Whats up in Wichita KS?

[xm sean]

The wife seems to think they might be relocating work around here to KS. My question is.... what is in like in that area? what kinda weather to expect? what is the bass fishing in that area like? what is the tornado situation like? my son learned about they recently and is scared to death of them. we tell him over and over that we do not get them where we are from but he thinks everytime it is windy there will be one. just trying to get a feel for what to expect if this does happen and we decide to follow the company. thanks for any info from you guys and gals.

[TimS]

I grew up just north of Wichita and I think it's a decent town for its size. Plenty of suburbs to live in that are an easy commute and have some nice communities/schools. Bass fishing leaves a bit to be desired, El Dorad is close and decent, otherwise you will be travelling to get to anywhere that is decent size. Not sure what your used to but I don't see any reason why you wouldn't like the area. Tornados are a fact of life, but the odds are in your favor...

[GClark519]

I have lived in Wichita for the last 17 years. Grew up in westen Kansas and Wichita in not a bad area at all. The smaller towns around Wichita are nice (Derby, Andover, Augusta, Mulvane, Rose Hill). The fishing is a bit of a challenge around here. We have Eldorado which is a good smallmouth lake and some smaller lakes that are good as well all are around an hour drive from the city. If you want the bigger lakes you have to travel. Big Hill lake and Bone Creek are a two hour drive and going into Missouri or Oklahoma is what we do the most. If you have any questions let me know and if you move to town look me up. Greg

[ReelDoc]

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by xm sean &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">The wife seems to think they might be relocating work around here to KS. My question is.... what is in like in that area? what kinda weather to expect? what is the bass fishing in that area like? what is the tornado situation like? my son learned about they recently and is scared to death of them. we tell him over and over that we do not get them where we are from but he thinks everytime it is windy there will be one. just trying to get a feel for what to expect if this does happen and we decide to follow the company. thanks for any info from you guys and gals.

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I've lived in Wichita for the last 31 years. We have about 350,000 people in the "metro area" -- Wichita and the surrounding bedroom communities. It's very easy to get around - you can go from any place in town to any other place in 30 minutes or less. It's been a very decent place to raise kids - both of ours were born, raised, and educated here. Although they are grown, both still live here. There are tons of churches of every flavor, and more restaurants than you could visit in a couple of lifetimes. There are also numerous suburbs and bedroom communities within 30 miles of Wichita that offer smaller city amenities if that's your preference. The cost of housing is quite reasonalbe, but be prepared for the Kansas taxes. Let's just say Kansans may have been born free, but we are taxed to death!

Weather - Cold winters with varying amounts of snow and ice. We've had 50% more snow this year than normal. Hot dry summers - temp can get to 100°+ in July & August.

Wind - The wind blows 5 mph or more 90-95% of the time here. According to NOAA's list of the 25 windiest cities in the US, Wichita is tied for 19th place with an average wind speed of 12.2 mph. The TV weather guessers here use the following terms to forecast the daily wind: CALM -- less than 10 mph sustained winds; BREEZY -- 10-20 mph sustained winds; WINDY -- 20+ mph sustained winds. FYI - I've lived in Kansas for over 75% of my life, but the unrelenting Kansas wind is one of the MAJOR reasons I will soon be retiring in Alabama!!!

Tornados - yup, they do happen here because we are in Tornado Alley. We had a big one (F-5) go through Andover (far eastern suburb) in 1990 and it did millions of dollars in damages. One important thing to consider - almost all of the houses here have basements, so you would have shelter in case one came your way. We've actually taken shelter in our basement a total of about 5 times in the 26 years we've lived in our home.

Bass Fishing -- 1) El Dorado Lake is about 8,000 acres and is located 30 miles east of Wichita. It's a relatively shallow, lowland reservoir, as are the majority of KS lakes. It was known as "The Dead Sea" for many years. It became infested with zebra mussels about 10 years ago. The mussels have really cleared the water up and this has helped the bass fishing some. It's definitely NOT a trophy fishery though.

2) Big Hill Lake, which about 120 miles east, is a small (1,240 acres) ozark style lake - clear with rocky terrain. Pretty good fishing there, but it does fish pretty small.

3) Beyond that, there is Grand Lake in NE Oklahoma - about 4 hours away -- and numerous lakes in Missouri that have good bass populations: Stockton - 4 1/2 hours; Pomme de Terre - 4 1/2 hours; Lake of the Ozarks - 5 hours; Table Rock - 5 1/2 hours.

Some of the northern Kansas guys can fill you in on the lakes up there as I seldom fish them.

Hope this helps. BTW - What industry does your wife work in?

[Jiggernaut]

Nice write up Doc. You're definitely telling it like it is!

If you don't like taxes and don't like wind then Kansas might not be the place for ya. If you want a good place to raise a family and live in an area that has a lot of great people, and a few good fishing holes, then you should be relatively happy.

[xm sean]

when someone asks for info , you guys do not fool around! that is to stink to have to drive that far for some "good" fishing . where i am now we have the upper chesapeake bay 20 mins away where 4,5, and 6lb fish are not uncommon. and down south 2 hrs is the potomac river with some large fish as well.

going to have to do what i have to if it comes to that. the tornados are a reality but rare based on that you only went for saftey 5 times in 26 years?

[06champ198]

Lived in Kansas my whole life and have only seen one tornado. The odds are in your favor.

[R.D.]

Damn Doc...............You make me wanna move to Witchita

[xm sean]

whats up with all of the 2 car garges and a single car garage next to it? while looking at homes i saw alot of theses.

[Jiggernaut]

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by xm sean &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">when someone asks for info , you guys do not fool around! that is to stink to have to drive that far for some "good" fishing . where i am now we have the upper chesapeake bay 20 mins away where 4,5, and 6lb fish are not uncommon. and down south 2 hrs is the potomac river with some large fish as well.

going to have to do what i have to if it comes to that. the tornados are a reality but rare based on that you only went for saftey 5 times in 26 years?

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I think the fishing picture that was painted was maybe a little overly bleak. I have had many days on the water catching 50+ bass and have been able to catch at least one toad or two every year. We have been in a slump the last few years due to drought, but precip the last year and hopefully more of the same will help our reservoirs reload. Back in the 90's, we had some of the best bass fishing to be found anywhere in the reservoirs in Western KS. If you are thinking long term, such as 5 years or more, there's a good chance the fishing will improve. KDWP has started some efforts to improve our bass fisheries as well.

[caseysmith14]

http://www.kdwp.state.ks.us/ne...ion_4


Theres a list of just about all the public fishing places in the Wichita "region". I'd sure think some of those state lakes could offer up some good fishing.

[bjf_ksu]

Definitely right, Casey. I grew up in wichita, and there are more places to fish than just the "big" water like el dorado and such. Lots of smaller state lakes in the area, and one thing that i miss about wichita now is that there are quite a few ponds in the city limits that offer great bass fishing as long as you don't mind fishing from the bank.

[Tagg007]

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by xm sean &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">whats up with all of the 2 car garges and a single car garage next to it? while looking at homes i saw alot of theses.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Three car garage. Its so your boat will have a nice safe warm place to stay Oh they forgot to tell you we have some of the best white tail hunting in the world. As for the lakes, we have a house on Table Rock (shell knob area) we go about every other weekend and it takes us about 4.5 hours door-to-door.

[Champion in KS]

Personallly LOVE it here. I was born and raised here (might be part of it) and lived in Colorado for 12 years. Moved back in 2003 - man can you get a lot of house for your money! Great city with good road infastructure and about any store or restaurant you want.

I agree with the bleek painting of our fishing. There are many, many great smaller impoundments available to fish when I say smaller I am saying 150 to 500 surface acres. These are city lakes and county lakes and we have many within an hour to an hour in a half that are quite good.

If you willing to layout a little cash there are various private waters you can pay yearly lease fee's on that are close (or in town). Also -several housing communities that are on old pits and lakes that allow you to build docks and use your boat for recreation on. Very cool IMO. These also have some fine fishing to offer.

For bigger water: Grand Lake in OK - 3:15 door to door/ Big Hill and Bone Creek are also pretty good (times above I think).

Let us know if youre moving in! We will set you on the right path!

Happy Releasing!

[War Eagle1]

very nice Doc

[Bigbassbo]

Ks is a sportsmen's paradise, consider the following, upland bird hunting(one of the best in the nation),waterfowl hunting(very notable) trapping(great place for a diverse bag of the basics), whitetail(BEST in the nation), catfish(consider that the world record flathead is from ks), Bass(very good fishing if you know your area. Seen many days with a stringer of 5 bass over 6 on private waters)
Ks is an awesome place to live. Youve just got to be weather tolerable