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Fishing Council Grove Lake: what the data says
2,835-acre reservoir near Council Grove. Flint Hills Corps lake with a solid walleye/saugeye fishery. 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. What follows comes from the same scoring engine that paints the spots above.
Largemouth Bass fishing at Council Grove Lake
In spring, largemouth bass run shallow here, mostly 2 to 10 ft. Summer pushes them deeper, 8 to 20 ft, and winter fish settle into 15 to 35 ft. Shallow bay flat is the standout, a weed flat at roughly 8 ft, rated prime for spring largemouth bass. 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 | Go-to baits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spring | 2 to 10 ft | dawn & dusk | Spinnerbait, Chatterbait |
| Summer | 8 to 20 ft | dawn & dusk | Texas-rigged 10" worm, Deep-diving crankbait |
| Fall | 4 to 15 ft | midday & dawn | Squarebill crankbait (shad), Spinnerbait |
| Winter | 15 to 35 ft | midday | Blade bait, Jigging spoon |
Channel Catfish fishing at Council Grove Lake
Spring channel catfish on Council Grove Lake hold shallow, usually 3 to 12 ft. They move out to 8 to 25 ft in summer and finish the year down in 20 to 40 ft. Neosho River inflow is the standout, a inflow / creek mouth at roughly 4 ft, rated prime for spring channel catfish. Best bite is after dark and the evening.
| Season | Depth | Best window | Go-to baits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spring | 3 to 12 ft | dusk | |
| Summer | 8 to 25 ft | night & dusk | |
| Fall | 10 to 30 ft | dusk | |
| Winter | 20 to 40 ft | midday |
Crappie fishing at Council Grove Lake
In spring, crappie run shallow here, mostly 2 to 8 ft. By summer they slide out to 10 to 25 ft, and by winter most fish are in 15 to 35 ft. The spot to know is Old creek channel, a creek channel in about 12 ft of water that rates prime for crappie in fall. Best bite is early morning and the evening. A jig trolled/spider-rigged or a small crankbait (trolled) covers the summer program.
| Season | Depth | Best window | Go-to baits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spring | 2 to 8 ft | midday & dawn | 1/16 oz jig + tube, Curly-tail grub |
| Summer | 10 to 25 ft | dawn & dusk | Jig trolled/spider-rigged, Small crankbait (trolled) |
| Fall | 8 to 20 ft | dawn | Jig + minnow combo, Small swimbait (1.5-2") |
| Winter | 15 to 35 ft | midday | Tungsten jig + soft plastic, Tiny jigging spoon |
Bluegill fishing at Council Grove Lake
In spring, bluegill run shallow here, mostly 1 to 6 ft. Summer pushes them deeper, 4 to 15 ft, and winter fish settle into 10 to 25 ft. Weed flat is the standout, a weed flat at roughly 2 ft, rated prime for spring bluegill. Best bite is early morning and the evening. Tie on a small sponge spider (fly) or a micro tube jig and you're in the game.
| Season | Depth | Best window | Go-to baits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spring | 1 to 6 ft | midday & dusk | 1/32 oz jig + micro plastic, Tiny popper (evenings) |
| Summer | 4 to 15 ft | dawn & dusk | Small sponge spider (fly), Micro tube jig |
| Fall | 6 to 18 ft | midday | Micro jig + waxworm, Small spoon tipped |
| Winter | 10 to 25 ft | midday | Tungsten ice jig + plastic, Tiny spoon |
Walleye fishing at Council Grove Lake
Start shallow in spring: walleye sit in 4 to 15 ft that time of year. They move out to 15 to 35 ft in summer and finish the year down in 20 to 40 ft. Neosho River inflow is the standout, a inflow / creek mouth at roughly 4 ft, rated prime for spring walleye. In summer the feeding windows fall in the evening and early morning. Summer baits: a crawler harness on bottom bouncer or a deep crankbait (trolled) gets it done.
| Season | Depth | Best window | Go-to baits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spring | 4 to 15 ft | dusk & dawn | 1/8 oz jig + minnow, Hair jig |
| Summer | 15 to 35 ft | dusk & dawn | Crawler harness on bottom bouncer, Deep crankbait (trolled) |
| Fall | 12 to 40 ft | dusk & night | Jigging rap, Jig + big minnow |
| Winter | 20 to 40 ft | dusk & dawn | Jigging spoon + minnow head, Rattle bait |
Saugeye fishing at Council Grove Lake
In spring, saugeye run shallow here, mostly 3 to 12 ft. By summer they slide out to 8 to 22 ft, and by winter most fish are in 12 to 30 ft. The spot to know is Neosho River inflow, a inflow / creek mouth in about 4 ft of water that rates prime for saugeye in spring. Best bite is the evening and early morning. A crawler harness (shallow) or a jig + crawler covers the summer program.
| Season | Depth | Best window | Go-to baits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spring | 3 to 12 ft | dusk & dawn | 1/8 oz jig + twister tail, Blade bait |
| Summer | 8 to 22 ft | dusk & dawn | Crawler harness (shallow), Jig + crawler |
| Fall | 8 to 28 ft | dusk & dawn | Blade bait, Jigging rap |
| Winter | 12 to 30 ft | dusk & dawn | Jigging spoon + minnow head, Blade bait |
Notable structure
- Deep basin: deep basin, around 35 ft
- Break off the point: drop-off, around 25 ft
- Shallow feeding flat: feeding flat, around 19 ft
- Old creek channel: creek channel, around 12 ft
- Back-bay flat: weed flat, around 11 ft
- Secondary point: point, around 9 ft
- Shallow feeding flat: feeding flat, around 9 ft
- Shallow bay flat: weed flat, around 8 ft
- Shoreline point: point, around 5 ft
- Weed flat: weed flat, around 5 ft
- Main-lake point: point, around 4 ft
- Neosho River inflow: inflow / creek mouth, around 4 ft
- Gravel shoal: gravel shoal, around 3 ft
- Munkers Creek inflow: inflow / creek mouth, around 2 ft
Common questions
How deep is Council Grove Lake?
Council Grove Lake is about 40 ft at its deepest point. The depth chart here comes from real state fisheries GPS surveys, so the contours reflect measured depths.
What fish are in Council Grove Lake?
Anglers target largemouth bass, walleye, saugeye, crappie, bluegill, channel catfish on Council Grove Lake.
Where is the best fishing spot on Council Grove Lake?
Shallow bay flat is the top-rated area: a weed flat in about 8 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.
When is the best time to fish Council Grove Lake?
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.
Nearby waters
Council Grove City Lake · Cottonwood River · Herington Reservoir · Milford Lake · Tuttle Creek Lake · Marion Lake
See how Council Grove Lake stacks up: best largemouth bass lakes in Kansas · best walleye lakes in Kansas · best saugeye lakes in Kansas · best crappie lakes in Kansas
Browse all Kansas fishing maps or every water on DepthScout. Bathymetry credit: state fisheries survey programs. How we build these maps. For fishing guidance only, never navigation.