMONA	0.40	0.13	0.00	4.16	F
MELVERN	0.37	0.02	0.00	4.45	F
CLINTON	0.37	0.06	0.02	8.37	F
BIG HILL	0.20	0.03	0.00	4.85	F
KANOPOLIS	0.08	0.02	0.00	5.83	P

+Black Crappie Forecast

NAME	Density	Preferred	Lunker	Big fish	Bio rating
	(>8")	(>10")	(>12")	(lbs.)	BR
CEDAR BLUFF	14.18	5.02	0.12	1.29	G
SEBELIUS	8.87	6.40	1.23	1.33	G
KIRWIN	3.27	3.19	1.81	1.94	G
KANOPOLIS	3.00	2.47	0.58	1.27	G
WEBSTER	2.95	1.50	0.02	1.40	G
MARION	2.62	0.85	0.08	1.09	F
LOVEWELL	1.51	0.76	0.07	1.43	F
HILLSDALE	1.36	0.23	0.00	0.56	G
JOHN REDMOND	1.33	0.08	0.08	1.29	P
MILFORD	1.15	0.90	0.06	2.07	F
BIG HILL	0.73	0.13	0.00	0.53	F
CLINTON	0.71	0.51	0.02	0.93	F
GLEN ELDER	0.52	0.30	0.07	1.11	F
TORONTO	0.38	0.19	0.06	1.26	P
WOLF CREEK	0.33	0.00	0.00	0.39	P
POMONA	0.30	0.13	0.05	1.44	P
PERRY	0.25	0.13	0.03	1.60	P
WILSON	0.22	0.20	0.07	1.68	P
LACYGNE	0.21	0.12	0.00	0.93	P
FALL RIVER	0.08	0.08	0.02	1.14	P
TUTTLE CREEK	0.07	0.05	0.02	1.09	P
EL DORADO	0.06	0.00	0.00	0.31	P
MELVERN	0.04	0.02	0.00	0.63	P
COUNCIL GROVE	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.07	P
ELK CITY	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.05	P

+Bluegill Forecast

NAME	Density	Preferred	Lunker	Big fish	Bio rating
	(>6")	(>8")	(>10")	(lbs.)	BR
SEBELIUS	27.13	8.40	0.00	0.64	G
CEDAR BLUFF	8.82	0.12	0.00	0.40	F
HILLSDALE	4.75	0.02	0.00	0.34	G
LACYGNE	4.47	0.00	0.00	0.31	P
BIG HILL	4.23	0.10	0.00	0.36	G
KANOPOLIS	3.42	0.03	0.00	0.39	G
WEBSTER	2.69	0.57	0.00	0.60	F
MILFORD	2.31	0.44	0.00	0.52	F
CLINTON	1.83	0.10	0.00	0.52	F
LOVEWELL	1.17	0.05	0.00	0.43	P
WILSON	0.96	0.00	0.00	0.28	G
PERRY	0.88	0.00	0.00	0.32	F
MARION	0.62	0.00	0.00	0.39	P
WOLF CREEK	0.60	0.00	0.00	0.18	P
EL DORADO	0.56	0.00	0.00	0.23	P
MELVERN	0.40	0.02	0.00	0.37	P
TUTTLE CREEK	0.36	0.00	0.00	0.25	P
POMONA	0.35	0.00	0.00	0.22	P
GLEN ELDER	0.34	0.14	0.00	0.70	P
KIRWIN	0.33	0.04	0.00	0.52	F
FALL RIVER	0.19	0.00	0.00	0.25	P
COUNCIL GROVE	0.17	0.00	0.00	0.22	F
TORONTO	0.13	0.00	0.00	0.23	P
ELK CITY	0.03	0.00	0.00	0.22	P

+Channel Catfish Forecast

NAME	Density	Preferred	Lunker	Big fish	Bio rating
	(>16")	(>24")	(>28")	(lbs.)	BR
BIG HILL	8.07	0.77	0.10	9.05	G
LOVEWELL	6.36	1.05	0.11	11.81	G
HILLSDALE	5.74	0.64	0.07	11.01	G
KANOPOLIS	4.00	0.43	0.02	9.93	G
MARION	3.69	0.23	0.06	18.72	G
WILSON	3.40	0.48	0.02	10.11	G
CHENEY	2.70	0.50	0.10	14.81	G
TORONTO	2.69	1.86	0.47	11.33	G
FALL RIVER	2.10	1.58	0.68	11.21	G
PERRY	1.94	0.41	0.04	7.93	G
MELVERN	1.87	0.11	0.02	6.48	G
GLEN ELDER	1.86	0.47	0.16	16.60	G
LACYGNE	1.78	0.00	0.00	4.52	G
POMONA	1.65	0.03	0.03	11.96	G
COUNCIL GROVE	1.53	0.20	0.09	9.41	F
CEDAR BLUFF	1.50	0.35	0.05	14.15	G
CLINTON	1.29	0.17	0.00	5.86	G
WEBSTER	1.21	0.21	0.00	8.39	F
KIRWIN	1.19	0.22	0.03	10.72	G
ELK CITY	1.17	0.10	0.00	5.37	G
JOHN REDMOND	1.13	0.33	0.05	9.59	G
EL DORADO	0.70	0.00	0.00	3.84	F
TUTTLE CREEK	0.47	0.13	0.04	8.59	F
MILFORD	0.45	0.05	0.00	5.21	F
WOLF CREEK	0.38	0.00	0.00	3.50	G
SEBELIUS	0.37	0.23	0.17	22.56	G

+White Bass Forecast

NAME	Density	Preferred	Lunker	Big fish	Bio rating
	(>9")	(>12")	(>15")	(lbs.)	BR
MARION	20.74	11.60	0.43	1.87	E
GLEN ELDER	16.05	13.77	3.38	3.07	E
CEDAR BLUFF	14.66	14.16	3.66	2.25	E
WEBSTER	10.50	7.29	0.09	2.73	G
POMONA	9.18	6.30	0.80	2.20	G
KANOPOLIS	6.87	5.80	0.37	2.47	G
PERRY	6.78	4.45	0.18	2.20	G
TORONTO	6.39	4.14	1.58	2.69	G
KIRWIN	6.25	5.25	0.64	2.18	G
WOLF CREEK	5.62	2.73	0.17	1.98	G
CLINTON	5.54	3.56	0.85	2.32	G
MILFORD	5.22	4.47	0.58	2.13	G
FALL RIVER	4.26	3.00	1.13	3.02	G
LOVEWELL	3.80	2.38	0.25	2.26	F
BIG HILL	3.50	2.10	0.00	1.73	G
MELVERN	2.98	2.50	0.37	2.38	G
COUNCIL GROVE	2.98	1.62	0.18	2.23	G
WILSON	2.64	2.52	1.52	2.96	G
JOHN REDMOND	2.63	1.70	0.82	3.24	G
HILLSDALE	2.52	1.95	0.10	1.43	G
LACYGNE	2.49	0.27	0.12	1.81	G
EL DORADO	2.05	1.60	0.33	2.47	F
ELK CITY	1.90	1.33	0.23	2.80	F
TUTTLE CREEK	0.31	0.18	0.02	1.96	P
CHENEY	0.20	0.20	0.10	2.09	P

+Black Bass Combined Forecast

Waterbody	Density	Preferred	Lunker	3 yr avg	Size	Rating
Sebelius Reservoir	267.22	82.69	1.03	5.24	Reservoir	G
Wilson Reservoir	62.91	44.38	0.39	5.63	Reservoir	G
Webster Reservoir	45.72	29.11	0.00	3.80	Reservoir	F
Big Hill Reservoir	38.62	16.46	0.64	6.81	Reservoir	G
Kirwin Reservoir	37.30	28.81	0.00	3.72	Reservoir	F
LaCygne Reservoir	35.01	26.89	1.96	7.70	Reservoir	G
Melvern Reservoir	25.37	6.34	0.00	2.86	Reservoir	G
Cedar Bluff Reservoir	22.06	7.49	0.09	5.83	Reservoir	G
Glen Elder Reservoir	20.90	11.69	0.07	4.92	Reservoir	G
Kanopolis Reservoir	17.03	2.14	0.53	4.85	Reservoir	F
Milford Reservoir	15.89	3.94	0.00	4.21	Reservoir	F
El Dorado Reservoir	12.86	5.36	0.21	3.94	Reservoir	F
Wolf Creek Reservoir	12.44	9.42	0.79	5.49	Reservoir	F
Clinton Reservoir	9.56	3.75	0.00	4.75	Reservoir	F
Perry Reservoir	4.74	2.70	0.27	6.00	Reservoir	P
Lovewell Reservoir	2.94	2.35	0.00	4.56	Reservoir	P
Hillsdale Reservoir	1.77	1.35	0.00	3.01	Reservoir	P
Toronto Reservoir	1.50	1.50	0.00	3.71	Reservoir	P

+Crappie Combined Forecast

Waterbody	Density	Preferred	Lunker	3 yr avg	Size	Rating
Melvern Reservoir	34.23	14.91	1.41	1.61	Reservoir	E
Sebelius Reservoir	28.53	15.00	1.83	1.54	Reservoir	G
Lovewell Reservoir	26.88	10.54	1.02	2.50	Reservoir	G
Hillsdale Reservoir	25.52	11.45	1.52	1.29	Reservoir	E
Perry Reservoir	25.45	14.03	0.38	1.42	Reservoir	G
Cedar Bluff Reservoir	24.71	5.51	0.43	1.80	Reservoir	G
Toronto Reservoir	18.51	5.83	1.91	2.40	Reservoir	G
Elk City Reservoir	15.49	5.57	1.35	2.40	Reservoir	G
LaCygne Reservoir	15.07	5.95	0.45	2.30	Reservoir	G
Clinton Reservoir	10.61	3.46	0.24	1.37	Reservoir	G
Kirwin Reservoir	10.31	9.56	6.06	2.06	Reservoir	G
Wolf Creek Reservoir	8.93	3.27	0.57	1.64	Reservoir	F
Tuttle Creek Reservoir	7.57	4.68	1.05	1.69	Reservoir	G
Pomona Reservoir	7.41	3.11	0.18	1.73	Reservoir	G
Big Hill Reservoir	7.40	3.43	0.27	1.19	Reservoir	G
Marion Reservoir	6.67	2.67	0.33	1.09	Reservoir	G
Milford Reservoir	6.54	3.75	0.58	1.90	Reservoir	G
Fall River Reservoir	6.06	1.85	0.44	2.58	Reservoir	G
El Dorado Reservoir	5.93	2.29	0.82	1.59	Reservoir	G
Council Grove Reservoir	5.89	3.22	1.33	1.87	Reservoir	F
Kanopolis Reservoir	5.67	3.58	0.50	1.43	Reservoir	G
Webster Reservoir	5.38	2.90	0.17	1.79	Reservoir	G
Glen Elder Reservoir	3.33	1.38	0.46	1.91	Reservoir	F
John Redmond Reservoir	1.71	0.79	0.25	3.04	Reservoir	F
Wilson Reservoir	0.73	0.31	0.13	1.68	Reservoir	P

+Sunfish Combined Forecast

Waterbody	Density	Preferred	Lunker	3 yr avg	Size	Rating
Sebelius Reservoir	44.40	9.50	0.00	1.21	Reservoir	G
Cedar Bluff Reservoir	15.33	0.22	0.00	0.44	Reservoir	F
Hillsdale Reservoir	6.09	0.07	0.00	0.46	Reservoir	F
LaCygne Reservoir	4.50	0.02	0.02	0.31	Reservoir	F
Kanopolis Reservoir	3.81	0.03	0.00	0.39	Reservoir	G
Wilson Reservoir	3.53	0.00	0.00	0.33	Reservoir	G
Webster Reservoir	2.94	0.50	0.00	0.50	Reservoir	F
Big Hill Reservoir	2.63	0.17	0.00	0.62	Reservoir	G
Lovewell Reservoir	2.56	0.05	0.00	0.43	Reservoir	P
Marion Reservoir	2.00	0.00	0.00	0.39	Reservoir	F
Milford Reservoir	1.44	0.35	0.00	0.52	Reservoir	P
Clinton Reservoir	1.20	0.07	0.00	0.52	Reservoir	F
Kirwin Reservoir	0.83	0.06	0.00	0.59	Reservoir	F
Perry Reservoir	0.60	0.00	0.00	0.32	Reservoir	P
Melvern Reservoir	0.52	0.05	0.02	0.37	Reservoir	P
El Dorado Reservoir	0.36	0.00	0.00	0.23	Reservoir	F
Tuttle Creek Reservoir	0.32	0.00	0.00	0.25	Reservoir	P
Glen Elder Reservoir	0.30	0.10	0.00	0.70	Reservoir	P
Wolf Creek Reservoir	0.30	0.00	0.00	0.18	Reservoir	P
Fall River Reservoir	0.29	0.00	0.00	0.26	Reservoir	F
Pomona Reservoir	0.23	0.02	0.02	0.43	Reservoir	P
Council Grove Reservoir	0.14	0.00	0.00	0.21	Reservoir	P
Toronto Reservoir	0.13	0.00	0.00	0.23	Reservoir	P
Elk City Reservoir	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.13	Reservoir	P

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Wilson Reservoir Fishing Information