Nebraska Walleye Fishing Tips
Walleye fishing in Nebraska can be a rewarding activity. The following tips apply to places like Lake McConaughy, Sherman, and Merritt, which are popular destinations, but have other waters to explore as well. Most of these lakes will produce dynamite fish if you are willing to change your ways and move away from tradition. One secret that will really help your zander fishing in the Corn Husker Estate is fishing the right lakes. In early spring, it will be rewarding to fish in smaller, shallower and gloomy lakes. These waters heat up very quickly and it is child’s play to catch these walleyes. Throwing jigs to rip rap or rocky shores is a favorite at this latitude.
Otherwise you have great tail water areas to investigate. These are good areas to visit if you only have an hour or two to fish, as you will be fishing from shore. Another great tactic for spring walleyes is to launch stickbaits from shore at night along the walls of dams found in many Nebraska reservoirs. Keep your recovery slow and steady and work 10 feet to 1 foot from the rip rap.
As the waters warm, we found that larger lakes begin to produce fish as they become post-spawning. A big misconception with walleyes says that fishing is difficult during the post-spawning period. This is simply not the case. Post-spawning walleyes will bite and the catch will be great as long as you look in the right areas and do the right things. Most anglers either fish very deep or do not run a good open water trolling program for suspended walleyes. Suspended walleyes are very common in reservoirs with tarpon or crappies for the main drilling base in Nebraska. White bass often alerts you to good locations – you just need to make a couple of minor adjustments to get the walleyes. Use large baits like the number 9 Shadraps and keep adjusting your depths lower and lower until you run out of targets. You are now in walleye territory.
With dog days, you will see that the largest reservoirs in the state will produce a good walleye catch. Lake McConaughy is the place to be with its nearly 35,000 acres. Again, many fishermen struggle because they fish in good places, instead of catching fish. During the summer period, the walleyes will be distributed horizontally and vertically in the water column. Trolling crankbaits in structures and especially in open water is an effective method of catching mid-summer walleyes in Big Mac. Fall fishing is once again productive for most of Nebraska’s walleye fishing public, simply because more fish are catching. the same, groups are formed and competition is generated within a group of walleye for the bait. Traditionally, slab scoops at depths of 20 to 35 feet have become the popular method. However, learning to mark the lead line with extreme precision will really put walleys in the boat when they go deep. Another great option for fall walleyes on the Big Mac is throwing cranks at rocky spots in 4 to 8 feet of water. It is a multi-species method that produces fast action for any feeding predator.