Like its other western counterparts, it was reborn thanks to the new vegetation that was submerged when it refilled. That inundation created amazing bass habitat that fostered some of the best bass fishing anywhere on the Great Plains. As this story was written, Cedar Bluff was "only" 16 feet low. Some other western lakes are as much as 50 feet low.

Irrigation plays a major role in the ecology of those lakes. They are drawn down routinely for irrigation purposes, but Cedar Bluff now is spared most of that kind of impact, so you can blame evaporation and lack of rain for its 16-foot drop in level. Imagine where things are going to go without rain.

"There is no question that our destination bass fisheries out west are hurting," Austin said. "Fish need water."

They also need habitat. "Water is the primary part of that habitat," Austin said emphatically. "Around the state, our bass fisheries are holding steady. Our surveys tell us that recruitment, survival and growth rates are, for the most part, good . . . where there is water. The fishing is going to be good this season in those lakes where we have habitat."

So that’s the bottom line. But as has been the case in the past, I set out to report on the lakes around Kansas at which anglers can find the best bass prospects regardless of whether they want quantity or quality. Austin helped a great deal in this effort.

The first thing you’ll notice about this year’s run-down is that the western reservoirs aren’t near the top of the list, and I’m not calling them, collectively, the best bass fishery in all the Great Plains. All of us need to hold that thought until rain refills them and their ecosystems are re-established. When that happens, I suspect those lakes will be reborn again; fishing that has been good for many years will actually have a chance to get even better.

It’s been almost 20 years since rain suddenly disappeared from Kansas’ routine weather reports for much of the state. Drought conditions didn’t affect only western Kansas back then, either. Many impoundments around the state, large and small, suffered.

But for 2007, we have to turn back time and look at Kansas’ bass fishing as if most of the western reservoirs didn’t exist. Austin pointed out that those willing to drive out west likely will do OK at Cedar Bluff this season, even with it pushing 20 feet below normal pool.

During the last drought, boat ramps were built to provide low-water access, and they’re now available again. You’ll likely be able to get on Cedar Bluff, and that’s good news. Just know that the fishing isn’t going to last forever without rain, and lots of it.

Another of those severely-affected western reservoirs made Austin’s list of lakes that will offer plenty of bass to anglers just looking to go out and catch a bunch of fish -- and not necessarily a real hawg. "Sebelius Reservoir has good numbers," he explained, "but it’s so very low. The fish are crowded in there just now, and there could be high mortality if we get into another really hot, dry summer."