I have been fishing a heated lake in Kansas lately and was wondering when the bass would start spawning. When they are producing electricity and releasing hot water the water temp climbs into the 60s. This weekend the water temp was mid 40’s as they were not generating electricity. If it helps the lake is Coffey County Lake in Burlington Kansas.
Do you think the fish will spawn earlier than the normal March and April months in the northwest? I would love to find some prespawn and spawning smallmouth and largemouth bass.
Im thinking along the same lines as Cincy. There is a good chance those bass are conditioned to the rapid change in temps and will put off spawning til later in the Winter. Im sure they will spawn a little earlier then non-power plant lakes, but not by much.
A good way to tell is try fishing near the full moon. See if you can find bedding /fanning fish.
Im thinking along the same lines as Cincy. There is a good chance those bass are conditioned to the rapid change in temps and will put off spawning til later in the Winter. Im sure they will spawn a little earlier then non-power plant lakes, but not by much.
A good way to tell is try fishing near the full moon. See if you can find bedding /fanning fish.
Also since the power plant dictates the water temp in the late fall/ winter/spring more so than a non power plant lake, talk to some locals that have fished there a few years or call the DNR or maybe even the power plant management and they might have some info for you. Check the power plant website, a lot of time there is info on it. i’m with twitch, full moon and a little earlier than normal.
Since the growing season is longer during the year, must be some real hawgs in there. just be careful and get off the water when it gets a little windy.
All powerplants have periods when they dont run and the water gets cold. I know in kansas its cold in the winter, If they arent generating its probably because the same company owns several plants in the area on the grid and they are running others, they all rotate to do maintence. Typical spawn time for central US powerplants is in Jan and early Feb. The water fluctualtion wont change that, They Fluctuate all the time and I think they just spawn deeper.
Thank you guys for the replies. I will check with some of the locals and see what they have to say. One of the guys we fish with spends alot of time there, but only fishes for white bass. I dont know if they spawn the same time as the other species. There is some really nice shallow flats north east side of the plant. Way to the north is some standing timber, not sure how deep the water is there. The southern end has lots of rock bank and some pretty nice looking points on the map.
I plan on taking the boat around the lake a little more next time out to check some things out.
There is some really nice shallow flats north east side of the plant.
fish where the flat hits deeper water right now. if they are presawn they should stage there before they move up to the flat. Just a guess.
the powerplant lake here doesnt fluctuate temp exept for what effect the air temp has on it. The water has been a steady 66-67 for the past couple of weeks but we had a cold front that will probably drop the water temp to around 64-65 unless you are around the discharge where the water will be warmer. I have a tournament on Sat and talked up a game plan with my boater based off of my prefishing. we are going to fish a creek channel that runs through a flat and look for the prespawn fish or fish that have pulled off the flat to deeper water. Im going to drag a carolina rig and a big jig around looking to cover water.
maybe the same plan will work for you, I will let you know how i do.
There is some really nice shallow flats north east side of the plant.
fish where the flat hits deeper water right now. if they are presawn they should stage there before they move up to the flat. Just a guess.
the powerplant lake here doesnt fluctuate temp exept for what effect the air temp has on it. The water has been a steady 66-67 for the past couple of weeks but we had a cold front that will probably drop the water temp to around 64-65 unless you are around the discharge where the water will be warmer. I have a tournament on Sat and talked up a game plan with my boater based off of my prefishing. we are going to fish a creek channel that runs through a flat and look for the prespawn fish or fish that have pulled off the flat to deeper water. Im going to drag a carolina rig and a big jig around looking to cover water.
maybe the same plan will work for you, I will let you know how i do.
X2 on the flats next to deeper water. that’s probably a place where there are bass all the time. stage there during the day then move up at night to feed.
Ill throw this out there….
In the past I have fished a power plant lake in Illinois in March. My buddy and I caught a few nice fish flipping lizards in dead shore grass. Some of the fish had soars on the tails from fanning nests. This was early March and I believe the water temps was high 50’s in this part of the lake. Cant remember the moon phase off hand, but it was 2010 if you want to look it up.
i know exactly where he is in kansas and the lake he’s fishing. when i lived there 13 years ago i wasn’t fishing any or anywhere at the time, i was a transient just trying to get home to my wife in Columbus and all i had to live on was what i could put in the back of a Ford Ranger, living in some cheep dumpy apartment sitting on the floor. Because i had a mortgage and a hi maintenance wife in Columbus
“High Maintenance”, thats something for you younger guys to stay away from. I cant speak for Cincy, but my experience had me paying for some arm candy. More trouble then they are worth IMO.
“High Maintenance”, thats something for you younger guys to stay away from. I cant speak for Cincy, but my experience had me paying for some arm candy. More trouble then they are worth IMO.
you are absolutely right, Yea it was great she was more than just arm candy, but, she lived in a lap of luxury, new house, new car, in a great area, closets full of leather coats, shoes and purses and belts. while i lived in squallor for 4.5 years.
She turned out to be a snake. the marriage counselor we went to, on her suggestion, told her she needed to see a psychiatrist. she was a psycho maniac and mean as a tasmanian devil, so no matter how they look and perform, it is not worth it
