R.R. Shumway.

APRIL
Northern Pike
Valentine NWR,NE
Last year when I fished the Valentine National Wildlife Refuge, I went immediately to Clear Lake, even though I’ve been told that it doesn’t necessarily have the best pike fishing. “From year to year, look at Clear, Pelican, and Dewey for great northern fishing,” said Nebraska Game and Parks Commission biologist Daryl Bauer. “Tie on a spinnerbait with your steel leader and find the bulrushes.”

If the water is down and doesn’t carry to the rushes, look for any dropoff areas in these historically shallow water bodies. A dropoff of 2 feet may be just enough to make your fishing day memorable. It did for me when I fished it. While other anglers fished shallow-water spots, I stayed on the deep-water edges, trolling and casting, and caught northerns all day, several of them measuring more than 30 inches.

And if safety-pin spinnerbaits aren’t working, try Mepps spinners and Rapalas. Get there early, though, for the underwater vegetation chokes nearly all fishing out by the middle of the summer. But for April and into early May, the fishing’s perfect.

MAY
Walleyes
Lake Sakakawea,ND
When Lake Sakakawea gets its spring run-off from the west -- rushing east from Yellowstone and bringing cold water, silt, and trash -- the best spot for walleyes to dodge that influx is in the Van Hook arm of the lake. Which also happens to be the best place to catch them.

“When the water is between 60 and 65 degrees,” said guide Evan Barker of Van Hook Guide Service, “we usually catch walleyes after the spring smelt spawn in 8 to 12 feet of water.”

Barker starts in late May and early June with minnows and then switches to night crawlers as the summer progresses, quite often using a plain Lindy rig. Last year, the guide’s average fish typically measured in the 18- to 19-inch range, and finding a limit of those in the largest of Sakakawea’s bays wasn’t hard.

“If you don’t find fish in the Van Hook Arm this time of the year, you’re not doing something right,” said Barker. “And if you are having problems finding fish, visit the Van Hook Bait Shop and ask where to catch them. People are different up this way. We’ll tell you where we are catching them. We want people to come to this part of the world and be successful.” JUNE
Largemouth Bass
Nebraska SFLs
What do these numbers -- 212, 90, 145, 130, 84 -- have in common? These are just the largemouth numbers from a few days on the water at some of Nebraska’s best lakes at this time of the year.

Memphis SRA, located 20 minutes from Omaha, offers riprap jetties, vegetation, and a deep creek channel to find bass both shallow and deep at this time of year. During the week, Walnut Creek is another great option at 100 acres and the chance for 100 bass. Mayberry Lake, located in the southeastern part of the state, gives wading anglers -- as well as those in shape enough to drag a canoe or john boat 100 yards -- another great place to catch bass.

But don’t forget Fremont, Two Rivers, Fort Kearny, or Windmill SRAs, all lakes that won’t offer large numbers of fish, but plenty of chances for those in Master Angler sizes. How could I write more without mentioning Verdon Lake, or a recent find that is sure to produce early next spring: Iron Horse.

As far as lures, keep it simple. Go with a white spinnerbait, green scum frog, and a crawfish-colored shallow-running crankbait. If the fish are active, you can find them with these few lures. Remember, there’s always another great lake right down the road.