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Perry Lake Fishing Report

Updated Fri, Sep 4, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

Kansas' crappie college: timber-lined Delaware River water where the state learns to spider-rig, plus white bass runs and heavyweight flatheads.

2/5
Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
Water temp
~66 F est.
Air / High
95 / 96 F
Wind
S 10 mph

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

Satellite view
Friday
4
September 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.

2/5Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.

Perry Lake lines up a genuinely fishable day across the board. Today brings clear skies, wind S around 10 mph, rising pressure near 1010 hPa and a high of 96. Water sits around 66 F for the season (estimated). With the last quarter, the solunar majors run 5:39 AM-7:39 AM and 5:39 PM-7:39 PM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

WalleyeGood

Jig and minnow on rock reefs and points; the evening bite on wind-blown shores is the one to plan around.

Northern pikeGood

Weedline spinnerbaits, spoons and jerkbaits; bays with fresh green weed hold the active fish.

White bassFair

The spring river run: small crankbaits and roadrunners up the tributaries.

CrappieSlow

Spawning shallow around cover in spring; jigs under a float near buck brush and laydowns.

Tomorrow: Similar at 100 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Sep 5, 6:30 AMHow this report is made →

Water and weather

Live readings.

No live gauge on this water

Conditions here are modeled from weather, season and the nearest stations. Water readings appear when a USGS gauge is available.

304050607080JanMarMayJulSepNovSep, ~66 F now

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp95 F
High / Low96 / 72 F
WindS 10-13 mph
Pressure1009.9 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain1% cloud, 1%
Sunrise / Sunset06:53 / 19:47
MoonLast Quarter, 50%
Water temp (seasonal)~66 F est.

Bite planner

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

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunset

Next 7 days

Tap a day for the detailed outlook.

Fri Sep 4 · Clear, 96/72 F, wind 13 mph, rain 1%

Fair or better. A 13 mph breeze puts a working chop on the banks it hits: fish the wind-blown side.

Species guide

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

Walleye illustration

Walleye

Best: May-Jun, Oct

The glass-eyed prize of northern lakes. Low light, wind-blown structure and live bait. Jig and minnow on rock reefs and points; the evening bite on wind-blown shores is the one to plan around.

White bass illustration

White bass

Best: Mar-May run

River-run spawners and open-water schoolers. Fast limits when you find them. The spring river run: small crankbaits and roadrunners up the tributaries.

Northern pike illustration

Northern pike

Best: spring, early winter

The ambush predator of weedbeds and cabbage edges. Aggressive, big and always worth a wire leader. Weedline spinnerbaits, spoons and jerkbaits; bays with fresh green weed hold the active fish.

Crappie illustration

Crappie

Best: Nov-Mar

Brush piles, bridge pilings and standing timber. The fish fry favorite. Spawning shallow around cover in spring; jigs under a float near buck brush and laydowns.

When to come: the Perry 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
Northern pike
Crappie
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 66 F (estimated, not a reading).

304050607080JanMarMayJulSepNovSep, ~66 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 Perry Lake today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Sep 3

5/5 Excellent. Go now. Everything lines up: pressure, wind and light are in your favor. Walleye led the card at excellent. High of 95 F, wind to 13 mph.

Wed, Sep 2

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Walleye led the card at excellent. High of 97 F, wind to 13 mph.

Tue, Sep 1

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Walleye led the card at excellent. High of 96 F, wind to 12 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
Only used to send you this water's report each week. No spam, ever.

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 license. Crappie 20/day, 10-inch typical: check KDWP. Flathead: live-bait rules apply.

Access

Rock Creek, Slough Creek, Longview, Old Town Corps ramps; Perry SP.

About this water

11,150 acres on the Delaware River, Jefferson County, KS. The crappie flagship of the Kansas Corps chain.

Fishing Perry Lake: the full guide

The crappie classroom

Perry's flooded timber and KDWP's aggressive brush program built the state's signature crappie fishery: fish every month, techniques on rotation (dipping wood in spring, spider-rigging flats in summer, chasing channel schools in winter), and enough 12-inch-plus fish to keep the fillet tables busy. If Kansas crappie fishing has a home campus, it is Perry.

Timber tactics by season

Spring floods push slabs into the buckbrush (April's jig-dipping festival): summer schools suspend off the channel timber at 15-20 ft (spider rigs and pushed minnows): fall re-runs the shallows briefly: winter stacks fish in the Delaware River channel's deep bends where vertical jigging fills quiet-day coolers.

The supporting rotation

White bass run the Delaware arm each April (jig the riffle mouths at Valley Falls' end), wipers crash summer shad on the main lake, and the flathead culture runs serious: limb-lines and live-bait rods bending to 50-pounders in the timbered river channel. Largemouth work the same wood the crappie use: a jig pitched between rigging sessions pays.

Working Perry

The lake stains after rain (Delaware mud) and clears slowly: adjust jig colors darker with the water. Corps parks ramp all shores: Rock Creek and Slough Creek anchor the crappie fleet. Summer weekends bring Topeka's traffic: the timbered arms absorb it better than the open water.

Common questions

When is the crappie bite at Perry?

April in the flooded brush is the festival: but the deep-timber summer rig bite and the winter channel stack keep limits realistic all year. Watch the lake's stain after rains: darker water, darker jigs.

How big do Perry flatheads get?

Fifty-pound fish come off the timbered channel every summer: live green sunfish after dark. It is one of the state's premier big-cat waters, quietly.

Is fishing good at Perry Lake right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.

Nearby waters

Clinton Lake15 miPomona Lake33 miHillsdale Lake42 miMelvern Lake46 miSmithville Lake49 miCottonwood River80 mi
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