Go Big Red!
Nebraska leads the country for habitat improvements to the reservoirs and waterbodies across the state. This benefits the fish, but also the anglers and the surrounding community as well. The geographic layout of the state makes this a very desirable area to fish for a variety of reasons. The Eastern 1/4 of the state has 3/4 of the state’s total population and only 1/4 of the state’s fishable lakes and reservoirs. However the Western 3/4 of the state has only 1/4 of the state’s total population and has 3/4 of the state’s fishable lakes and reservoirs including Lake McConaughy, Merritt Reservoir and the Sandhill Lakes region. These have all been highlighted on various outdoor shows as the lack of fishing pressure and increased habitat improvements have created some fantastic fisheries! The moral of the story is lots of places to fish and not many people fishing them.
The Eastern 1/4 of the state can produce some excellent Largemouth Bass, Bluegill and Channel Catfish fishing opportunities as well as new stocking programs implemented by Nebraska Game and Parks has created multiple new Walleye fisheries. Other waterbodies like Lake Wanahoo and Lake Cunningham also have very nice Northern Pike populations that can be fished by catch-and-release anglers.
The Western 3/4 of the state has many larger reservoirs that offer some excellent Walleye, Channel Catfish, White Bass and Largemouth Bass fishing. In June 2018 the Master Walleye Circuit will be making it’s first trip to Nebraska on Lake McConaughy, an absolute factory for monster walleye. The Sandhills region also produce some spectacular Bluegill, Crappie, Largemouth Bass and Northern Pike fishing as well. This is particularly popular among ice anglers. Habitat improvements, high profile tournaments, popular television shows, as well as some pretty dang good fishing has really put Nebraska on the map!
