Photos by Ron Sinfelt

If you like fishing, you have to love this time of year in Kansas. Lakes of all sizes are coming alive, and anglers have the chance to enjoy some of the finest action of the season. This is particularly true when talking about crappie. The Sunflower State has some real papermouth factories -- and they're not concentrated in just one region of the state! More than any other species, with the possible exception of catfish, crappie -- prolific, plentiful and pretty doggone tasty -- are a staple of the Kansas angling menu. What follows is the information you'll need to plan your 2005 crappie calendar so that you stay in the hottest fishing action all season long. When you mention crappie fishing, many Kansas anglers immediately envision one or more of the state's large impoundments. And Sunflower State reservoirs are indeed among the gems of all the Great Plains when it comes to crappie. But they're not the only waters that offer prospects for memorable crappie outings. What follows is a look at all of the Sunflower State waters that hold crappie promise as the 2005 season unfolds. Remember them as you plan your fishing season, because there likely are more than a few spots featured here that you've never visited. If you change your pattern this season, you're very likely to add some new destinations to your crappie atlas. The reason is simple: Visits to these places will help you to add to your haul of nice crappie this season, and helping you do that is what this story is all about!

RESERVOIRS
We might as well start with the waters many Kansas crappie chasers know best -- the state's major reservoirs. If you had to speculate on the bad news for this part of the overall state fishery, how many Sunflower State reservoirs would you say rank as poor for crappie?

Don't say "none." Even here in the Sunflower State -- believe it or not -- a few big impoundments lack crappie fisheries of the sort that many anglers would consider worth a visit. But "few" is the operative word.

Only Cedar Bluff, Cheney and Glen Elder reservoirs have crappie fisheries that were ranked by biologists, on the basis of the most recent data available as this story was being written, as poor. Those rated as excellent or good outnumber the poor by a 2-to-1 margin. Although that's not surprising, it still speaks volumes about how good Kansas' crappie fishery really is.

There definitely are some major impoundments whose crappie hotspots you should consider this season. Among the best are Fall River, Toronto, Melvern, La Cygne and Coffee County Lake. You probably also should include Council Grove Reservoir in there; it may not offer the sheer numbers of crappie in the 10-inch range, but it does have a good number of truly large fish. Anglers looking for crappie weighing at least a pound should without doubt include it on their list. They may not find as many 10-inch-plus fish there as, say, at Fall River, but some pretty big slabsides swim Council Grove's waters.

Fall River has not necessarily been known as much for its crappie fishery as for its bass. But make no mistake: This southeast Kansas impoundment is a jewel of a crappie hangout.

State biologists conduct annual surveys of many of the state's waters to get a feel for the overall quality of various fish populations. Bass, white bass, catfish, walleyes, saugers and crappie are the species for which data are compiled in an effort to forecast how fishing is and will be in a given lake. Sample units, generally are about a surface-acre in size, are established for each lake.