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El Dorado Lake Fishing Report

Updated Fri, Oct 23, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

El Dorado Lake on the Walnut River: 8,000 acres of Corps of Engineers water at the edge of the Flint Hills, with walleye and wipers under a 21-inch minimum and a state park around much of the shore.

3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Flow
2 cfs
Air / High
80 / 80 F
Wind
S 18 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 07146800, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.

Satellite view
Friday
23
October 2026

Today's Fishing Report

Generated this morning from live readings: gauge, weather model, sun and moon. A fresh report is published here every morning.

3/5Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

El Dorado Lake rewards those who follow the bait as the water cools. The nearest gauge is running 2 cfs, falling. Today brings cloud cover, wind S around 18 mph, steady pressure near 1016 hPa and a high of 80. Water sits around 55 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 10:04 AM-12:04 PM and 10:32 PM-12:32 AM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

WalleyeGood

Spring: post-spawn fish scatter and can be slow for a couple of weeks. Fall: one of the best windows, with minnows on jigs and three-way rigs as the water cools toward ice-up.

Largemouth bassGood

In spring, pre-spawn bass push shallow as the water climbs through the mid-50s; in fall they feed actively until the water cools into the low 50s, then drop back toward deeper structure.

Smallmouth bassGood

Spring pre-spawn and fall: Iowa DNR notes the larger bass come up to shallow structure, where a shallow-running minnow bait or a spinnerbait just under the surface works.

Catfish (blue, channel)Good

In spring after ice-out, Iowa finds channel cats feeding on winter-killed shad on the shallow, warmer mudflats at the upper ends of reservoirs; cut bait on the bottom works there.

White bassFair

The spring run happens in this band: tributaries, shoals and the upper ends of reservoirs as the water reaches about 55°F.

CrappieFair

Pre-spawn fish move toward shallow coves, and Iowa DNR points to wading as an effective way to reach them in spring; minnows or small jigs under a float.

Hybrid striped bassFair

In spring, windblown shorelines, riprap and dams during the shad spawn (May in Oklahoma); in fall, the pre-winter feed on the same kind of banks.

Tomorrow: Similar at 81 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Oct 24, 6:30 AMHow this report is made →

Before you go

Kansas requires a fishing licence from age 16, from $27.50 for residents. What a Kansas licence costs and where to buy it →

Chasing walleye here? Check the size and bag limits with KDWP before you keep anything. The season dates for Kansas, read off the agency, are on the Kansas seasons page.

Water and weather

Live readings from West Branch Walnut River near El Dorado.

Flow, last 30 days

USGS gauge 07146800.

924402 cfs09/2310/0310/1310/23

Today’s flow against 17 years of October 23

At 2 cfs, the flow at USGS gauge 07146800 (West Branch Walnut River near El Dorado) is at the 34th percentile for the date: normal. In half of the 17 years of approved record the daily mean on October 23 was below 4 cfs; the highest was 32 cfs and the lowest 0 cfs.

p10 0median 4p90 25

Percentiles of the daily mean flow for this date, from the USGS Water Data Statistics API for gauge 07146800; today’s reading is the latest instantaneous value. Classes follow the ones the USGS used on its WaterWatch maps (retired at the end of 2025): below 10th, much below normal; 10th–24th, below; 25th–75th, normal; 76th–90th, above; over 90th, much above.

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp80 F
High / Low80 / 57 F
WindS 18-23 mph
Pressure1016.4 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain91% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset07:43 / 18:38
MoonWaxing Gibbous, 91%
Water temp (seasonal)~55 F est.

Bite planner

Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today. Tap a bar to see why.

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunsetPRIMEPRIME

Which day to fish El Dorado Lake this week

The best day on El Dorado Lake this week looks like Sunday Oct 25, at 4 out of 5, against 3 today.

Best day this week: Sunday, Oct 25 — good at 4/5, falling pressure, usually the best window of a week.

Today, Oct 23 — Fair

A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Solunar majors
10:04 AM-12:04 PM and 10:32 PM-12:32 AM
Minor period
4:26 AM-5:26 AM
Sun
07:43 to 18:38
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Overcast, 18 mph
Rain chance
0%

Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out: how the score is built.

Species guide

The species that matter on El Dorado Lake: seasons, structure and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.

Walleye illustration

Walleye

Best: spring and late fall, around dawn, dusk and night

A cool-water perch of large lakes, reservoirs and rivers whose reflective eyes are built for low light, so it feeds most at night and in murky water. The Missouri Department of Conservation ranks it among the continent's most important freshwater game fish. Spring: post-spawn fish scatter and can be slow for a couple of weeks. Fall: one of the best windows, with minnows on jigs and three-way rigs as the water cools toward ice-up.

White bass illustration

White bass

Best: the spring run up the tributaries, then summer surface schools

A silvery temperate bass of rivers and large reservoirs, also called sand bass, that schools in open water after shad and runs up tributaries to spawn in early spring. The spring run happens in this band: tributaries, shoals and the upper ends of reservoirs as the water reaches about 55°F.

Crappie illustration

Crappie

Best: the spring spawn; summer around docks, brush and the thermocline

Two slab-sided panfish, the white crappie and the black crappie, that gather around submerged timber, brush piles, docks and bridge pilings in lakes, reservoirs and slow river backwaters. Texas Parks and Wildlife counts crappie as the state's most popular panfish. Pre-spawn fish move toward shallow coves, and Iowa DNR points to wading as an effective way to reach them in spring; minnows or small jigs under a float.

Largemouth bass illustration

Largemouth bass

Best: the spring pre-spawn and the fall feed

A warm-water sunfish of lakes, reservoirs, ponds and slow river backwaters that holds tight to cover: weeds, logs, rock ledges and docks. In Texas, TPWD surveys rank it "by far" the freshwater fish anglers most want to catch. In spring, pre-spawn bass push shallow as the water climbs through the mid-50s; in fall they feed actively until the water cools into the low 50s, then drop back toward deeper structure.

Smallmouth bass illustration

Smallmouth bass

Best: spring and fall, when bigger fish come shallow

A bronze-brown black bass of clear, cool streams and rocky lakes, with dark vertical bars instead of a side stripe. Michigan DNR says its southeastern coast, from Port Huron to Lake Erie, is known nationally for both the size and the number of its smallmouth. Spring pre-spawn and fall: Iowa DNR notes the larger bass come up to shallow structure, where a shallow-running minnow bait or a spinnerbait just under the surface works.

Hybrid striped bass illustration

Hybrid striped bass

Best: the spring shad spawn and fall; summer at dawn and dusk

A hatchery cross of striped bass and white bass, also called wiper or palmetto bass, stocked by state agencies into reservoirs and rivers as a sport fish that also eats gizzard shad. Schools roam open water after shad. In spring, windblown shorelines, riprap and dams during the shad spawn (May in Oklahoma); in fall, the pre-winter feed on the same kind of banks.

Catfish (blue, channel) illustration

Catfish (blue, channel)

Year-round, best at dusk and after dark

Three big catfish share most of the country's rivers and reservoirs: the channel catfish, the most widespread; the blue catfish, the largest; and the flathead, which hunts live fish. All feed mostly on or near the bottom. In spring after ice-out, Iowa finds channel cats feeding on winter-killed shad on the shallow, warmer mudflats at the upper ends of reservoirs; cut bait on the bottom works there.

When to come: the El Dorado Lake calendar

Activity by species and month, and how the water warms through the year. Tap any cell.

Species activity by month

1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted.

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Walleye
White bass
Crappie
Largemouth bass
Smallmouth bass
Hybrid striped bass
Catfish (blue, channel)
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 55 F (estimated, not a reading).

304050607080JanMarMayJulSepNovOct, ~55 F now

Angler reports

Real reports from real anglers, reviewed before publishing. The water log below tracks each day automatically.

No angler reports yet this weekBe the first: your report helps every angler who checks El Dorado Lake today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Oct 22

2/5 Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing. Walleye led the card at good. High of 81 F, wind to 12 mph.

Wed, Oct 21

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Walleye led the card at good. High of 79 F, wind to 13 mph.

Tue, Oct 20

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Walleye led the card at good. High of 76 F, wind to 15 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
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Before you go

License

Kansas requires a valid fishing license for adults. Buy online from the state agency; one-day options exist for visitors.

Regulations

Kansas fishing license. El Dorado Reservoir special limits (KDWP tables dated June 21, 2024): walleye 21-inch minimum, 2 a day; wiper 21-inch minimum, 2 a day; crappie 20 a day. Blue catfish 10 a day with only 1 over 30 inches (KDWP report). Trout permit for all anglers in the Walnut River Area, December 1-March 31.

Access

El Dorado State Park areas: Bluestem Point, Shady Creek, Walnut River and Boulder Bluff. KDWP notes a 2026 bridge closure on East 12th Avenue south of the lake; reach the west side by Highway 77 and Myers Road.

About this water

An 8,000-acre Corps of Engineers reservoir on the Walnut River, Butler County, Kansas, completed in 1981. Flows on this page come from USGS 07146800, West Branch Walnut River near El Dorado.

Fishing El Dorado Lake: the full guide

A Corps lake run as a state park

The Corps of Engineers built El Dorado Dam at river mile 114.7 on the Walnut River, about 2 miles northeast of El Dorado; construction began in October 1973 and the project was finished for full flood control in June 1981. All of the lake's recreation facilities are run as Kansas state parks. KDWP gives El Dorado State Park about 2,000 acres, with 4,000 acres of wildlife area around 8,000 acres of water and 98 miles of shoreline.

Timber, channels and rock

KDWP describes steep rocky shorelines, old river channels, submerged railroad beds and dead standing timber. Its reservoir report sends smallmouth anglers to the rocky and riprap shores of the lower lake and largemouth anglers to the coves and upper ends near wood and brush. Crappie are caught near flooded timber and brush piles in 7 to 15 feet of water, and blue catfish favor the timbered channels of the Walnut River and Cole Creek, with more of them in the upper lake than near the dam.

Walleye and wipers

The same report has walleye along humps, breaks, old roads and points, on trolled crankbaits and live-bait rigs, and white bass and wipers chasing young shad at the surface in late summer and early fall. Both walleye and wipers have special rules here: a 21-inch minimum and 2 a day.

Invasive species and the Walnut River Area

KDWP lists El Dorado as an Aquatic Invasive Species designated water for zebra mussels and white perch, so live fish may not be moved from it, and boats must be cleaned, drained and dried before leaving the ramp. The Walnut River Area of the state park is a Type 1 trout water, where every angler needs a trout permit from December 1 to March 31.

Common questions

What is the walleye limit at El Dorado Lake?

Walleye under 21 inches must be released and the daily creel is 2, under KDWP's special limits for El Dorado Reservoir.

Is El Dorado Lake an invasive-species water?

Yes. KDWP designates it for zebra mussels and white perch; do not move live fish from it, and clean, drain and dry your boat before you leave.

Do I need a trout permit at El Dorado?

Only in the state park's Walnut River Area from December 1 to March 31, where it is a Type 1 trout water and every angler needs one.

Is fishing good at El Dorado Lake right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Nearby waters

Marion Reservoir40 miCottonwood River40 miKaw Lake74 miMelvern Lake75 miVerdigris River81 miKanopolis Lake84 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

River and reservoir readings
USGS 07146800 — West Branch Walnut River near El Dorado
Read from the USGS Water Data API (api.waterdata.usgs.gov). Latest value timestamped 2026-10-23 at 19:00 UTC.
Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 37.8472, -96.8231 in this water's own timezone. A model, not an observation.
Moon and solunar windows
Calculated on this site
Astronomical calculation from these coordinates and the date, not a third-party feed. How much weight it deserves.
Pages checked
The facts in the written guide were checked against these pages, from the agencies and operators that manage the water, on October 6, 2026. Anything we could not verify was taken out.
The written guide on this page
Pablo Ruiz Quintero
How this page was made. The daily report is computed by our scoring engine from live readings; nobody types it. The written text was drafted with AI assistance from the official pages listed above, and its facts were checked against those pages by automated verification on October 6, 2026; anything that could not be verified was taken out. Pablo Ruiz Quintero sets every guideline, the data-verification system and the minimum standards a page must meet to be published, reviews page structure and approves what goes live; the responsibility is his, and the AI carries out the work. We work this way because it is how one person can keep every page current with named sources. Errors are published in the verification log; the full policy is in the editorial policy.

Readings refresh on a 30-minute window. The full method, with every figure and its source, is on how our reports are made. Something wrong here? Tell us and it goes in the log with the date.