NGPC's Fishing Outlook for July

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NGPC news release, 6/27/08:



Panhandle

Smith Lake – Excellent largemouth bass fishing on various lures, some bass may be eligible for Master Angler awards. Anglers can expect to take bluegill averaging about 8 inches on bobbers and worms, flies, small spinners, Beetle Spins. Don’t put off fishing Smith Lake, as weed growth usually hampers fishing after the second week in July.

Box Butte Reservoir – Look for good largemouth bass fishing on lures cast near weedlines; northern pike to about 22 inches on small crankbaits fished along the weedlines; some walleye in the 1.5- to 2.5-pound range; bluegill averaging 7-8 inches on nightcrawlers, leeches, jigs, and flies; channel catfish on usual catfish baits.

Carter P. Johnson Lake – Good largemouth bass fishing on crankbaits, plastic worms; channel catfish on a variety of baits from stink baits to nightcrawlers and cut bait. Rainbow trout on nightcrawlers, small spinners, flies.

Lake Minatare – There should be good fishing for legal-size walleye on trolled nightcrawlers and Lindy rigs baited with nightcrawlers; channel catfish on usual catfish baits, catfishing generally improves in July and August with the irrigation draw-downs.

Grabel Ponds – Try the four ponds for trout in the 10-inch range on nightcrawlers and spinners; also largemouth bass, bluegill, rock bass and channel catfish available.

Gilbert-Baker Pond – Rainbow trout in 10-inch range on nightcrawlers and spinners.

Bridgeport Northwest Lake – Rainbow trout in 10-inch range on nightcrawlers and spinners.

Whitney Lake – The fishing for channel catfish should be good in July on minnows, leeches and nightcrawlers; good opportunities for walleye on minnows and nightcrawlers; and crappie should be hitting minnows and jigs.

North-central

Merritt Reservoir – Anglers using slip bobbers and leeches or nightcrawlers have had good success catching walleye during June and that action should continue into July. Most fish have been in the 18- to 20-inch range. Currently some fishermen are having success catching largemouth bass and northern pike on spinner baits fished in and near weedbeds and this success should continue into summer in the Boardman Arm of the lake, as should the good success on crappie near the smartweed beds and trees in all three arms.

Valentine National Wildlife Refuge – Northern pike fishing has been good at Clear and Dewey lakes and there is good largemouth bass fishing at almost every lake. Road work on the entrance to Pelican Lake may deter some anglers, and the shallow productive lakes will soon become a challenge to fish due to the thick growth of aquatic vegetation.

Big Alkali Lake – Has been excellent for channel catfish and black crappie.

Calamus Reservoir – Walleye fishing has been good during June and should continue into July. Anglers have been catching 15- to 20-inch walleye by drifting or slow-trolling leeches and nightcrawlers. There is a good year class of 13- to 14-inch wipers and good numbers of 14- to 17-inch white bass in the lake. On the weekends the best white bass action can be found in the west half of the lake past the Nunda Shoal boat ramp, and during the rest of the week when water-sports activity has declined, anglers often have success fishing off points and near the dam. Anglers should throw flashy lures for both species when they are feeding on or near the surface or jig slabs or spoons when the fish are deeper. The lake should also provide good catfishing in the evenings.

Swan Lake – The lake was renovated in 2006. Anglers should find yellow perch over 10 inches and bluegill over 7 inches. There are also good numbers of largemouth bass, however most of them are smaller than the 15-inch minimum size limit.

Cottonwood-Steverson Lake – Anglers should be able to find hungry walleye from 15 to 20 inches. Quality crappies were sampled there in May.

Trout Streams – Due to recent heavy rains, most streams are currently high and muddy, but as conditions improve the Snake River, Long Pine, Schlagel and Plum creeks should again offer good trout fishing. There are public access points on each, but permission is required to fish on the portions that are on private land.

South-central

Expect channel and flathead catfishing to improve in July as the water continues to get warmer.

Harlan County Reservoir – Good white bass fishing, with trollers catching quality fish in 15-20 feet of water; channel catfish caught in the upper end of the lake and the Republican River. Walleye and crappie fishing has been sporadic. The lake was two feet above conservation pool by late June.

Johnson Lake – Good walleye fishing, with some taken off the dam, the island, and at the inlet. Some white bass also taken. Anglers are catching catfish in the canal system above Johnson, including Gallagher Canyon Reservoir.

Elwood Reservoir – Good walleye and wiper fishing as 18 feet of water has been delivered in the last month. Access has improved, and the main boat ramp currently is open.

Sherman Reservoir – Good fishing for crappie and walleye. The upper end of the lake has been especially good for walleye, while the coves are good for crappie. Nighttime anglers have been catching white bass and walleye.
Platte River – Catfishing is picking up in the river near Grand Island.

Interstate 80 lakes – Many of the area lakes have excellent largemouth bass fishing, including Darr WMA, Willow Island WMA, Sandy Channel No. 8, and Bufflehead WMA. Bluegill anglers should try their luck at Fort Kearny No. 7 and Dogwood WMA East. Mormon Island SRA middle lake and East Gothenburg WMA were renovated two years ago and should start to produce good fishing for panfish and largemouth bass.

City lakes – Kearney anglers should try Yanney Park and Cottonmill Lake for bluegill. Ravenna Lake should produce good fishing for bluegill and largemouth bass. Fish Ansley City Lake for bluegill and crappie and Bethphage Pond near Axtell for bluegill.

Southwest

Lake McConaughy – On June 23, the surface temperature at the Kingsley Dam was 62 degrees. The lake’s elevation was 3,226.3, which is 6.3 feet higher than the elevation last year on that date and 38.7 feet lower than full capacity. Inflows were 528 cfs while outflows were 670 cfs. Fishing success for white bass was good throughout the lake. Trolled crankbaits and jigs were the best baits for white bass. Walleye fishing was good in the west end of the lake. Most walleye were being caught on Lindy rigs, spinner-worm harnesses, or crankbaits. Wiper fishing was good in Martin Bay in the evenings using crankbaits or top-water lures. Success for catfish was excellent using nightcrawlers or leeches around submerged trees. Boats may be launched from Martin Bay, Divers Bay, North shore, Lemoyne, and Lake View.

Lake Ogallala – On June 23, the surface temperature was 66 degrees. Success on catfish was good at the spillway using nightcrawlers or bait shrimp. Most fish were in the 5- to 15-pound range, and some 20-pounders were taken. Anglers were catching a few trout and perch on nightcrawlers. The best trout fishing was in the lake’s north basin.

Sutherland Reservoir – There has been decent fishing at the inlet for a variety of species, including white bass and wipers, which have been taking Doll Flies and flashy lures. Anglers have also had good success taking eating-size channel catfish on shrimp, prepared baits and nightcrawlers from the west end of the lake.

Sutherland Supply Canal – Anglers fishing at night have had good success taking flathead catfish on large live baits such as big bluegill. One 30-pound flathead recently was taken.

Red Willow Reservoir – Success on channel catfish, walleye and crappie has been steady and fishermen have been taking northern pike and wipers from the Spring Creek Arm.

Swanson Reservoir – Anglers have been taking fair numbers of walleye and some channel catfish.

Enders Reservoir – Fishermen have had some success taking walleye on minnows, channel catfish on various catfish baits and smallmouth bass from the rock jetties and other rocky areas.

Platte River – Most of the fishing success on the river has been on channel catfish taken on set lines and by hook-and-line fishermen.

Hershey WMA – Good success on largemouth bass and rock bass reported by anglers.

Northeast

Willow Creek SRA – Good numbers of sub-legal walleye in the 13- to 14-inch range, and some keepers in the 15- to 16.5-inch range; also good numbers of crappie in the 9- to 10-inch range and some to 10 inches.

Summit Lake – Largemouth bass fishing has been good for anglers using lures; bluegill fishermen have been catching bluegill to 8 inches on chunks of nightcrawlers and flies; and crappie to 11 inches on minnows, jig/minnow combinations, and small lures.

Grove Lake – Largemouth bass fishing picking up; some crappie and bluegill also available.

Powder Creek Reservoir – The place to catch bullheads to 10 inches or larger and channel catfish to 8 pounds.

Goose Lake – Anglers have had good success catching bluegill 8 inches and larger on bobbers and worms and by fly-fishing. They have also had some success catching 12-plus-inch yellow perch on bobbers and worms or jigs.

Maskenthine Reservoir – Anglers are expected to continue having good success catching 7- to 8-inch bluegill on bobbers and worms; catfish to 5 or 10 pounds on stink baits or nightcrawlers; largemouth bass on spinner baits and buzzbaits; and crappie in the 9-to 10-inch range on minnows.

Buckskin Hills – Anglers can look forward to some exciting action catching largemouth bass and bluegill.

Lewis and Clark Reservoir – Fishing has been good and should continue into summer. Anglers have been catching 16- to 20-inch walleye by dragging nightcrawlers on the bottom and trolling crankbaits; the white bass fishing has been improving and quality fish have been taken by anglers casting and trolling crankbaits; catfishermen were catching channel catfish on stink baits and nightcrawlers.

Skyview Lake – Good numbers of largemouth bass in the 13- to 14-inch range; some to 15 inches; bluegill to 7 inches.

Southeast

Burchard Lake – Fisheries biologist Daryl Bauer says during July anglers should look for largemouth bass to be in deeper water than in previous months. He says a good tactic is to fish deeper-running crankbaits along the edges of submerged weedbeds. Other productive methods are fishing jigs near vegetation, slowly crawling plastic worms on the bottom or through the weeds. Anglers should fish deeper for the larger bluegill in July, too, maybe a hunk of nightcrawler below a slip bobber, or by drifting a worm or small jig along the bottom.

Czechland Lake – Anglers should continue having good success catching crappie to 10 inches on minnows and jigs.

Wagon Train – July and August should produce excellent channel catfish fishing once the catfish spawn is over.

Branched Oak Lake – Catfishing should be good for all three species -- channels, flatheads and blues.

Wildwood Lake – Largemouth bass should be good, and Bauer says casting weedless imitation frogs near vegetation along the shore should be a good tactic, especially late in the day.

Twin Lakes – There should be some action on channel catfish, largemouth bass, crappie and walleye during July.

Wehrspann Lake – Good channel catfish success should continue into July.

Zorinsky Lake – In addition to exciting largemouth bass action, there should also be good channel catfishing this summer.

Louisville 2A – Bullheads. There’s nothing else to say, it’s a great place to do some bullhead fishing.

Fremont Lake 3 – More bullheads. Catch a mess of bullheads and find out how much fun fishing can be.

Pawnee Lake – It’s a good spot for carp fishing in addition to providing the opportunity for anglers to catch white bass on drifted or trolled crankbaits and minnow-imitating lures. There are also populations of walleye and sauger that can be taken on trolled or drifted crankbaits, nightcrawlers or minnows.