See every public fishing venue in Kansas on the map, with boat ramps, camping, parking and full rules for each one.
Kansas River is a public river in Shawnee County, Pottawatomie County, Douglas County, Riley County, Wabaunsee County and Wyandotte County, Kansas, managed by State of Kansas (public / navigable water). You can fish it on a Kansas fishing licence; bank access is at bridge crossings, KDWP access points and public parks. Kansas riverbeds are private property up to the ordinary high-water mark except on a few federally-declared-navigable reaches, so wading or bank fishing away from a public access point needs the landowner's permission. Public access confirmed via marquee water.
The Kansas River ('the Kaw') — from its start at Junction City (Republican + Smoky Hill rivers) to the Missouri River at Kansas City. Channel, flathead and blue catfish, walleye below the low dams, white bass runs in spring, freshwater drum and carp. A popular float and jug-line river.
It runs roughly 183 miles through the Northeast Kansas region. Anglers here mostly fish for channel catfish, flathead catfish, blue catfish, walleye; white bass, freshwater drum, common carp are also on record. Live flow and gauge height come from the Kansas R At Lawrence, Ks USGS station shown below. The nearest other mapped waters on PiscaMaps are Shunganunga Creek and Lake Shawnee.
Species from PiscaMaps water-type profiles, KDWP trout designations and hand research.
Night fishing: No statewide night-fishing closure in Kansas. Snagging, gigging, bowfishing and trotlines/limblines for carp, gar, buffalo and catfish are legal on most waters with their own gear-tagging rules; some state fishing lakes and city parks post gate hours after dark.
Boats: The big federal reservoirs (Milford, Tuttle Creek, Wilson, Perry, Clinton, Cheney, El Dorado, and the rest) have no horsepower limit on the main body; many KDWP State Fishing Lakes and some coves are posted no-wake or trolling-motor-only. Kansas requires boater education for operators born after 1 Jan 1989.
Bank & bivvy camping: Camp at the Corps/Reclamation campgrounds ringing every federal reservoir (Milford, Tuttle Creek, Wilson, Perry, Clinton, Cheney, and the rest all have extensive public campgrounds) and at Kansas state parks, most of which sit on a reservoir shoreline. Vehicle permits are required at state parks and most Corps recreation areas separate from the fishing licence.
Tackle: Statewide largemouth/smallmouth/spotted bass limit is usually 5 in combination (15-inch minimum on many reservoirs); walleye/saugeye/sauger 5 in combination (some waters have a slot or minimum length); wiper/white bass generous; channel/blue/flathead catfish generous with a protected slot on some trophy-catfish lakes; crappie 50 combined on most water. Check the current KDWP fishing regulations summary for this water.
Boat ramps: 16 mapped — Ogden, Kaw Point, Boat ramp, Lawrence Eighth Street Boat Ramp, Boat ramp, Perry-Lecompton Rising Sun River Access and others nearby.
Camping: 13 sites mapped nearby — McDonald, Boone, Cody, Carson, Seaton, Beard and others.
Source: OpenStreetMap contributors.
Loading live flow & gauge height…
Live from USGS gauge 06891080 — Kansas R At Lawrence, Ks. Full gauge data →
Anyone 16 or older needs a Kansas fishing licence — the resident annual is about $29.50, the non-resident annual about $97.50, with non-resident 1-day (~$14.50) and 5-day licences also sold. A separate trout permit (~$14.50) is required in addition to the fishing licence to keep trout at KDWP's winter community-lake trout program waters. Kansas residents 75 and older need no licence, and anyone under 16 fishes free. Buy from KDWP at ksoutdoors.com. A Kansas fishing licence covers this river where it is public. Kansas riverbeds are private property up to the ordinary high-water mark except on a few federally-declared-navigable reaches (the Missouri, and short stretches of the lower Kansas and Arkansas) — float through freely, but bank/wading access away from a bridge, KDWP site or public park needs landowner permission.
Every water carries species, bank & boat access, current regulations and live water conditions — and members get Swim Mapper, Catch Logger and Trip Planner. It's the only US map with a dedicated carp-water layer.
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