Big Fish Reservoirs

I’ve read a little and watched Tony Dean at different times fish some reservoirs in NE. I know there are some big fish down. Wondering what you guys consider the Meca of NE for big walleyes?? I wonder if the fishing is a lot like on Oahe, style. Fishing points, mudlines etc..

I lost all respect when he started golfing on his show, taped the whole damn round!!!!!!

Kooty,

Nebraska’s has small water compared to the Dakota’s, also generally warmer, muddier, and with less features. That’s why so many of us go North.

Our lakes receive a lot of pressure per acre and most of the states reservoirs have dramatic drawdowns due to irrigation, in the last few years those drawdowns have not resulted in fill-ups at Harlan, McConaughy and others. When lakes are down (late 80’s) then fill-up a bonanza occurs like it did in some in the late 90’s and early 00’s as those populations hit epic proportions.

Almost all Nebraska lakes cycle, they can go from zero to hero and back again in a short number of years. We are very much a locust population of fisherman too, when word of a good bite gets out, lakes are hammered until that bite is killed.

McConaughy is the one of the better fisheries for eyes, not as good for big fish as a few years ago, but still fantastic. Harlan is still good but low, Sherman, Calamus, Lewis & Clark, and Merritt all have their moments.

Typical patterns

April – fish rock-faced dams and adjacent points and flats
May – shallow water trolling, live-bait, pitching
June – You pick it, great fishing
July – deeper water trolling excels (shad and alewive lakes)
August – Trolling, spooning
September – Trolling, spooning

If waters rise into timber and weeds there are some good bobber and jigging lakes (Calamus, Harlan, Merritt come to mind)

But yes, we fish mudlines and points, but there just isn’t the sheer amount of water, distinct bottom features like there are in the Missouri River system in SD.

We also have a lack of winter/lack of shad kill some years that is tough to compete with.

Pretty good fishing out here at times, some very nice fish also. But you have to be flexible on your favorite lakes and play the bite by ear or prognostication to be consistently successful. It is nice to have a bit warmer water, good growth rates, excellent stocking by G & P, no native american netting or control issues.

Our number one killer is lack of water.

Todd

Great reply Todd

BUT you are answering Kooty’s question, he is from SD so you might need to post in crayon for him to read that much

If you could draw some pictures that would sure help.

Ron

Kooty, I see you’re still making pals everywhere you go…

Great post Todd!

On the plus side, there’s some very good LM Bass fishing and Cat fishing in NE.

I should have answered you more directly really.

If you can get to Big Mac the last few weeks or so of May and fish the west end hard hard 1-10′ you should see a few nice fish with a lot of 20″+. In 5-fish tourneys, it typically takes a daily weight of 20# to sniff a win.

Deep trolling in the summer, night fishing along the dam are also good efforts. We happened along a 40# striper with a 9.5# walleye halfway down it’s gullet a few years ago out there – both expired.

here’s a page of tourney results in late May – 20# a day with only 1 fish per guy over 25″ (23″ in 2006??).

http://www.nwtrail.org/05_SUF_Rslts.html

Harlan and Sherman would be my other two choices for a chance at an 8+. A few years ago I caught two 10# and two 8# fish in the same spot jigging at Harlan, the 10# fish were minutes apart. Harlan is the lake where I grew up and is popular for anchor jigging. Literally anchor on a drop off and set your rod so the jig touches bottom on the down drop of the wave. DO NOT hold the rods. Some guys have perfected boards that their rods lay on instead of rod holders. It works extremely well there…. and other lakes. Drives you crazy not to hold a rod, but it’s the ultimate dead rod set up.

I still die laughing every time I read a national article about “open water trolling” being discovered in the last few years. What the heck whre we doing in 1978 at Harlan longlining 1-6 oz bead chain weights ahead of ThinFins, Wiggle Warts, Bayou Boogies, HotNTots, Rapala’s, Doll Fly’s and spinners over 30-50′ of water and catching walleyes?

Someone should have wrote about it, they’d have been famous At least right before they were shot!

Todd

Awesome info Todd!! Don’t listen to these other guys. They are just jealous they don’t have the mad skilz I got.

Actually, me and some friends are looking to make a trip somewhere new next year, but it has to have big fish potential. Must be within 7 hours. We don’t want to go to Canada. We may just head up to Lake Sharpe & Oahe. I’m told Oahe looks so different right now that it’s truely a different river from when I fished it.

Again, thanks for all the info!!!