PRATT – The Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks (KDWP) is wasting no time getting out this year’s fishing regulations summary, fishing atlas and fishing forecast. These three publications – available now in digital format at ksoutdoors.com – give anglers all the information they need to catch hand-sized bluegill to possible triple-digit pound blue catfish. Each publication is free, and printed versions are available at most license vendor locations. To find a license vendor nearest you, visit ksoutdoors.com/License-Permits/Locations-to-Buy-License-Permits.
Fishing Regulations Summary
The 2022 Kansas Fishing Regulations Summary explains all the laws and limits you need to know for fishing anywhere in Kansas, and a lot more.
Not sure where to go? There’s a list of Kansas’ Top 10 best fishing spots for Kansas’ most popular fish species. Detailed drawings help anglers identify their catch. A list of state records lets anglers see how well their catch stacks up to the best of them. Anglers can also fill out an application form (see page 51) for when they catch that lunker that qualifies for a coveted Master Angler Award.
The 2022 Kansas Fishing Regulations Summary is also a quick resource for things like contacting the nearest game warden or fisheries biologist. There’s enough information on Kansas’ state parks to get you headed to the right one. Scattered amid the 50-plus pages is information on the best places to stay, and where to get the best deals on everything from bobbers to boats.
A Spanish-language version of the 2022 Kansas Fishing Regulations Summary is also available online at ksoutdoors.com/Espanol and at most license vendor locations.
Fishing Atlas
The 2022 Kansas Fishing Atlas is the companion guide to the regulations summary and gives exact directions to public fishing destinations nearest you. The publication includes state and federal waters, hundreds of county and community lakes, as well private waters leased for public fishing access.
More than 80 impoundments are enrolled in Kansas’ Walk-In Fishing Area program, which has leased more than 1,300 acres of privately-owned ponds and lakes to the public. The program has also opened more than 40 miles of private streams and rivers to anglers and provides five access points across private property along the Arkansas, Kansas and Missouri Rivers.
Starting this year, a Spanish-language version of the 2022 Kansas Fishing Atlas is also available online at ksoutdoors.com/Espanol and at most license vendor locations.
KDWP’s 2022 Fishing Forecast
Last but certainly not least is KDWP’s 2022 Kansas Fishing Forecast, and KDWP fisheries biologists are keeping no secrets. The 2022 Kansas Fishing Forecast publishes data from the combined thousands of hours staff have spent sampling fish populations at most public waters across the state. Anglers can then compare current populations to three-year averages as well as one waterbody to another, to view trends over time.
Each major fish species is ranked by quantity (density) and quality (lunker) within Kansas’ major water bodies. The data rates the best lakes per species, from top to bottom. KDWP Fisheries biologists also make projections about fishing opportunities for that species, at that lake, as either being (E)xcellent, (G)ood, (F)air or (P)oor.
Graphs featuring the top ten Kansas waterbodies for catching smallmouth, largemouth and white bass, as well as bluegill, crappie, wiper, percids, and channel, flathead, and blue catfish are new to the forecast this year. The data is based on the biologists’ catch per hour of electrofishing or catch per net-night.
After downloading each of these three free resources at ksoutdoors.com, anglers are encouraged to purchase their 2022 fishing license through KDWP’s HuntFishKS mobile app.
For more on fishing in Kansas, visit ksoutdoors.com/Fishing.
To download the HuntFishKS mobile app, visit ksoutdoors.com/License-Permits/HuntFish-KS.
