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Nebraska Fishing Outlook for March
#1
Fishing Outlook for March 2008 by Region

Panhandle

Anglers may be able to continue ice fishing through a good part of March. There was 16-20 inches of ice on the reservoirs.

Ice fishermen probably will continue catching northern pike and bluegill along the beds of vegetation at Box Butte Reservoir State Recreation Area (SRA) near Hemingford. Then, at ice-out, probably in late March, they should start catching northern pike.

Once the ice is gone, anglers may have some success catching largemouth bass by fishing baits and lures very slowly at Bridgeport SRA near Bridgeport.

Trout fishing should be good at the Grabel Ponds at Fort Robinson State Park (SP) when there is open water. Spinners, flies, wax worms and PowerBaits should be good baits.

The Pine Ridge streams should provide some early-season trout fishing, but anglers should remember the streams flow through private property and there is little public access, so permission from the landowner is required to fish them. There is public access to Soldier Creek at Fort Robinson SP.

Ninemile Creek in Scotts Bluff County has public access for about 1.5 miles at the Nine Mile Creek WMA near Minatare. There is no public access to the other creeks and permission is required to fish them.

As soon as there is open water at Lake Minatare SRA near Scottsbluff anglers in boats will take advantage of the pre-spawn bite and catch walleye on jigs tipped with minnows. Anglers should keep in mind the regulation that prohibits fishing within 150 feet of the dam from sunset to sunrise March 1 through April 30.

North-central

Anglers here should try using dead minnows or smelt once northern pike start moving into warm bays to spawn.

Valentine National Wildlife Refuge lakes southwest of Valentine, probably are the best bet for northerns in the district. However, there are also northerns in Shell Lake near Gordon, Cottonwood Lake SRA near Merriman, and in some private Sandhills lakes.

Trout fishing is available year-round in Long Pine Creek and Plum Creek in Brown County. Fly-fishermen probably will have the best luck using nymphs and wet flies, and those who use spinning or casting gear might catch some trout by fishing slowly with small spinners. Anglers might have some success catching channel catfish on stink baits right after ice-out at Calamus Reservoir near Burwell.

When a stretch of warm weather arrives, largemouth bass and bluegill will become active in various area lakes and ponds.

South-central

Rainbow trout will be stocked in March in the following waters: Such's Lake in Grand Island, Windmill SRA near Gibbon, North Park Lake in Holdrege, and Lexington City Lake. Try using PowerBait, small spinners, salmon eggs, or minnows.

The walleye spawn brings out the anglers. Last year, there were 70-80 anglers per night fishing off the dam at Sherman County Reservoir during the walleye spawn in late March. Sherman and Harlan County reservoirs and Johnson Lake will be the places to go this March.

Fish for sauger and walleye in the Central Nebraska Public Power and Irrigation District supply canal from North Platte to below Johnson Lake. Sauger should be concentrated at blockages in the canal that control flow.

Like the canal, the Johnson Lake inlet is heavily fished. Sauger, walleye and white bass may be caught there.

Ice-out means good channel catfishing at the upper ends of reservoirs, especially Sherman and Harlan County. But ice-out also means northern pike are spawning in the shallows, and Sherman is the place to be for that action.

Southwest

Channel catfishing should pick up on the western third of Lake McConaughy in March by boat or bank, depending on ice cover. Anglers should try cut bait, shad entrails or shrimp. Lake Ogallala is periodically stocked with rainbow trout in the spring, but anglers also have the opportunity to catch walleye, white bass, wiper and channel catfish.

Enders Reservoir is 5-5½ feet higher than this time a year ago. Flooded vegetation means fish may be harder to catch and anglers may need to be willing to sacrifice a few lures. There are good white bass and decent walleye numbers.

The best bet at Swanson Reservoir is fishing for walleye in deep depressions by the dam. The lake, which has a lot of flooded cottonwood trees, also has good number of white bass and channel catfish.

Medicine Creek Reservoir has a good number of wiper and white bass, the bulk of which are over 12 inches in length. The best bet is for big white bass or wipers. The lake has the best number of walleye among the southwest reservoirs.

Red Willow Reservoir, up 6-7 feet from this time last year, has the most wipers among southwest reservoirs. It also has pretty good channel catfish numbers, including good numbers over 24 inches.

The walleye bite peaks in March at Sutherland Reservoir and can last until June. A creel survey last year showed anglers' walleyes averaged 17 inches. The lake has a lot of channel cats, albeit smaller ones.

Lake Maloney is a good walleye and wiper fishery, with a decent number of walleyes over 15 inches.

Trout anglers in the southwest might want to try Arnold and Birdwood lakes. Birdwood and Big Hershey are good for largemouth bass and the Brady I-80 lake should start to come on after being renovated in 2006. Anglers looking for something different can try for smallmouth and rock bass at Fort McPherson.

Northeast

When the Missouri River opens up, anglers fishing the un-channelized part from Sunshine Bottoms near Lynch to Lewis and Clark Lake should begin catching walleye, sauger, an occasional northern pike, and smallmouth bass.

Anglers fishing in the river in the Gavin's Point tailwaters should start taking sauger and walleye on one-quarter- to five-eighths-ounce jigs tipped with minnows cast and bounced along the bottom. Bank fishermen also may catch sauger and walleye with the same rigs by jigging vertically along the wall. Anglers may also catch a few crappie on crappie rigs or by using a split shot attached to the line a few inches above a minnow to make the minnow sink.

When it gets warm and ice leaves the lake, anglers can catch northern pike as they prepare to spawn by fishing smelt along the edge of shallow-water weed lines and cattails. Goose Lake near Bartlett, and Maskenthine Reservoir near Stanton, offer some northern pike fishing.

After the ice is out on area reservoirs in late March, walleye move to the face of the dam at night to spawn and anglers may have some luck catching them on crankbaits. During the day they may catch some fish by casting jigs tipped with minnows from the face of the dam.

Trout can be taken year-round from small streams in the area, such as the East Branch of Verdigre Creek near Royal and Long Pine Creek near Long Pine.

Southeast

March in the southeast is a good time for trout fishing, with a number of lakes scheduled to be stocked with rainbows later in the month.

Channel catfishing can be good if a heavy rain washes warmer water into the upper ends of reservoirs.

Ice anglers may still have good opportunities for bluegill, but with March comes the danger of thinning ice. All ice fisherman should be wary of conditions.

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