Some of Nebraska's best bass fishing will be found at small lakes that can be fished comfortably from a small boat or a tube. And the payoff is often a nice largemouth like this! Photo by Russell Tinsley

Some major Nebraska impoundments continue to endure the effects of a multiyear drought -- but when it comes to bass fishing in the Cornhusker State, a lot remains to talk about.

Some of the following will be familiar to readers, because, frankly, some elements of the state's bass fishery don't change much. Other parts of this story, however, may provide newsy information that anglers can use this season to enjoy some good bassin' action that they might not otherwise have known about. Believe it or not, a few surprises do await you in the following.

The overview provided here by Daryl Bauer of the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission won't be a surprise -- or, at least, it shouldn't be to anglers familiar with the state and its bass fishing.

"Our best bass fishing is pretty much always going to be found in the smaller bodies of water around the state," Bauer said. "Private farm ponds and small pits -- some private, others public -- really are the bread and butter of Nebraska fishing."

So do anglers have to downsize to go bass fishing in Nebraska? Not necessarily. Bass fishing this season should be pretty good at some larger lakes around the state, too. You simply have to put everything into perspective when it comes to water and water levels, especially out west.

"Our big impoundments in the western part of the state are irrigation reservoirs," Bauer noted, "and they are going to fluctuate annually by at least as much as 10 feet. Given the drought conditions we've experienced for the past few years, levels down as much as 20 feet aren't unheard of."

That said, he added that bass fishing at Merritt Reservoir continues to be good. He also mentioned Red Willow as a large impoundment that's about to experience a real bass-fishing boom. Shown on some maps as "Hugh Butler Lake," Red Willow is just northwest of McCook, on the border of Red Willow and Frontier counties.

"Red Willow has about filled back up, and it's flooded a significant amount of wonderful bass habitat," Bauer said. "This is part of life on the Great Plains."

He was referring to the cycle of decline, fall and revival that typifies the existence of many a lake in this part of the world stretching from the Canada/North Dakota border to the Kansas/Oklahoma border. More often than some folks realize, any number of the region's waters endure the recurring alternation of drought and rain.

Here's what happens throughout the region at lakes just like Red Willow: Precipitation dwindles to next to nothing over a period of years; lake levels drop dramatically, and new vegetation takes hold in areas that had previously been underwater as part of the lake itself. Then, rains return, sufficing in frequency and intensity to refill lakes like Red Willow to or near normal pool level. When that happens, hundreds of acres of "dry land" are again submerged, taking with them all the vegetation that had sprouted and often flourished on the dry, rich ground.