Cheney Reservoir Fishing Guides and Conditions, Kansas

About the Cheney Reservoir

Cheney is the reservoir Wichita fishes and the reservoir Wichita drinks. It sits on the North Fork of the Ninnescah west of the city, a broad, shallow, wind-exposed lake on the plains with very little natural cover and a fishery built almost entirely on open water and riprap.

Walleye are the main target and Cheney is one of the more consistent walleye lakes in Kansas, fished on the points and dam riprap in spring and trolled or drifted over the flats through summer. Wipers provide the fast summer fishing, schooling on shad in open water where the birds will usually find them for you. White bass are abundant and run up the Ninnescah in spring.

Catfishing is dependable, with channel cats everywhere and blue catfish reaching good size. Crappie hold on the brush piles and the riprap, and there are largemouth around what shoreline cover exists.

Wind is the constant. Cheney is famous among Kansas sailors for exactly the reason it is difficult for anglers, and a strong south wind can shut down most of the lake. The compensation is that the wind-blown shorelines concentrate bait and fish, and anglers who work with it rather than against it do well.

Because Cheney is a drinking water supply for a large city, its level is managed with that in mind as much as with flood control, and in a dry stretch the lake can drop a long way. Low water pulls fish off the shallow flats and stacks them on the remaining structure, which makes for concentrated and often very good fishing right when the lake looks at its worst.

The gauge below reports pool elevation, stored volume and water temperature. That third number is genuinely useful on a walleye lake, because temperature rather than the calendar decides when the spring fishing turns on.

Access

Cheney State Park: ramps, camping and marina on both the east and west shores.
Dam and outlet area: riprap fishing and bank access.
North Fork Ninnescah arm: the spring white bass run and shallower water.
Public ramps around the lake are numerous and well maintained.
Extensive riprap gives good bank fishing along the dam.
Wichita is under an hour away, so services are close.
Note: very exposed to wind, with little shelter anywhere on the lake.

Seasons

Winter: deep walleye and quiet water, with ice in the coves in a cold year.
Spring: the walleye spawn on the riprap and the white bass run up the Ninnescah.
Summer: wipers schooling on open water, catfish on the flats, hot and windy.
Fall: cooling water concentrates walleye and the fishing steadies.