Hunting

Nearly 18,000 acres of excellent diverse habitat await the hunter at Tuttle Creek Lake. The Corps of Engineers manages about 8,000 acres in the southern half of the project. The Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks manages over 12,000 acres in the upper reaches.

Wildlife management plays an important part in the overall management of natural resources at Tuttle Creek Lake. Programs are devised to insure that the needs of wildlife: food, water, cover, and living space, are available in sufficient quantity and quality to sustain and encourage growth of wildlife populations. Many of these programs focus on enhancing upland game. Non-game species benefit as well.

Wildlife management techniques include planting food plots, seeding millet along exposed shorelines, conducting timber stand improvement, planting trees and shrubs, constructing brush piles, and erecting nesting boxes for bird life.

Mourning doves are attracted to burned-off wheat stubble and sunflower fields in early fall. Deer and turkey hunting is good in the woody draws and river bottoms.

Fox squirrels are abundant in timbered areas. Semi-open grasslands and weed strips along timber stands harbor bobwhite quail and ring-necked pheasants.

Hundreds of acres of developed marshes offer good duck hunting areas. As the season progresses and temperatures drop, hunt the stubble fields and creeks nearby. A 200 acre marsh located seven miles north of Olsburg, and a 40 acre marsh located two miles north of Randolph are good duck hunting areas. Click on the wetlands page for detailed information on Tuttle Creek Lake's marshes.

White-tailed deer abound at Tuttle Creek Lake. In fact, Guns and Gear Magazine named Tuttle Creek Lake as one of the top five white-tailed deer hunting locations in the nation.

Watch boundary lines that separate public hunting lands from private property. Much of Tuttle Creek Lake's public hunting areas are separated from the road by private land. Respect landowners' property; to hunt private property, you must have permission.

Nearly all public land at Tuttle Creek Lake is open to hunting. However, the parks and the entire area below the dam are closed to hunting year-round. Also, a posted 1,500 acre waterfowl refuge in the Shannon Creek-Swede Creek area is closed to hunting (and all other activities) from October 15 to January 15.

Hunters often ask where they can go to sight in a scope or target shoot at Tuttle Creek Lake. Due to concerns about lead shot, noise, litter, and safety, these activities are not permitted anywhere on public property. The Fancy Creek State Park shooting range (open 10 am - 5 pm, May-Sept and 10 am - 4 pm, Oct-Apr on the first and third weekends, and the fourth Thursday of every month) is the only location where this is permitted.

The Corps of Engineers, Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks, and local interest groups offer youth and disabled deer and turkey hunts.

Camping, off-road vehicle and ATV use, horseback riding, and target shooting are prohibited in the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks wildlife area.