Hillsdale Lake Fishing Guides
A Kansas City area lake on Big Bull Creek with a strong bass and crappie fishery, a state park on the shoreline and enough structure to reward learning it.
Guides on the Hillsdale Lake
Claimed profiles take booking requests. Unclaimed profiles are built from public records so the river is never empty; the guide can claim or remove one any time.
No guides listed yet
Guide or outfit this water? Create your profile. Listing is free, the commission is 10% or 7% with a premium profile, and premium profiles list first on this water.
About the Hillsdale Lake
Hillsdale Lake sits on Big Bull Creek in Miami County, close enough to the southwest edge of the Kansas City metro that it functions as the nearest serious fishing water for a very large number of anglers. It covers roughly four and a half thousand acres and has the irregular, creek-arm shoreline that makes a lake interesting to fish rather than simply large: timber, points, riprap, standing structure and flooded creek channels all hold fish at different times of year. Largemouth bass are the primary draw and the lake has a long-standing reputation for producing good numbers with a realistic shot at quality fish.
The rest of the fishery is deep enough to carry a trip when the bass are uncooperative. Crappie are abundant around brush and standing timber and are the species most local anglers actually fill a cooler with. Walleye are present and stocked, white bass school and chase shad in open water, and both channel and blue catfish do well in a reservoir with this much forage. Smallmouth bass hold on the rock, which is less common in eastern Kansas than it is farther west and gives the lake a bit of variety that anglers from the metro appreciate.
Hillsdale State Park occupies a substantial stretch of shoreline and provides camping, ramps, a marina and the developed access that makes the lake straightforward to fish without a local guide. The USGS gauge near Hillsdale reports lake elevation together with water quality parameters, and elevation is the number worth watching before a trip: a lake this size in eastern Kansas can move several feet after a heavy rain, which changes ramp usability, water clarity and where the fish are holding. Spring storms in particular can turn the upper creek arms muddy for days while the lower lake stays clear.
This water needs a real photo
The photo at the top of this page is not Hillsdale Lake.
It is a regional stand-in, honestly captioned but generic — we will not put a name to a river we cannot prove. Send us a photograph you took here and it replaces the stand-in, with your credit on it.
Add a photo of this water
Landscape, not fish — the water itself. Reviewed by hand before it appears. The first one published here earns the Pioneer badge.
Pool right now
- 24 hours-0.02 ft → steady
- Storage77,850 acre-ft
- For the dateAbout normal for the date
Reading taken 17 min ago at USGS 06914995, HILLSDALE LK NR HILLSDALE, KS. Elevation is the surface of the lake above the survey datum, not depth. Source.
Fished this water? Add a photo
Reviewed by hand before it appears. Pick the water, not the spot — we never publish exact locations.
Access
Hillsdale State Park - the main developed access, with camping, ramps and a marina on the lake.
Hillsdale - the small community the lake is named for, immediately east.
Paola - the Miami County seat, south of the lake, with services.
Olathe - the nearest large suburb, north toward the Kansas City metro.
Big Bull Creek arm - the main upper arm, first to colour after rain and first to warm in spring.
Dam and riprap - the lower lake structure that holds smallmouth and white bass.
Kansas City - the metro area the lake principally serves, roughly forty miles northeast.
Seasons
Spring: the best fishing of the year, with bass and crappie moving shallow to spawn and the upper arms warming first.
Summer: fish move deeper and the lake gets heavy recreational traffic, so early and late trips are far more productive than midday ones.
Fall: shad move into the creek arms and bass and white bass follow them, which makes for the most active chasing of the year.
Winter: quiet and lightly fished, with crappie holding deep on structure and the lake typically at its lowest recreational use.
From the water
No logged trips yet. Be the first to put this water on your map.
Log this water
Fished it or cleaned it? Log in or create a free account to log a trip with photos and earn the waterway badge.
Questions
What species can you catch on the Hillsdale Lake?
Anglers target Black Crappie, Blue Catfish, Bluegill, Channel Catfish, Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, White Bass, White Crappie on the Hillsdale Lake in Kansas.
Where can you access the Hillsdale Lake?
Hillsdale State Park - the main developed access, with camping, ramps and a marina on the lake. Hillsdale - the small community the lake is named for, immediately east. Paola - the Miami County seat, south of the lake, with services. Olathe - the nearest large suburb, north toward the Kansas City metro. Big Bull Creek arm - the main upper arm, first to colour after rain and first to warm in spring. Dam and riprap - the lower lake structure that holds smallmouth and white bass. Kansas City - the metro area the lake principally serves, roughly forty miles northeast.
When is the best time to fish the Hillsdale Lake?
Spring: the best fishing of the year, with bass and crappie moving shallow to spawn and the upper arms warming first. Summer: fish move deeper and the lake gets heavy recreational traffic, so early and late trips are far more productive than midday ones. Fall: shad move into the creek arms and bass and white bass follow them, which makes for the most active chasing of the year. Winter: quiet and lightly fished, with crappie holding deep on structure and the lake typically at its lowest recreational use.
Where are the fishing regulations for the Hillsdale Lake?
Regulations change by season and section. Read the current rules on the Kansas agency site: https://www.ksoutdoors.gov/outdoor-activities/fishing-in-kansas