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7,205-acre reservoir near Lawrence. Lawrence's home lake, stocked with walleye, saugeye, and wipers. The lake tops out around 40 ft. The depth chart is built from real state fisheries GPS surveys, so the humps, channels and drop-offs you see are measured, not guessed. Here is how the season plays out for each species, straight from the data behind the map.
The drawn water covers 7,272 acres wrapped in 41 miles of bank — one island included. With a shoreline index of 3.4, this water is all arms and coves — edge habitat well beyond its acreage. Roughly 48% of the water is 15 ft or less, the band where the food chain lives. The basin spans about 6.3 mi end to end and 5.6 mi across at its widest. It sits in Douglas County. Its nearest charted neighbour, Lone Star Lake, is 6 mi to the south.
Early season largemouth bass use the shallows, holding in 2 to 10 ft. Summer is an 8 to 20 ft game here, winter a 15 to 35 ft one. The chart's best answer is Weed flat — weed flat, 2 ft, prime for spring. Best bite is early morning and the evening. Tie on a texas-rigged 10" worm or a deep-diving crankbait and you're in the game.
| Season | Depth | Best window | Start at | Go-to baits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spring | 2 to 10 ft | dawn & dusk | Weed flat (2 ft) | Spinnerbait, Chatterbait |
| Summer | 8 to 20 ft | dawn & dusk | Break off the point (20 ft) | Texas-rigged 10" worm, Deep-diving crankbait |
| Fall | 4 to 15 ft | midday & dawn | Main-lake point (6 ft) | Squarebill crankbait (shad), Spinnerbait |
| Winter | 15 to 35 ft | midday | Break off the point (20 ft) | Blade bait, Jigging spoon |
Early season channel catfish use the shallows, holding in 3 to 12 ft. Summer is an 8 to 25 ft game here, winter a 20 to 40 ft one. The chart's best answer is Deep basin — deep basin, 40 ft, prime for winter. Best bite is after dark and the evening.
| Season | Depth | Best window | Start at | Go-to baits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spring | 3 to 12 ft | dusk | Creek inflow (1 ft) | |
| Summer | 8 to 25 ft | night & dusk | Shallow feeding flat (18 ft) | |
| Fall | 10 to 30 ft | dusk | Shallow feeding flat (18 ft) | |
| Winter | 20 to 40 ft | midday | Deep basin (40 ft) |
Spring crappie on Clinton Lake hold shallow, usually 2 to 8 ft. They move out to 10 to 25 ft in summer and finish the year down in 15 to 35 ft. Put Weed flat first on the milk run — a weed flat near 2 ft that grades prime for spring. The feeding windows run early morning and the evening. The summer box starts with a jig trolled/spider-rigged or a small crankbait (trolled).
| Season | Depth | Best window | Start at | Go-to baits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spring | 2 to 8 ft | midday & dawn | Weed flat (2 ft) | 1/16 oz jig + tube, Curly-tail grub |
| Summer | 10 to 25 ft | dawn & dusk | Break off the point (20 ft) | Jig trolled/spider-rigged, Small crankbait (trolled) |
| Fall | 8 to 20 ft | dawn | Break off the point (20 ft) | Jig + minnow combo, Small swimbait (1.5-2") |
| Winter | 15 to 35 ft | midday | Deep basin (40 ft) | Tungsten jig + soft plastic, Tiny jigging spoon |
Spring bluegill on Clinton Lake hold shallow, usually 1 to 6 ft. By summer they slide out to 4 to 15 ft, and by winter most fish are in 10 to 25 ft. The chart's best answer is Shallow bay flat — weed flat, 1 ft, prime for spring. Prime time lands in early morning and the evening. The summer box starts with a small sponge spider (fly) or a micro tube jig.
| Season | Depth | Best window | Start at | Go-to baits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spring | 1 to 6 ft | midday & dusk | Shallow bay flat (1 ft) | 1/32 oz jig + micro plastic, Tiny popper (evenings) |
| Summer | 4 to 15 ft | dawn & dusk | Dock / pier line (4 ft) | Small sponge spider (fly), Micro tube jig |
| Fall | 6 to 18 ft | midday | Sharp break (14 ft) | Micro jig + waxworm, Small spoon tipped |
| Winter | 10 to 25 ft | midday | Break off the point (20 ft) | Tungsten ice jig + plastic, Tiny spoon |
Start shallow in spring: walleye sit in 4 to 15 ft that time of year. Warm water sends them out to 15 to 35 ft; cold water stacks them in 20 to 40 ft. Top water on the chart: Break off the point, a drop-off in the 20 ft range, prime in fall. Fish it in the evening and early morning and you'll meet the bite. Throw a crawler harness on bottom bouncer or a deep crankbait (trolled) until the fish tell you otherwise.
| Season | Depth | Best window | Start at | Go-to baits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spring | 4 to 15 ft | dusk & dawn | Main-lake point (6 ft) | 1/8 oz jig + minnow, Hair jig |
| Summer | 15 to 35 ft | dusk & dawn | Break off the point (20 ft) | Crawler harness on bottom bouncer, Deep crankbait (trolled) |
| Fall | 12 to 40 ft | dusk & night | Break off the point (20 ft) | Jigging rap, Jig + big minnow |
| Winter | 20 to 40 ft | dusk & dawn | Deep basin (40 ft) | Jigging spoon + minnow head, Rattle bait |
Spring puts saugeye in skinny water — 3 to 12 ft is the zone. As the season builds they drop to 8 to 22 ft, wintering in 12 to 30 ft. Fall saugeye concentrate at Break off the point, a prime-rated drop-off around 20 ft. Warm-month bites cluster around the evening and early morning. A crawler harness (shallow) or a jig + crawler covers the summer program.
| Season | Depth | Best window | Start at | Go-to baits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spring | 3 to 12 ft | dusk & dawn | Creek inflow (1 ft) | 1/8 oz jig + twister tail, Blade bait |
| Summer | 8 to 22 ft | dusk & dawn | Break off the point (20 ft) | Crawler harness (shallow), Jig + crawler |
| Fall | 8 to 28 ft | dusk & dawn | Break off the point (20 ft) | Blade bait, Jigging rap |
| Winter | 12 to 30 ft | dusk & dawn | Break off the point (20 ft) | Jigging spoon + minnow head, Blade bait |
Clinton Lake also holds sauger (10 to 30 ft in summer), smallmouth bass (10 to 30 ft in summer), white bass & hybrids (10 to 30 ft in summer), blue catfish (10 to 40 ft in summer). Pick any of them on the map above for rated spots and bait picks.
Count 18 structure marks on this chart. The deepest, Deep basin, sits near 40 ft.
Access data: OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL) — community-mapped launches. Confirm conditions and fees locally before you launch.
Season dates, license requirements, and size and bag limits for Kansas waters are set by the Kansas Department of Wildlife & Parks — and special regulations can apply to Clinton Lake specifically, so confirm the current rules before you fish.
Check the official Kansas fishing regulations →
Clinton Lake is about 40 ft (12 m) deep at its deepest point. The depth chart here comes from real state fisheries GPS surveys, so the contours reflect measured depths.
Anglers target largemouth bass, channel catfish, crappie, bluegill, walleye, saugeye, sauger, smallmouth bass, white bass & hybrids, blue catfish on Clinton Lake.
Weed flat is the top-rated area: a weed flat in about 2 ft of water that rates prime for largemouth bass in spring. Open the map above to see every rated spot for each species and season.
For largemouth bass, the summer bite is best in early morning and the evening. Each species page section below lists the seasonal windows, and the map shows a live NOW badge when you're inside one.
Fishing on Clinton Lake is regulated by the Kansas Department of Wildlife & Parks. Check the official Kansas regulations for current license requirements, season dates, and size and bag limits — special regulations can apply to this specific water.
Lone Star Lake 6 mi · Kansas River 9 mi · Douglas County State Fishing Lake 13 mi · Lake Shawnee 16 mi · Carbondale Lake 17 mi · Leavenworth County State Fishing Lake 18 mi · Perry Lake 19 mi · Pomona Lake 23 mi · Gardner City Lake 23 mi · New Olathe Lake 26 mi · Hillsdale Lake 28 mi · Osage City Reservoir 33 mi
See how Clinton Lake stacks up: best largemouth bass lakes in Kansas · best smallmouth bass lakes in Kansas · best walleye lakes in Kansas · best saugeye lakes in Kansas
Browse all Kansas fishing maps or see every water on DepthScout. Bathymetry credit: state fisheries survey programs. How we build these maps. Fish here with a sonar unit that logs? Send us your depth data and we'll improve this chart, credited to you. For fishing guidance only, never navigation.