• April 7 -Turkey Federation Youth Hunt

• April 28-Sept. 3 - WLA Fish-A-Thon

• May 20 -KWA Governor's Cup Walleye Tournament, pre-meeting May 19

• June 2 - Youth Fishing Tournament / OK Kids

• June 2 - Free Park Entrance Day

• June 2 & 3 - Statewide Free Fishing weekend

• June 9 & 10 - WLA Carp Shoot 

• July 3 -Eagles Fireworks, rain-date July 4

• July 4 - WLA Volleyball Tournament

• August 11 -  WLA Catfish Tournament

• October 27 - PF Youth Pheasant Hunt

• TBA - WLA MusicFest

• TBA - WLA His & Hers Tournament

2007 FISHING FORECAST

GLEN ELDER RESERVOIR - approx. 9.1' low as of February 2007.  A commercial fishing operation is currently being conducted at Glen Elder and over 1,000,000 pounds of non-sport fish have been removed so far.  We will be conducting an 8-month creel survey at Glen Elder between March and October 2007.

BLACK BASS - Good.  Smallmouth bass continue to dominate the black bass fishery and another good sample was collected this year.  The smallie population again ranks second in the state for both density and quality.  Most fish will range from 10-16” with fish up to 20” possible.  The largest fish collected during fall electrofishing weighed 4 pounds with several other 2-3 pound fish sampled.  Smallies can be found around the bluffs, along the dam and Cawker City causeway, and anywhere between Marina Cove and the dam.  Largemouth bass numbers continue to remain low with limited numbers of adult fish in the 14-21” range, and a few spotted bass still remain.  Unless we get a water level increase that floods existing vegetation this spring, largemouth numbers will continue to remain below the management objective.  18” minimum length limit in effect.

CATFISH - Good.  The channel catfish population will be similar to 2006 with good numbers of a variety of sizes available.  The majority of the population consists of fish between 13-18” with fair numbers of fish up to 26” available.  Biggest fish sampled was 15 pounds with several others over 30” collected.  Channel catfish rank 1st annually for both interest and harvest at Glen Elder with an estimated 35,000 fish caught in 2004.  In addition, the largest year class in over 10 years was produced in 2006 so the future continues to look bright.  Fishing over chum piles with stinkbaits, cut shad, and nightcrawlers is the most popular method during the summer.  Fishing the upper end of tributaries during and shortly after spring and summer runoff events is a favorite pastime of many local anglers.  Shad will be the best bait early this spring and again in the fall.  Setliners have good success for both channels and flatheads fishing up the river channels, around Mill Creek, and in the Walnut Creek area.

CRAPPIE - Poor.  White and black crappie numbers continue a steady decline, but showed a slight increase in adult numbers during fall test netting.  Still, anglers will only find low numbers of both crappie species in the reservoir with most fish between 9-11” and very healthy.  Inadequate recruitment since 1992 and 1993 has resulted in a crappie population that is typical at Glen Elder, due to serious habitat decline.  A small 2006 year class was evident during fall sampling, but these fish may have trouble surviving without adequate escape cover.  Fishing will be best for 2-3 weeks in the spring during spawning activities in Osage and Marina Coves and around riprap at the Cawker causeway.  Best areas post spawn, summer, and fall will be near fish attractor brush piles around the north bank near Campground 3, Mill Creek, Harrison Point, and below the Cawker Causeway.

STRIPED BASS - Poor.  Striped bass have been stocked in Glen Elder approximately every other year with 2004 the final year of stocking, and the 2002 and 2004 year classes should dominate the catch in 2007.  The 2004 fish have grown to 18-21” with the 2002 fish 23-27”, but anglers will also find fish from the 2001 year class between 28-30”.  The occasional trophy striper over 40” may be caught as well, but these guys can be tough to find. Ice fishing during winter 2006-07 provided good catches of 8-10 pound stripers west of the Cawker causeway.

WALLEYE - Fair.  Adult walleye numbers are up for the third consecutive year and are the highest realized since 2002.  The population is still very young with most of the fish coming from the strong 2004 year class and moderate 2005 year class.  Most of these fish will be 14-19” long with a few 20-22” fish as well.  Largest fish collected was only 3.97 pounds so trophy potential is limited.  An excellent year class was produced in 2006 with an average of 8.1 age-0 fish collected per 1” gill net.  These fish will provide catch and release opportunities in 2007 and should contribute to the harvest in 2008.  With two strong year classes produced the last three years, Glen Elder walleye numbers are headed in the right direction and should continue as long as moderate to good year classes can continue to be produced.  We will again stock a combination of fry in April and fingerlings in May.

WHITE BASS - Excellent.  Overall white bass numbers were down in 2006 fall sampling, but this was likely due to low water levels hindering annual sampling efforts.  Anglers should expect another banner year for white bass fishing at Glen Elder Reservoir with good numbers of quality fish available.  High numbers of 10-12” fish were collected with decent numbers of fish up to 17” collected as well.  An excellent year class was also produced and most of these fish will range between 7-10”.  The 2006-07 ice fishing season has produced very good catches of white bass between 2-4 pounds so trophy potential is excellent.  Make sure to carefully identify your catch since wipers have been stocked in the reservoir.

WIPERS - Poor.  Wipers were first stocked in Glen Elder in 2006 at a rate of 5 fingerlings/acre.  Fall sampling revealed an excellent year class was produced with 79 of these fish collected for each 1” net that was set.  The fish grew very well and most were in the 8-9” ranged when collected in October.  Anglers can expect these fish to reach 14-16” by fall 2007 and should always make sure to differentiate between wipers and white bass.  Wiper stockings will continue on an alternate year schedule and we will again stock them in 2008.

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