Pratt ? Many Kansas hunters and anglers are familiar with the Wildlife and Parks’ public access to private land programs that have opened many acres of private land and water to the public.

While hunters enjoy the highly-successful Walk-In Hunting Area program, anglers use the Fishing Impoundments and Stream Habitats program in which ponds, watershed lakes, streams and stream access sites are leased from private landowners for public fishing March 1 through Oct. 31.

This year, drought has affected many FISH waters in Kansas, especially in the northern parts of the state. Although snow and rain have visited other parts of the state, conditions still remain dry in the north and west.

From Salina west, there are some areas where the FISH waters may not provide much quality fishing early in the season. This may continue or worsen if the region does not receive spring or early summer rainfall.