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15,547-acre reservoir near Junction City. Kansas's largest lake, a top walleye and wiper reservoir. The lake tops out around 60 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. The rest of this page walks each species through its year, using the map's own scoring.
The drawn water covers 15,656 acres wrapped in 85 miles of bank. That shoreline is heavily fingered (development index 4.8) — bays, points and pockets everywhere, which multiplies the fishable edge. Littoral water — the productive band under ~15 ft — makes up 42% of this chart. Tip to tip the water measures near 13.4 mi with a 5.7-mi widest point. Geary County claims this one. Its nearest charted neighbour, Tuttle Creek Lake, is 20 mi to the northeast.
When the water first warms, largemouth bass slide up into 2 to 10 ft. By summer they slide out to 8 to 20 ft, and by winter most fish are in 15 to 35 ft. If you only fish one area, make it Shallow bay flat: a weed flat around 2 ft that scores prime in spring. In summer the feeding windows fall in early morning and the evening. Keep a texas-rigged 10" worm or a deep-diving crankbait rigged through the warm months.
| Season | Depth | Best window | Start at | Go-to baits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spring | 2 to 10 ft | dawn & dusk | Shallow bay flat (2 ft) | Spinnerbait, Chatterbait |
| Summer | 8 to 20 ft | dawn & dusk | Break off the point (18 ft) | Texas-rigged 10" worm, Deep-diving crankbait |
| Fall | 4 to 15 ft | midday & dawn | Main-lake point (12 ft) | Squarebill crankbait (shad), Spinnerbait |
| Winter | 15 to 35 ft | midday | Break off the point (18 ft) | Blade bait, Jigging spoon |
When the water first warms, channel catfish slide up into 3 to 12 ft. By summer they slide out to 8 to 25 ft, and by winter most fish are in 20 to 40 ft. If you only fish one area, make it Farnum Creek inflow: an inflow / creek mouth around 4 ft that scores prime in spring. In summer the feeding windows fall in after dark and the evening.
| Season | Depth | Best window | Start at | Go-to baits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spring | 3 to 12 ft | dusk | Farnum Creek inflow (4 ft) | |
| Summer | 8 to 25 ft | night & dusk | Old creek channel (6 ft) | |
| Fall | 10 to 30 ft | dusk | Old creek channel (6 ft) | |
| Winter | 20 to 40 ft | midday | Break off the point (18 ft) |
Come spring, look for crappie tight to the bank in 2 to 8 ft. Expect a summer slide to 10 to 25 ft, then a winter hold in 15 to 35 ft. Start at Shallow bay flat. It's a weed flat holding about 2 ft of water and rates prime come spring. Prime time lands in early morning and the evening. A jig trolled/spider-rigged or a small crankbait (trolled) is the honest summer answer here.
| Season | Depth | Best window | Start at | Go-to baits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spring | 2 to 8 ft | midday & dawn | Shallow bay flat (2 ft) | 1/16 oz jig + tube, Curly-tail grub |
| Summer | 10 to 25 ft | dawn & dusk | Break off the point (18 ft) | Jig trolled/spider-rigged, Small crankbait (trolled) |
| Fall | 8 to 20 ft | dawn | Old creek channel (6 ft) | Jig + minnow combo, Small swimbait (1.5-2") |
| Winter | 15 to 35 ft | midday | Break off the point (18 ft) | Tungsten jig + soft plastic, Tiny jigging spoon |
When the water first warms, bluegill slide up into 1 to 6 ft. Summer is a 4 to 15 ft game here, winter a 10 to 25 ft one. Start at Shallow bay flat. It's a weed flat holding about 2 ft of water and rates prime come spring. The feeding windows run early morning and the evening. Keep a small sponge spider (fly) or a micro tube jig rigged through the warm months.
| Season | Depth | Best window | Start at | Go-to baits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spring | 1 to 6 ft | midday & dusk | Shallow bay flat (2 ft) | 1/32 oz jig + micro plastic, Tiny popper (evenings) |
| Summer | 4 to 15 ft | dawn & dusk | Weed flat (4 ft) | Small sponge spider (fly), Micro tube jig |
| Fall | 6 to 18 ft | midday | Break off the point (18 ft) | Micro jig + waxworm, Small spoon tipped |
| Winter | 10 to 25 ft | midday | Break off the point (18 ft) | Tungsten ice jig + plastic, Tiny spoon |
Spring puts walleye in skinny water — 4 to 15 ft is the zone. As the season builds they drop to 15 to 35 ft, wintering in 20 to 40 ft. Spring walleye concentrate at Republican River inflow, a prime-rated inflow / creek mouth around 15 ft. Warm-month bites cluster around the evening and early morning. A crawler harness on bottom bouncer or a deep crankbait (trolled) covers the summer program.
| Season | Depth | Best window | Start at | Go-to baits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spring | 4 to 15 ft | dusk & dawn | Republican River inflow (15 ft) | 1/8 oz jig + minnow, Hair jig |
| Summer | 15 to 35 ft | dusk & dawn | Break off the point (18 ft) | Crawler harness on bottom bouncer, Deep crankbait (trolled) |
| Fall | 12 to 40 ft | dusk & night | Break off the point (18 ft) | Jigging rap, Jig + big minnow |
| Winter | 20 to 40 ft | dusk & dawn | Break off the point (18 ft) | Jigging spoon + minnow head, Rattle bait |
In spring, white bass run shallow here, mostly 2 to 12 ft. Midsummer fish sit out in 8 to 25 ft before dropping to 15 to 40 ft for winter. Spring white bass concentrate at Farnum Creek inflow, a prime-rated inflow / creek mouth around 4 ft. Fish it in early morning and the evening and you'll meet the bite. You won't need more than a slab spoon or a small topwater (schooling fish) most summer days.
| Season | Depth | Best window | Start at | Go-to baits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spring | 2 to 12 ft | dawn & dusk | Farnum Creek inflow (4 ft) | Curly-tail jig (white), Small lipless crank |
| Summer | 8 to 25 ft | dawn & dusk | Main-lake point (12 ft) | Slab spoon, Small topwater (schooling fish) |
| Fall | 6 to 25 ft | dawn & dusk | Main-lake point (12 ft) | Jigging spoon, Blade bait |
| Winter | 15 to 40 ft | midday | Old creek channel (6 ft) | Jigging spoon (deep), Blade bait |
Milford Lake also holds white bass & hybrids (10 to 30 ft in summer), blue catfish (10 to 40 ft in summer), flathead catfish (8 to 30 ft in summer). Pick any of them on the map above for rated spots and bait picks.
20 pieces of structure are mapped here — Deep basin, around 60 ft, is the deepest of them.
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 Milford Lake specifically, so confirm the current rules before you fish.
Check the official Kansas fishing regulations →
Milford Lake is about 60 ft (18 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, white bass, white bass & hybrids, blue catfish, flathead catfish on Milford Lake.
Shallow bay flat is the top-rated area: a weed flat in about 2 ft of water that rates prime for largemouth bass in spring. Every other rated spot, per species and season, is on the map above.
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 Milford 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.
Tuttle Creek Lake 20 mi · Herington Reservoir 35 mi · Pottawatomie County State Fishing Lake No. 1 36 mi · Council Grove Lake 39 mi · Alma City Lake 39 mi · Council Grove City Lake 39 mi · Wabaunsee County Lake 46 mi · Smoky Hill River 49 mi · Marion Lake 52 mi · Centralia Lake 57 mi · Chase County State Fishing Lake 58 mi · Cottonwood River 61 mi
See how Milford Lake stacks up: best largemouth bass lakes in Kansas · best walleye lakes in Kansas · best white bass lakes in Kansas · best crappie 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.