John Redmond Reservoir fishing: Striped Bass, Walleye, Blue Catfish

Target species: Striped Bass, Walleye, Blue Catfish, Flathead Catfish

The reservoir

John Redmond Reservoir covers 8,580 acres in Kansas, across Coffey County. It is a reservoir: 92.9% of it is 9 feet deep or less; the deepest point measured is at least 12 feet (3.7 m); at the dam, USGS RESSED gives 66 feet (20.1 m) at full pool. Our records hold 5 species for this water.

Depth and bottom

Deepest measured point: at least 12 ft (3.7 m). That is the deepest contour line: the bottom goes deeper. USGS RESSED gives 66 ft (20.1 m) at the dam at full pool: a measured figure, not a survey map. 92.9% of the water is 9 feet or shallower. We hold 47 depth contour lines for this water.

  • 0–1 ft: 7.9% of the water
  • 1–2 ft: 5.6% of the water
  • 2–4 ft: 11% of the water
  • 4–5 ft: 8.5% of the water
  • 5–6 ft: 10.4% of the water
  • 6–7 ft: 15.6% of the water
  • 7–8 ft: 21.4% of the water
  • 8–9 ft: 12.5% of the water
  • 9–10 ft: 5.1% of the water
  • 10–12 ft: 2.1% of the water

4 target fish, led by Striped Bass

  • Striped Bass — Feeding water: 60–75°F.
  • Walleye — Feeding water: 50–75°F.
  • Blue Catfish — Feeding water: 70–85°F.
  • Flathead Catfish — Feeding water: 70–85°F.

Also recorded here: Grass Carp.

Aerial imagery: USDA NAIP 2023
USDA Farm Service Agency, NAIP 2023 aerial imagery (USGS The National Map) · Public domain

Water and conditions

Our water temperature readings average 84°F; they do not cover the whole year, so this is not a yearly average. These readings span 2017. The latest reading is from 2017, more than three years ago: read these numbers as history, not as the water today.

What is hard here

Wind is the limit, not the fish: 8,580 acres of open water build a short steep chop, and there is no shelter in the middle. With 92.9% of the water 9 feet or less, low level turns the flats into hazards.

Where this data comes from

  • Kansas Applied Remote Sensing (KARS), University of Kansas — Kansas Applied Remote Sensing (KARS), University of Kansas: depth contours: class A, a survey of the bottom.
  • USGS RESSED — USGS RESSED reservoir sedimentation database: class B, a depth figure measured and published by an agency, without a bottom map.
  • USACE CWMS — USACE CWMS elevation-area curves: class B, a depth figure measured and published by an agency, without a bottom map.
  • Webster, K.E., McCullough, I.M., Soranno, P.A. LAGOS-US DEPTH v1.0, EDI, doi:10.6073/pasta/64ddc4d04661d9aef4bd702dc5d8984f (CC BY 4.0); Cheruvelil et al. LAGOS-US LOCUS v1.0 (EDI) — LAGOS-US DEPTH v1.0: Lake depth for 17,675 lakes in the conterminous U.S.: class B, a depth figure measured and published by an agency, without a bottom map.