Kansas reservoirs: white bass and wipers still the mid-August story

Kansas has not posted a fresh September reservoir sheet. The live KDWP biologist reports, last updated Aug. 17, 2026, are still the official on-the-water read heading into mid-September. White bass and wipers are the bright spot: good to excellent at Cedar Bluff, where fish were reliably busting young shad on the surface; excellent at Glen Elder (water 84°F, 1.6 feet low) west of the causeway and on downwind shorelines; very good at Clinton in the morning and evening schools.

Walleye are slower in the heat. Cedar Bluff rates them slow; Glen Elder fair in 25–30 feet; Clinton fair with high baitfish. Catfish stay good on several lakes. Low-water footnotes matter: Kirwin was more than 22 feet below conservation pool with only two usable ramp lanes; Lovewell 5.3 feet low and dropping; Webster more than 25 feet down with most ramps out. Glen Elder noted a small early-August shad kill but said plenty of forage remained.

Many of these reservoirs are zebra-mussel AIS waters — do not haul live fish off them, and clean, drain, and dry before you leave the ramp. Winter trout does not start until later in the fall. Confirm the live KDWP reservoir page before you trailer; the next mid-month update should replace this August sheet.

This is a The Gillnet news desk summary, not a reprint.

Source: Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks — Fishing Reports By Reservoir (last updated Aug. 17, 2026).