i have a friend that has a cabin on tuttle and he wants me to go up there but i dont know a thing about that piece of water. HELP !! i wont be goin there till bout the middle of summer but would really appreciate a tip or three. thanks
JJ,tuttle is a good lake for cats.its prob the 2nd largest lake in ks,deep in parts and easy to get lost on at night.it was one of my reasons behind getting a gps unit.alot of nice fish get caught on the north end around randolph.
I like to fish the tubes at Tuttle Creek. There are two tubes that form the outlet and the west one is cranked shut as far as they can shut it most of the time. The east tube is opened to the flow rate they are targeting for the Big Blue to resume its free flow. I've been told the west tube can't be shut down completely so it leaks a little. Compared to the main stream its hardly measurable. So, leading off the concrete dividing wall between the main flow and the eddy, a current seam is there most of the time. I play that edge with a bobber and bait to try to find the cats actively feeding. Usually good for an eater or two even on a relatively slow day. Don't your buddy fish the lake, Jason? Or is it just enough that his property value is higher because of the pretty view?
my friend's name is Jeff & he's not a fisherman so to speak. his grandad built the first cabin his self then someone build next to him. he later moved to the 2nd cabin and sold the one he built. Jeff's uncle now owns the 1st cabin so its purdy much a family deal up there. the cabin is dang near right on the water. i can throw a rock from the cabin & hit water. by the way, i cant throw like i ustacould so its close lol. its bout halfway up the lake from the dam on the northeast side. there are trails from the cabin down to a small cove w/ a boat ramp and some docks. he always wants me to come up there but i dont know the lake. i've spent 1 week a year at tuttle since 2000 but that was for the country stampede so i never made it to the lake. those who know what the stampede is will understand why. so, since im w/ the BOC i think i can make up time w/ y'all help. thank you
I have heard from reliable sources that Tuttle Creek is really underestimated as a place to hook up with cats of decent size. Ponder this as you pour over a good map that is recent and realize you don't have to go to an obvious place to do well. Look for spots on that map with a quick transition in depth from the shoreline and set up to bank fish. Doesn't have to be the old main river channel or up north near the bridge to be good. Look real close at the map at the area where your buddy has his diggings. I'm sure you'll find a couple of spots worth investigating. Or drift a little in one of the creek arms there on the east side if the wind isn't too harsh. Doesn't have to be at night either. Early mornings are good from 4am to 8am. Heck, the afternoons aren't bad if it's a little cloudy. Good luck!!
JJ,i have a laminated topo map of tuttle,let me know if ya wanna check it out or borrow it.its pretty accurate as far as the channels,humps,bumps and depressions go.without a gps you kinda have to use the shoreline for placement but it works,just takes a lil longer to find stuff.when do you plan on going?ill prob be there a couple times in july
i didnt set a date. its mostly whenever i decide to. he's just wantin to get some people up there & hang out but when im that close to water im gonna be fishin
Tuttle is one of my favorite lakes to fish the average weight of channel cat are tops in the state. Every year I hear of 20+ pound fish that come out of the lake and about five years ago it was stocked with blues and we caught some up in the 8 pound range last summer at a tournament. The lake can get rough but you don't have to worry about fishing presure with Milford so close. I would fish it more if it wasn't so far away and if I'm going to drive that far I'm going after bigger blues at Milford but if you got a place to crash I would take full advantage of the situation. Good luck.
