It’s been a weird year here in Nebraska, to say the very least. Storms have been raging, lots of high water everywhere you look, and the Tri County canal is no different. The water is really pouring through as fast as they can make it go, which I believe is somewhat adversely affecting the fishing.
Last year at this time we were doing well on saugers. It’s been a different story this year. This weekend I gave it another try and within the first 5 minutes I had lost a very nice sauger, possibly MA size. He came unhooked at the boat, so that was a bit of a disappointment. A few crappies and other various fish later, my rod bent over and stripped line pretty well. I could tell it was a good fish, and really thought there for a while that I had a flathead. But when I dipped the net in the water and scooped up the biggest walleye I’ve ever caught, I was very happy! She went right at 8lbs, and was 28 3/4" long. After a few pictures, she was released so hopefully I’ll catch her again when she’s 30".
Towards evening, my good friend and fellow IDOer Chad Mayer met me with his son Jacob, and we relocated to another area to try for more walleyes. While we didn’t come across any of those, we did run into some wipers. The first fish hit Jacob’s line and took him right into a tree, not a whole lot he could do. After a few adjustments, we were able to start getting them in, including this nice fish.
My first fish of the night was this nice MA fish that went just over 24". It had me so far out, I was sure it was going to be caught in another tree. Somehow, I wrestled it in, and am very glad I was able to. We were too busy netting fish, taking care of the fish, or fighting fish for me to be completely sure of how many were caught. What a problem to have!
The only thing I am sure of is that Jacob and Chad out fished me with numbers, and I was happy to be the net man. What a great day followed by a great night. Hopefully the crazy weather will hold out so we can do it again soon. Thanks for coming out, Chad and Jacob!
Congrats on a toad of a walleye
Them wipers look like a hoot to get into also
Awesome fish!! Nice to see you are still getting the lines wet.
Never did go out the weekend I called you. Probably for the best, went down to the lake with some friends and had a great time.
Way to go Brian!!! Nice walleye and wipers!!! Way to get the young one out
Thanks guys! Never made it out, Tab? How could that possibly be for the best?
Glad you made it out and had a good time though, nothing ever wrong with that. I did that over the weekend for the 4th at Harlan, and actually caught a few walleyes, too, including a nice 18 1/2″ on the dam at night. Trolling is catching a few fish down there, but others are being caught using the “Harlan fishing method”, as I’ve heard it called before. 
Think I’ll try to make it back out this Saturday, so we’ll see what happens. Better than sitting at home in the a/c if you ask me!
Nice fish
Made it out to the HUSKER state this last week, Sherman Lake.
Nephew caught a 24″ wally, 3 others came in but short. Also a nice white bass….I thought it was a tough bite there on Sherman, lots of hot & unstable weather…lindy rigs and minnow took all of the fish. One day it would be the East side ‘points’, the next day the West side deep ‘fingers’….tough for us to figure out….
Glad you made it down this way! Sherman can be a great lake, but it can also be puzzling at times. Nothing wrong with a 24 incher, that’s a nice fish anywhere. No flatties? You never know when they’re going to strike up there- just ask Garver.
Bret took the words out of my mouth! Sorry about that walleye though.
Good report, Brian!