The trout permit season opens on December 1 on the type one and type two waters and runs to March 31, with stocking dates announced around the first of December, January and February. Blue catfish are new this year at ten a day, only one longer than 30 inches, and a 10-year senior license restored by the legislature could be on sale from November at the earliest.
What to fish for in early November
Kansas fishes open water most of the winter, with short spells of ice on the small lakes in the north, and adds a season of its own: rainbow trout stocked into ponds, community lakes and stilling basins from December to March. On the big reservoirs the white bass and wipers school on the shad, and the strip pits of the southeast give clear, deep water for bass and crappie.
Rainbow Trout
Stocked about once a month through the season and caught hard in the days after each load arrives.
Where. The type one and type two trout waters, from city ponds to the stilling basins below the dams and the Kanopolis seep stream.
Crappie
Holds on deep brush piles and creek channels, moving little until spring.
Where. Milford, El Dorado and Cheney, the smaller federal reservoirs, and the strip pits of the Mined Land Wildlife Area.
The crappie waters we forecast Water Usual water now Forecast Milford Lake about 55F Best Fri, Nov 13, A+Today's forecast Big Hill Lake about 58F Best Sat, Nov 14, A+Today's forecast Largemouth Bass
Bites slowly on small finesse baits on the milder afternoons.
Where. The rocky banks and points of the northeastern reservoirs, the community lakes, and the deep, clear strip pits near Pittsburg.
Blue Catfish
Keeps feeding through the cold, often following the shad across the open basins.
Where. The main-lake basins and old river channels of the big reservoirs, Milford and Perry among them.
White Bass
Schools on the shad in the open water of the big reservoirs, wipers in the same packs, and a school found under the gulls can be followed across the lake.
Where. Milford, Cheney, Wilson and El Dorado, over the main-lake points and the old river channel.
The white bass waters we forecast Water Usual water now Forecast Cheney Reservoir about 55F Best Sat, Nov 7, A+Today's forecast
Usual water now is that water's normal for this point in the season: a lake's modeled seasonal curve or a river gauge's long-run average, not this year's reading. The forecast link reads this week's.
What changes soon
The next six weeks of this report's calendar for Kansas.
- Tue December 1Kansas's trout permit season opens on the type one and type two waters, to March 31.
This week's fishing reports
This report covers the season. For what was caught this week, read the people who report on this water.
KDWP is the reporter: its old reservoir page carried 24 dated updates from December 1 to February 9 last winter. Its redesigned page says it is updated monthly through the summer, so whether it reports this winter is not yet known. Ned Kehde's finesse-fishing logs record northeastern Kansas reservoirs through the winter but are posted after every two months, and no other dated winter reporter could be found.
Where to fish in Kansas, area by area
Each water links to its live forecast. The engine outlook in these areas was generated November 3, 2026, for the 14 days from that date; good hours are the hours at or above a B+.
The big reservoirs
Milford Lake · El Dorado Lake · Cheney Reservoir · Perry Lake · Wilson Lake
The federal and state reservoirs that hold most of the state's open water, Milford, Perry and Clinton in the northeast, El Dorado and Cheney near Wichita and Wilson in the west, for crappie, white bass, wipers, walleye and catfish.
Who reports here. KDWP's reservoir reports carried dated updates from December 1 to February 9 last winter, on the page it has since replaced. The new page says it is updated monthly through the summer, so check it before a winter trip.
Engine outlook
- Best: Sat, Nov 7, A+13 good hours64F measured Nov 3 at CHENEY RE NR CHENEY, KSbest run 13h50 cfsat NF NINNESCAH R AB CHENEY RE, KS11 mi away
- Best: Fri, Nov 13, A+11 good hours64F measured Nov 3 at MILFORD LAKE NEAR WAKEFIELD, KSbest run 6h
The trout waters
Kanopolis Seep Stream · Webster Stilling Basin · community lakes stocked with trout
The ponds, community lakes and stilling basins Kansas stocks with rainbow trout for its winter season, scattered across the state, along with a few seep streams below dams, and graded as type one or type two waters by the rules that apply on each.
Who reports here. KDWP announces its stocking dates around the first of December, January and February, and the days after a stocking are when these waters fish best.
The southeast lakes and strip pits
Big Hill Lake · Elk City Lake · Fall River Lake · Mined Land Wildlife Area
The smaller federal lakes of the southeast, Big Hill, Elk City and Fall River, and the old coal strip pits of the Mined Land Wildlife Area near Pittsburg, clear, deep pits for bass and crappie.
Who reports here. No dated winter report could be found for these lakes.
Engine outlook
- Best: Sat, Nov 14, A+13 good hours65F modeled from this lake's own seasonal curvebest run 13h
The rules from November to February
What changed this time
- New this year: blue catfish are ten a day statewide, only one longer than 30 inches.
- Senate Bill 364, passed in April 2026, restores a 10-year senior license and extends the children's lifetime license to age 15. The senior license has to clear rulemaking first and will be on sale from November 2026 at the earliest.
Read on October 20, 2026, from the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks (its fishing regulations summary, license and permit fees, fishing FAQ and trout stocking pages) and K.A.R. 115-25-14 in the Kansas Register.
Licenses, and which state's rules apply
- Residents 16 to 74 and nonresidents 16 and older need a license; residents 75 and older and anyone 15 or younger do not. Most licenses run 365 days from purchase. With the $2.50 in agent and transaction fees on every item, residents 16 to 64 pay $27.50 a year or $6 a day and residents 65 to 74 pay $15 a year; nonresidents pay $77.50 a year, $12.50 a day or $27.50 for five days.
- From December 1 to March 31 a trout permit is needed to fish at all on the type one trout waters, and to fish for or keep trout on the type two waters, at any age: $20 with fees at 16 and older, $7 at 15 and younger, each good for 365 days. A resident 75 or older who needs no license still needs the permit.
- On the Missouri River a Kansas or Missouri license covers the flowing river, its backwaters and any oxbow the river flows through, fished from either bank. A tributary needs the license of the state it flows through, and where the two states' rules differ the stricter one applies.
Bait, gear and fish you cannot keep
- Two lines, each with up to two hooks or lures; a third pole needs a three-pole permit at any age, $8.50 with fees. Through the ice up to eight tip-ups may be used besides the two rods, unless posted, each with up to two hooks, and an unattended tip-up must carry the angler's name and address.
Lakes, ponds and rivers
- Statewide daily limits, with many waters set differently: five black bass of at least 15 inches; ten channel catfish; ten blue catfish, only one of 30 inches or longer; five flathead catfish; five walleye, sauger and saugeye of at least 15 inches, the minimum dropped in streams, rivers and tailwaters; two northern pike, tiger muskie or muskellunge of at least 30 inches; five trout; five striped bass; five wipers; 50 crappie. Possession is three days' limits.
Through the ice
- Holes in the ice of public waters may be no more than 12 inches across, round or square. On department waters, ATVs, utility vehicles, golf carts, snowmobiles and motorbikes may go on the ice only to ice fish, from half an hour before sunrise to half an hour after sunset, entering only at boat ramps and posted points of entry.
Read on these agency pages: KDWP: Kansas Fishing Regulations Summary 2026 (PDF), KDWP: Fishing Licenses & Permit Fees, KDWP: Fishing FAQ, K.A.R. 115-25-14, Kansas Register, July 10, 2025: Fishing; creel limit, size limit, possession limit, and open season, KDWP: Trout Stocking Program.
The season at a glance
What these months usually do
Each lake's own seasonal curve, the one the engine scores the lake on: what these dates usually do, modeled rather than measured, and not a forecast for this year.
| Water | Nov 1 | Dec 1 | Jan 1 | Feb 1 | Feb 28 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Big Hill Lake | 60F | 48F | 41F | 41F | 44F |
| Cheney Reservoir | 56F | 46F | 40F | 39F | 42F |
| Milford Lake | 56F | 45F | 39F | 38F | 41F |
The moon from November to February
| Month | New moon | Full moon |
|---|---|---|
| November 2026 | Mon, Nov 9 | Tue, Nov 24 |
| December 2026 | Tue, Dec 8 | Wed, Dec 23 |
| January 2027 | Thu, Jan 7 | Fri, Jan 22 |
| February 2027 | Sat, Feb 6 | Sat, Feb 20 |
The U.S. Naval Observatory's dates, on local time.
Daylight in each area from November to February
Worked out for one place in each area, on its own clock.
| Area | Shortest day | Earliest sunset | Latest sunrise |
|---|---|---|---|
| The big reservoirsat Milford Lake | 9h 25m, Dec 21 | 5:06pm, around Dec 8 | 7:49am, around Jan 5 |
| The trout watersat Kanopolis | 9h 27m, Dec 21 | 5:12pm, around Dec 7 | 7:52am, around Jan 5 |
| The southeast lakes and strip pitsat Big Hill Lake | 9h 35m, Dec 21 | 5:06pm, around Dec 7 | 7:38am, around Jan 5 |