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Home › Waters › Kansas › Cedar Bluff Reservoir
Reservoir · Western Kansas, Trego County, the Smoky Hill River reservoir south of Ellis · Kansas

Cedar Bluff Reservoir Fishing Guides

A western Kansas Smoky Hill reservoir set in chalk bluff country, with walleye, wipers and a clear-water smallmouth fishery unusual for the region.

Dock pilings standing in flat water against a wooded far bank
Gauge location. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors.

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About the Cedar Bluff Reservoir

Cedar Bluff Reservoir impounds the Smoky Hill River in Trego County, in the high plains country of western Kansas where the Niobrara chalk forms the pale bluffs that give the lake its name. It is a state park and wildlife area as well as a Bureau of Reclamation reservoir, and the setting, all chalk outcrop, short grass and enormous sky, is genuinely striking and unlike anything else in the state’s reservoir system.

The defining characteristic for anglers is water clarity. Cedar Bluff runs clearer than most Kansas reservoirs, and that clarity supports a rock-oriented fishery that the muddier impoundments to the east cannot. Smallmouth bass do well here, holding on the rip-rap, the chalk ledges and the rocky points, and a clear-water smallmouth fishery in western Kansas is worth going out of the way for. Walleye are the other headline fish, stocked and self-sustaining, working the points and the flats at low light.

White bass and wipers, the white bass and striped bass hybrid, school and chase forage in open water. The catfishery covers channel, blue and flathead, with the flatheads in the deeper timber and rock. Largemouth bass hold in the brushy arms and white crappie gather on any submerged structure.

Level is the perennial issue. Cedar Bluff sits in a dry part of the state and has spent long periods well below conservation pool, which moves ramps out of the water and concentrates the fishery. The gauge reads reservoir elevation and is the single most useful thing to check before a trip. Ellis is just north, Hays is the regional town, and the state park provides ramps and camping.

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Pool right now

2,118.69ft NGVD29
  • 24 hours-0.01 ft → steady
  • Storage53,940 acre-ft
  • For the dateLow for the date

Reading taken 2h ago at USGS 06861500, CEDAR BLUFF RE NR ELLIS, KS. Elevation is the surface of the lake above the survey datum, not depth. Source.

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Posting to Cedar Bluff Reservoir.

JPG, PNG or WebP, up to 12 MB. We resize it and strip the location data out of the file.

The name shown under the photo. Leave blank to stay anonymous.

Reader photo license v1.0 — the short version:

  • You grant Guided Floats, LLC a non-exclusive, royalty-free license to publish, resize and crop your photo on guidedfloats.com and in GuidedFloats’ own social posts and apps. You keep the copyright and can use the photo anywhere else.
  • You confirm that you took the photo yourself, that publishing it does not infringe anyone else’s rights, and that anyone recognisable in it (or a parent or guardian, if they are under 18) is happy for it to appear here.
  • Credit is printed beside the photo wherever it appears on the site, using the credit name you give us. Leave it blank and we use your name; write “Anonymous” for no name. Your email address is never published.
  • Withdrawing is one email to hello@guidedfloats.com naming the photo. It comes off the site within 7 days.
Read the full license

Version 1.0, dated 6 September 2026. Applies to every photograph submitted to GuidedFloats through the contact form, a species page, or the community board.

1. What you give us

By ticking the box on the form you grant Guided Floats, LLC (“GuidedFloats”, “we”) a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to store, copy, resize, crop and display your photograph on guidedfloats.com, in GuidedFloats’ own social media accounts and mobile apps, and in material that promotes the site itself, in connection with the fish, water or community feature you sent it in for. The license lasts until you withdraw it (section 4).

You keep the copyright. The license is not exclusive, so you can use the photo anywhere else and license it to anyone else. We will not sell your photo, license it on to anyone else on its own, or use it in paid advertising for a third party.

2. What you confirm

You confirm that you took the photograph yourself (or otherwise own the rights to it), that you have the right to grant this license, and that publishing the photo does not infringe anyone else’s copyright, privacy or other rights.

If any person is recognisable in the photo, you confirm that they have agreed to its being published here, and that a parent or guardian has agreed on behalf of anyone under 18. Please do not send photographs of other people’s catches, screenshots, or pictures copied from other websites or social media.

3. Credit

We print the credit name you give us beside the photo wherever it appears on the site, and record it as the photo’s creator in the page’s structured data. If you leave the credit blank we use the name you gave us on the form. Write “Anonymous” if you prefer no name at all. Your email address, phone number and the exact spot the photo was taken are never published.

4. Withdrawing the license

You can withdraw the license at any time by emailing hello@guidedfloats.com, or by using the contact form, and telling us which photo you mean. We will remove the photo from guidedfloats.com within 7 days of receiving your message and stop using it in anything new. Copies that are already outside our control — search-engine caches, social posts that have already gone out, printed material already produced — may take longer to disappear or may not be recallable, and we are not responsible for those.

5. What we may do

We choose which photos to publish and may decline any submission without giving a reason. We may crop, resize, sharpen or colour-correct a photo for display, and we may remove a photo at any time. We will not alter a photo in a way that misrepresents the fish, the water or you.

6. Your details

We keep your name, email address, the credit name, the water and date you gave us, and the network address the submission came from, with the submission record, as our evidence of this license. We hold that record for as long as the photo is published and for the retention period described in our privacy policy. Location data that your camera or phone embedded in the file is removed before the photo is published.

7. Versions

The version of this license you accepted is stored with your submission and printed with the photo. A later version does not apply to a photo you have already sent unless you agree to it.

Lake level alert

Tell me when the pool at Cedar Bluff Reservoir ft (NGVD29)

Now: 2,118.69 ft pool elevation, read 4:15 pm CDT, Sun Oct 18, 2026 (USGS 06861500, CEDAR BLUFF RE NR ELLIS, KS).

We never use this address for anything else and never share it. See the privacy policy.

Access

Cedar Bluff State Park - the park on the reservoir with ramps, camping and facilities.
Ellis - the town north of the lake, with lodging, fuel, food and basic tackle.
Hays - the regional city northeast with full services and tackle shops.
Cedar Bluff Wildlife Area - state land around the reservoir open to public access.
Smoky Hill River - the river above and below the dam, fishable in its own right.
WaKeeney - the county seat northwest with basic services.
Wilson Lake - another clear western Kansas reservoir east of here.

Seasons

Spring: walleye move onto rock and flats to spawn and smallmouth turn on as water warms.
Summer: white bass and wipers chase forage in open water, with catfish best after dark.
Fall: clearing cooling water brings the strongest smallmouth and walleye fishing of the year.
Winter: an ice fishery for walleye and crappie forms in cold years when access allows.

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Questions

What species can you catch on the Cedar Bluff Reservoir?

Anglers target Blue Catfish, Bluegill, Channel Catfish, Flathead Catfish, Freshwater Drum, Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, White Bass, White Crappie, Wiper on the Cedar Bluff Reservoir in Kansas.

Where can you access the Cedar Bluff Reservoir?

Cedar Bluff State Park - the park on the reservoir with ramps, camping and facilities. Ellis - the town north of the lake, with lodging, fuel, food and basic tackle. Hays - the regional city northeast with full services and tackle shops. Cedar Bluff Wildlife Area - state land around the reservoir open to public access. Smoky Hill River - the river above and below the dam, fishable in its own right. WaKeeney - the county seat northwest with basic services. Wilson Lake - another clear western Kansas reservoir east of here.

When is the best time to fish the Cedar Bluff Reservoir?

Spring: walleye move onto rock and flats to spawn and smallmouth turn on as water warms. Summer: white bass and wipers chase forage in open water, with catfish best after dark. Fall: clearing cooling water brings the strongest smallmouth and walleye fishing of the year. Winter: an ice fishery for walleye and crappie forms in cold years when access allows.

Where are the fishing regulations for the Cedar Bluff Reservoir?

Regulations change by season and section. Read the current rules on the Kansas agency site: https://ksoutdoors.com/Fishing/Fishing-Regulations