Buzz, I live less than 10 miles from Bill Hill lake. Have fished that lake for 10 years now, after moving from Springfield, Mo. I can count on one hand how many crappie I've caught from Bill Hill. Only one went 9" in length. If this is one of the top 5 crappie lake in Kansas, than Kansas has the poorest crappie lakes in the good old United States.
I go to Bill Hill to bass fish, and they have some lunkers there. My largest bass has been 10.9 pounds, and have seven mounted over 8 lbs from there.
Being an old Missouri lad, and know first hand about crappie fishing, I spend my money and time by traveling to Stockton Lake, Missouri. There I can load the boat (limit 60 crappie for three days of fishing) in a three days stay.
My fishing partner here in Cherryville, Ks use to brag about catching crappie in Bill Hill..because he could catch 50 in one days, and they averaged about 5-6 inches. Now he won't fish for crappie there, he wants to go with me to Stockton, and he pays all the gas, motel, and eats. He now brags about a different lake...