wanahoo

[markpolito]

This place is imposibble to fish, really no live bait, good luck trying to catch a northern with dead bait.. fished it Friday night and we landed a half dozen crappie but nothing to bag about. And o my god make a decent Topo map of that lake for god sake. Me game and parks has had like 8 years to make a  good one. And yet the only one they have is hand drawn reallllly!  This is another dead sea as far as I'm concerned

[fishinfanatic1]

This place is imposibble to fish, really no live bait, good luck trying to catch a northern with dead bait.. fished it Friday night and we landed a half dozen crappie but nothing to bag about. And o my god make a decent Topo map of that lake for god sake. Me game and parks has had like 8 years to make a  good one. And yet the only one they have is hand drawn reallllly!  This is another dead sea as far as I'm concerned

you think 2 of the best lakes in eastern nebraska are dead seas? are you new to fishing? do you have sonar? one of the best northern baits there is as far as im concerned is frozen smelt and its dead and it works. i think your frustration of not being able to catch fish is affecting your judgement of two great lakes. once you figure out those lakes you will not consider them dead seas trust me...

[markpolito]

Trust me I use sonar, and I catch a tone of fish, I have never used smelt, I'll have to try it out, and Cunningham.I don't know anybody who does good out there.  You ice fish wanahoo and let me know how u do. I can't find and good fish. But I'm not say-in I'm done trying either

[fishinfanatic1]

Trust me I use sonar, and I catch a tone of fish, I have never used smelt, I'll have to try it out, and Cunningham.I don't know anybody who does good out there.  You ice fish wanahoo and let me know how u do. I can't find and good fish. But I'm not say-in I'm done trying either

i wasnt trying to say you dont know how to fish and i havent ice fished wanahoo but during the summer i caught lots of fish, nothing real big but good fish for only being in there the short amount of time that they have and they grow fast in new lakes so its just gonna get better and the same goes for cunningham, not sure if you read my post about the walleye they pulled out of cunningham today but that proof theres good fish in there, take a look at the sampling reports for cunningham from last year and you can see whats in there.. try the smelt, its hard to find and ive never used it on ice but on open water ive caughts hundreds of pike with smelt. you got the right attitude not being done trying youll find some spots and patterns and get em figured out.... sorry if i offended ya, it wasnt my intention by no means....

[Tomhusker]

 I buy my smelt from the grocery store. Never looked in the Omaha area, but out here in the sticks it goes for about $6.00 for a bag of maybe 60 frozen smelt.

[JAM3S]

1.  Geno's in Columbus had one bag of frozen smelt left.  That's the only place I know that has them and I just picked up the other bag. 

2.  If you have a smart phone, download the Navionics lake mapping app for the U.S.

3.  Wanahoo is a fair size lake,  a person has to devote at least 2 hours per hole drilled to know if the northern bite is dead.  In my opinion.

4. I am headed out there tomorrow.  Hope to see some of you guys there!

[hillbill]

I recommend you check out the nrd for a good topo of Wanahoo.  I have not seen the one that NGPC has but, I have no issues with the one that came from the NRD.  As for the lake itself, I have pulled two pike both over 30 inches this summer, while fishing with my young kids, and numerous nice bass and crappie.  The size of fish has definantly declined, since the opening.  Betwen stressed fish dieing after being caught and released and fish that were harvested. I would however, not give up on this lake to soon, spend some time there and you should be able to get on some decent fish.  Good luck and hope to bump into you some day.

[kylerprochaska]

I agree with you that the "no live baitfish" law is kind of ridiculous.... I can see having the rule one a land locked body of water, but any body of water with a creek/river flowing into it has whatever is in that creek/river flowing into it.... where do they think minnows come from??  most minnow species bought at a bait shop are native to this area.... 

[CARTMATT]

I caught a tone of fish today on a lake with no topo map using jigs?! It's full of crappie and I couldn't get them to bite, doesn't make it a bad lake from one day.,,,,,

[fishinfanatic1]

true dat!!!

[markpolito]

Thanks, very good info, I won't give up on this lake yet. It might of just been a bad weekend I fished one of my favorite lakes tonight with four other guys and only did so so with around 13 pan fish on the ice, sounds OK but it was so slow, the fish were supper finiky, barley putting the waxy in there mouth, tones of misses. Minnows not much better, and not a tip up all night, (chubs,craw ads,minnows) on all. F- ****ty night. All in all I can't complain.    Let me know if any one has found the pike ice treatment at wanahoo and I'll trade some ice spots!

[alpinistmp]

So on this lake would it be legal to freeze a bunch of minnows over night and jig with them dead on wanahoo?

[Cherokeenation]

So on this lake would it be legal to freeze a bunch of minnows over night and jig with them dead on wanahoo?

Everything I've seen, the key word is "live".  I think that one has been addressed on here a few weeks ago....

[JAM3S]

Had a great day out on Wanahoo today!  Mostly thanks to Skylar "Powerhour".  Lots of bluegill, about a dozen bass, and one crappie.  Really looking forward to the east gtg now that I know where to go.  I had two poles setup with smelt throughout the day without any strikes from northern or walleye, but not to be disappointed with all the other fish we caught.

[spikes]

Good to hear positive reports.   Earlier posts have the NRD topo map

[PowerHour]

Had a great day out on Wanahoo today!  Mostly thanks to Skylar "Powerhour".  Lots of bluegill, about a dozen bass, and one crappie.  Really looking forward to the east gtg now that I know where to go.  I had two poles setup with smelt throughout the day without any strikes from northern or walleye, but not to be disappointed with all the other fish we caught.

It was a good day out on the ice today. I had a great time fishing with you today as well James "JAM3S". I'm sure the fish will be in that same area with a little fine tuning the bigger ones should start showing up. I ended up catchin a few crappie after you left but nothin really to brag about. Thanks for bringing me a tub of waxies up to that really helped me out. Hope to catch you out on the ice again soon. The east gtg should be a good time =)

[whitetips]

I recommend you check out the nrd for a good topo of Wanahoo.  I have not seen the one that NGPC has but, I have no issues with the one that came from the NRD.  As for the lake itself, I have pulled two pike both over 30 inches this summer, while fishing with my young kids, and numerous nice bass and crappie.  The size of fish has definantly declined, since the opening.  Betwen stressed fish dieing after being caught and released and fish that were harvested. I would however, not give up on this lake to soon, spend some time there and you should be able to get on some decent fish.  Good luck and hope to bump into you some day.

The Wanahoo map from the NRD and the one from the Game & Parks are exactly the same, http://outdoornebraska.ne.gov/Fishing/programs/lakemapping/pdfs/Wanahoo%20Bathymetric%20Map-Final.pdf .  And that map was produced from survey data upon completion of the reservoir; if anyone knows of a better way of doing that, I would like to hear it.

Daryl Bauer
Fisheries Outreach Program Manager
Nebraska Game & Parks Commission
[email protected]
http://outdoornebraska.ne.gov/blogs/category/barbs-and-backlashes//

[whitetips]

I agree with you that the "no live baitfish" law is kind of ridiculous.... I can see having the rule one a land locked body of water, but any body of water with a creek/river flowing into it has whatever is in that creek/river flowing into it.... where do they think minnows come from??  most minnow species bought at a bait shop are native to this area....

I have checked a lot of minnows from a lot of minnow shop bait tanks and have seen a darned lot of stuff there that we do NOT want in our waters.  A lot of money was invested into the creation of the Lake Wanahoo fishery, including a chemical renovation of as much of the watershed as possible, and we will do everything possible to prevent undesirable aquatic species from invading that new fishery for as long as possible.

Daryl Bauer
Fisheries Outreach Program Manager
Nebraska Game & Parks Commission
[email protected]
http://outdoornebraska.ne.gov/blogs/category/barbs-and-backlashes//

[whitetips]

So on this lake would it be legal to freeze a bunch of minnows over night and jig with them dead on wanahoo?

No live baitfish.  Do not show up with any live minnows at Wanahoo, do not show up with a bucket of live minnows.

Daryl Bauer
Fisheries Outreach Program Manager
Nebraska Game & Parks Commission
[email protected]
http://outdoornebraska.ne.gov/blogs/category/barbs-and-backlashes//

[whitetips]

This place is imposibble to fish, really no live bait, good luck trying to catch a northern with dead bait..

Actually, during cold-water periods northern pike naturally feed on a lot of dead baits.  In many ice fishing situations, dead baits are THE BEST baits.

Daryl Bauer
Fisheries Outreach Program Manager
Nebraska Game & Parks Commission
[email protected]
http://outdoornebraska.ne.gov/blogs/category/barbs-and-backlashes//

[teehjaeh57]

Reviewed the fishery species listed - wonder why the state decided against including Yellow Perch?  Also, Redear Sunfish are a great addition in order to prevent black and yellow grub parasites.  YP are a great companion species to complement NP and WE.  If water quality can sustain NP, YP survival should follow suit.  Flourishing/sustainable populations are a different subject, obviously.  I own several ponds near Lincoln with thriving YP populations with no issues, however - and the largest BOW is only 3 acres!  Maybe someone will end up stocking YP of their own volition at Wanahoo someday...but there's a reason they weren't stocked orginally and I know it's prohibited.  Although illegal, would be a great addition to the fishery?

Sorry for the huge photo of my ugly mug...I'm still learning the forum tools.  Thought you might like to see a nice 12.5" F YP yesterday.

[Uplandhuntr]

Reviewed the fishery species listed - wonder why the state decided against including Yellow Perch?  Also, Redear Sunfish are a great addition in order to prevent black and yellow grub parasites.  YP are a great companion species to complement NP and WE.  If water quality can sustain NP, YP survival is pretty no problem.  Flourishing/sustainable populations are a different subject, obviously.  I own several ponds near Lincoln with thriving YP populations with no issues, however - and the largest BOW is only 3 acres!  Maybe someone will end up stocking YP of their own volition at Wanahoo someday.  Would be a great addition to the fishery.

Amen brother!!  I voiced this very opinion on another forum prior to Wanahoo opening.

The standard answer from the NGPC head fish squeezers is that YEP don't work in southeast Nebraska (apparently that covers all of NE).

It is AWESOME to hear from someone with real world experience that it DOES WORK!!!

The new reservoir in northeast NE would be a great place for some yellow perch as well.  Maybe we can talk the NRD into it before the NGPC gets their claws into it. 

CUE Whitetips.....and maybe Chuck......

[teehjaeh57]

I know many stocking efforts in NE fisheries included YP, and they failed many times IIRC back in the day in SE NE fisheries.  I realize the state can't afford to throw money down the drain, all I'm saying is Wanahoo, in particular, may have been a great fishery in which to establish YP to serve as additional forage for NP and WE and a great panfish target for guys like us through the ice.  Daryl is right on though...guys hammer YP so hard the fishery can be extirpated in little to no time.  Sad, really.

The rule on my ponds is release all Females over 10", harvest all males 8"+.  So far, so good.

Now that the SE area lakes are engineered with more than flood control in mind, namely, preserving water quality, establishing and protection of watershed, controlling siltation with dykes and catch ponds, etc. new species may be considered options for SE NE fisheries.  YP is one that comes to mind, also RES I feel should be stocked into fisheries regularly to control parasite issues.  I know all the BG I hammered at Wildwood two years ago were covered in black grubs.  Establishing an RES population to control snails would do that fishery a lot of good in that regard.  RES don't compete directly with BG in terms of forage, and rarely overpopulate and stunt.  Further, they grow larger than BG and are challenging at times to target successfully adding another dimension of fun.

I understand and fully respect Daryl's position on "standard" fisheries that stand the best chance of flourishing in SE NE.  If you are actively managing a fishery the standard LMB, BG, CC fishery is somewhat self sustaining/regulating.  I decided to go the alternate route and create a cool water species dominated fishery so I didn't have to travel to MN/CA every Summer for my fix.  If you are serious about pond/fishery management, it absolutely can be done.  Did I mention WE, SMB and HSB serve as my apex predators in my fishery?  Here's a nice SMB taken last week - and no float plane was necessary!

[teehjaeh57]

I'd like to add that I respect the dedication and effort required to continually find good fish on public water - been there, done that, and not all that well.  I'm likewise impressed by Bauer's commitment to message boards, like this one, keeping NE anglers in tune with fishing across the state.   Hard to imagine the challenge of keeping lakes full of quality water and fisheries in good shape while meat hunters continue to hammer away and some folks habitually litter, abuse regs, etc.  I finally gave up the hunt and fish my own or other private water now - but can say it's not an ounce of the challenge posed to guys out on heavily fished, public water.  While I'm sure there's still good fishing places out there, my hat's still off to all of you!

[markpolito]

What all is in those minnow buckets, always been curious what kind of fish are in there.

[Uplandhuntr]

Reviewed the fishery species listed - wonder why the state decided against including Yellow Perch?  Also, Redear Sunfish are a great addition in order to prevent black and yellow grub parasites.  YP are a great companion species to complement NP and WE.  If water quality can sustain NP, YP survival should follow suit.  Flourishing/sustainable populations are a different subject, obviously.  I own several ponds near Lincoln with thriving YP populations with no issues, however - and the largest BOW is only 3 acres!  Maybe someone will end up stocking YP of their own volition at Wanahoo someday...but there's a reason they weren't stocked orginally and I know it's prohibited.  Although illegal, would be a great addition to the fishery?

Sorry for the huge photo of my ugly mug...I'm still learning the forum tools.  Thought you might like to see a nice 12.5" F YP yesterday.



(Image removed from quote.)

Northeast Nebraska is not southeast Nebraska is all I am saying. 

Trout stocked to get freezers full isn't working.

Cookie cutter stocking of lakes isn't working in my opinion, either.

The NGPC needs to start paying more attention to checking for park stickers and licenses.

Does it make sense that law abiding folks fund recreation for crooks?

Every parcel has unique challenges.  My current perception of the NGPC is that biology takes a back seat to revenue.

[teehjaeh57]

Hmmm...well, I'm not qualified really to weigh in on this as I've been pretty consumed with private pond and fishery management the last 10 years and am not up to speed on the condition of NE public fisheries.  I have heard the state is vastly underfunded to provide enough wardens in place to help police regs.  I don't envy their position - it's a delicate balance using our dollars to manage fisheries.  While I'd love to see some variation in species stocked in public waters, I understand the pressure for the state to stick to what they, through experience, knows will work.  If they "blow" $50,000.00 stocking YP in Wagon Train, Stagecoach, Olive Creek etc. and the fishery doesn't sustain itself, they may come under scrutiny and have some explaining to do.  Still - I think Wagon Train did receive RES [Redear] and Muskie or Tiger Muskie stockings?  Those are somewhat "exotic"- and both species [Muskie/TM] are more tolerant of warmer water temps than NP which made them likely candidates I guess.

I do know, without abundant aquatic vegetation, YP will not establish and flourish.  Those might be some considerations of the state when determining species to stock.  Still, I think YP and RES would have been nice additions to this new Wanahoo lake I keep hearing so much about. 

[ilikefish]

You are exactly right, the surrounding states have way bigger budgets for their DNR's, than Nebraska does.  Our poor guys do a great job with the little they are given.  Used to be the budget was set by small game permits, now I'm guessing it is set by the number of deer permits sold.  Fish cops today have to spend more time educating people than writing tickets, it is a kind of danged if you do, danged if you don't job.  If folks would quit keeping undersized fish and for goodness sakes quit dumping their minnow buckets we'd all benefit in a short period of time.  Almost all "minnow" buckets contain species that are hard to determine what they are when they are that size unless you really take the time to look.  When I was a young biology student in college we spent hours determining the species and a lot of the time they were not your typical minnow species. 

[Ionbling]

anyone have a northern yet out there?

[Uplandhuntr]

I'd like to add that I respect the dedication and effort required to continually find good fish on public water - been there, done that, and not all that well.  I'm likewise impressed by Bauer's commitment to message boards, like this one, keeping NE anglers in tune with fishing across the state.   Hard to imagine the challenge of keeping lakes full of quality water and fisheries in good shape while meat hunters continue to hammer away and some folks habitually litter, abuse regs, etc.  I finally gave up the hunt and fish my own or other private water now - but can say it's not an ounce of the challenge posed to guys out on heavily fished, public water.  While I'm sure there's still good fishing places out there, my hat's still off to all of you!

TJ,
Why so appologetic about your opinion?  I would rather have someone with practical experience be honest than blow smoke up someone's donkey.

I appreciate all that folks do as well, but is it so wrong to ask that those in charge of the state's fisheries be more PRO-ACTIVE than RE-ACTIVE? 

I can tell you this, the hunting opportunities in NE are getting fewer (not NGPC's fault, no habitat equals no critters) and thus less $$ from hunting licenses in the near future.

Better start focusing on maximizing fishing opportunities.  There is a brand new reservoir in northeast NE that is filling as we speak that is flooding hundreds of acres of 'habitat' for species such as northern pike and yellow perch.  I guarantee that the yellow perch and northerns will last longer than stocked rainbow trout that will die in less than 8 months, and would draw a ton of folks that usually travel out of state for those same opportunities.

Some states even manage water levels to promote plant growth in the 'off' season for spawning habitat in the spring.

When Nebraska NGPS quits catering to the Mahoney State Park, private water fishing, stocked trout fishing, camping with a 3 slide-out with dual ac camping, 'sportspeople'.....they might again start connecting with the average Joe that will pay the bills.

Until then, the NGPC will continue to 'react'.

Yes, lots of great people work for NGPC, but that doesn't mean we can't ask some hard questions about their continued philosophy that is resulting in fewer opportunities.

Thanks for the give and take, that is how adults can have discussions regarding important issues without getting all crabby.