Guide To Great Fishing In Nebraska
All about fishing in the Cornhusker State
There's plenty of water throughout the state of Nebraska offering a variety of fishing opportunities including lakes, ponds, streams and rivers. While you can find small lakes and ponds virtually everywhere in Nebraska, we will concentrate here on the larger fishing lakes and impoundments.
Nebraska also offers excellent fishing in rivers and streams like the Missouri River, North Platte River, Elkhorn River and more. Some lakes and ponds in the state also offer very productive ice fishing in winter.
In Nebraska you can fish for largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, spotted bass, channel catfish, flathead catfish, blue catfish, black crappie, white crappie, walleye, rainbow trout, cutthroat trout, brook trout, brown trout, bluegill, green sunfish, hybrid sunfish, pumpkinseed sunfish, redear sunfish, rock bass, spotted sunfish, white bass, white perch, yellow bass, yellow perch, chinook salmon, stripers, bowfin, longnose gar, muskie, northern pike, paddlefish, sauger, saugeye, tiger muskie and others in local lakes, rivers, ponds and streams. Many of these lakes offer fishing boats for rent.
Major Nebraska Lakes & Species

Lake & Fish Chart
This chart shows the major angling destinations, cross referencing these waters with the major species to be found in each of the lakes or impoundments.
For a detailed list of primary fish species in NE, plus state fish records, see the list below.
Fishing lake sizes and locations in the state.

Bluestem Lake is a 325-acre lake in the southeast corner of the state, 5 miles outside Lincoln.
Box Butte Reservoir is a 1,600-acre lake in the northwest part of the state, 9 miles north of Hemingford.
Branched Oak Lake is an 1,800-acre lake in the southeast part of the state, at Raymond.
Calamus Reservoir is a 5,200-acre lake in the central part of the state, 5 miles northwest of Burwell.
Conestoga Lake is a 230-acre lake in the southeast part of the state a few miles southwest of Emerald.
Davis Creek Reservoir is an 1,100-acre lake in Central Nebraska, 2 miles southwest of Scotia.
Elwood Reservoir is a 1,300-acre lake in the southwest part of the state, at Elwood.
Enders Reservoir is a 1,700-acre lake in the southwest part of the state, at Enders.
Glenn Cunningham Lake a 390 acre lake located in the eastern part of the state, at Omaha.
Harlan County Reservoir is a 13,000-acre lake in the south-central part of the state, at Alma.
Harry Strunk Lake (Medicine Creek Reservoir) is an 1,800-acre lake in the southwest part of the state, 7 miles north of Cambridge.
Hugh Butler Lake (Red Willow Reservoir) is a 1,600-acre lake in the southwest part of the state, 10 miles north of McCook.
Jeffrey Lake is a 595-acre impoundment, in the south-central part of the state, just south of Brady.
Johnson Lake is a 2,068-acre lake in the south-central part of the state, 12 miles southwest of Lexington.
Lake Maloney is a 1,600-acre lake in the south-central part of the state, 5 miles south of North Platte.
Lake McConaughy is a 35,700-acre lake in the southwest part of the state, 5 miles north of Ogallala.
Lake Minatare is a 2,300-acre lake in the western part of the state, 6 miles northeast of Scottsbluff.
Lake Ogallala is a 650-acre impoundment in the southwest part of the state, below Lake McConaghy.
Lake Wanahoo is a 637-acre lake in eastern NE, located one mile north of Wahoo.
Lewis And Clark Lake is a 31,000-acre lake in the northeastern border of the state, 10 miles northeast of Niobrara.
Merritt Reservoir is a 1,600-acre lake in the north-central part of the state, 20 miles south of Valentine.
Oliver Reservoir (Kimball Reservoir) is a 270-acre lake in the southwest corner of the pan handle, at Bushnell.
Pawnee Lake is a 740 acre lake in southeast Nebraska, 5 miles west of Lincoln.
Sherman Reservoir is a 2,800-acre lake in the central part of the state, 3 miles northeast of Loup City.
Sutherland Reservoir is a 3,000-acre lake in the southwest part of the state, at Sutherland.
Swanson Reservoir is a 5,000-acre lake in the southwest part of the state, at Trenton.
Wagon Train Lake is a 315-acre lake located in the southeast corner of the state, two miles east of Hickman.
Wehrspann Lake is a 245-acre lake in the southwest outskirts of Omaha near the eastern border of the state.
Whitney Lake is a 900-acre lake in the Nebraska panhandle, 10 miles east of Crawford.
Willow Creek Lake is a 700-acre lake in the northeast part of the state at Pierce.
Many of these lakes have marinas offering a wide variety of supplies, services and boat rentals.
Fish Species & State Records in Nebraska
Bass
Largemouth bass
World record: 22 lbs 4 oz
State Record: 10 lbs 11 oz
Smallmouth bass
World record: 11 lbs 15 oz
State Record: 7 lbs 4 oz
Spotted bass
World record: 9 lbs 8 oz
State Record: 3 lbs 12 oz
Catfish
Channel catfish
World record: 58 lbs 0 oz
State Record: 41 lbs 8 oz
Flathead catfish
World record: 123 lbs 9 oz
State Record: 80 lbs 0 oz
Blue catfish
World record: 143 lbs 0 oz
State Record: 100 lbs 8 oz
Crappie
Black crappie
World record: 6 lbs 0 oz
State Record: 4 lbs 8 oz
White crappie
World record: 5 lbs 3 oz
State Record: 4 lbs 1 oz
Walleye
Walleye
World record: 25 lbs 0 oz
State Record: 16 lbs 2 oz
Sauger
World record: 17 lbs 7 oz
State Record: 8 lbs 5 oz
Saugeye
World record: 15 lbs 6 oz
State Record: 8 lbs 14 oz
Trout
Rainbow trout
World record: 42 lbs 2 oz
State Record: 14 lbs 2 oz
Cutthroat trout
World record: 41 lbs 0 oz
State Record: 5 lbs 7 oz
Brook trout
World record: 14 lbs 8 oz
State Record: 5 lbs 1 oz
Brown trout
World record: 40 lbs 4 oz
State Record: 20 lbs 1 oz
Panfish
Bluegill
World record: 4 lbs 12 oz
State Record: 2 lbs 13 oz
Green sunfish
World record: 2.2 lbs
State Record: 1 lbs 8 oz
Hybrid sunfish
World record: N/A
State Record: 1 lbs 15 oz
Pumpkinseed sunfish
World record: 2 lbs 4 oz
State Record: 0 lbs 11.25 oz
Redear sunfish
World record: 5.4 lbs
State Record: 1 lbs 14 oz
Rock bass
World record: 3.0 lbs
State Record: 2 lbs 4 oz
Spotted sunfish
World record: N/A
State Record: 0 lbs 3 oz
White Bass
World record: 6.8 lbs
State Record: 5 lbs 0 oz
White perch
World record: 4.6 lbs
State Record: 2 lbs 6 oz
Yellow bass
World record: 2 lbs 15 oz
State Record: 1 lbs 7 oz
Yellow perch
World record: 4 lbs 3 oz
State Record: 2 lbs 10.75 oz
Salmon
Chinook salmon
World record: 97 lbs 4 oz
State Record: 7 lbs 5 oz
Coho salmon
World record: 33 lbs 7 oz
State Record: 5 lbs 12 oz
Kokanee salmon
World record: 9 lbs 10 oz
State Record: 4 lbs 2 oz
Striped bass
Stripers
Inland world record: 64 lbs 8 oz
State Record: 64 lbs 15 oz
Hybrid Striper (Wiper)
World record: 27 lbs 5 oz
State Record: 20 lbs 1 oz
Other species
Bowfin
World record: 21 lbs 8 oz
State Record: 8 lbs 0 oz
Longnose gar
World record: 50 lbs 5 oz
State Record: 23 lbs 11 oz
Muskie (Muskellunge)
World record: 69 lbs 9 oz
State Record: 41 lbs 8 oz
Northern pike
World record: 55 lbs 1 oz
State Record: 30 lbs 1 oz
Paddlefish
World record: 144 lbs
State Record: 113 lbs 4 oz
Tiger muskie
World record: 51 lbs 2 oz
State Record: 33 lbs 5 oz
Click the images and links above for species details.
State of NE Fishing Information
For a wealth of information on fishing in Nebraska, visit the NE Game and Parks Commission website. Click here for a Nebraska fishing license.
Visit AA-Boats-Boating.com to find information about fishing boats in Nebraska.

Fish for big bass
Excellent spotted, smallmouth and largemouth bass fishing opportunities are available to anglers.
Fishing in all states
NEBRASKA

