Waconda Lake fishing: Striped Bass, Flathead Catfish
Target species: Striped Bass, Flathead Catfish
The reservoir
Waconda Lake covers 11,760 acres in Kansas, across Mitchell County. It is a reservoir: 93.2% of it is 39 feet deep or less; the deepest point measured is ≈59.9 feet (18.3 m). Our records hold 3 species for this water.
Depth and bottom
Deepest measured point: ≈59.9 ft (18.3 m). 93.2% of the water is 39 feet or shallower. We hold 184 depth contours for this water, drawn from 979,093 soundings.
- 0–3 ft: 12.9% of the water
- 3–6 ft: 10% of the water
- 6–9 ft: 9.3% of the water
- 9–12 ft: 8.4% of the water
- 12–15 ft: 8.2% of the water
- 15–18 ft: 9.3% of the water
- 18–21 ft: 5.8% of the water
- 21–24 ft: 5.4% of the water
- 24–27 ft: 6.4% of the water
- 27–30 ft: 5.8% of the water
- 30–33 ft: 3.8% of the water
- 33–36 ft: 3.7% of the water
- 36–39 ft: 4.2% of the water
- 39–42 ft: 3.5% of the water
- 42–45 ft: 2.8% of the water
- 45–48 ft: 0.4% of the water
- 48–51 ft: 0.1% of the water
- 51–54 ft: 0.1% of the water
Stocking: 9,059,563 fish, 2020–2025
Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks records list 9,059,563 fish released into this water from 2020 to 2025.
- Striped Bass: 287 in 2022
4 more species on the stocking list.
2 target fish, led by Striped Bass
- Striped Bass — Feeding water: 60–75°F.
- Flathead Catfish — Feeding water: 70–85°F.
Also recorded here: Grass Carp.
What is hard here
Wind is the limit, not the fish: 11,760 acres of open water build a short steep chop, and there is no shelter in the middle.
Where this data comes from
- US Bureau of Reclamation — USBR reservoir sedimentation surveys: class A, a survey of the bottom, 2001.
- EPA NLA — EPA National Lakes Assessment: class B, a depth figure measured and published by an agency, without a bottom map.
Part of these depths rest on an averaged water level, so they are approximate (≈).
