Tim Ryba of Columbus shows one of eight Master Angler slabs that he took at one of his favorite sandpit lakes last year. He reports catching 200 crappie in about two weeks! Photo courtesy of Tim Ryba

April and May are the top months for action with a number of fish species in Nebraska waters. They're unquestionably the best two months of the year for crappie angling.

"I firmly believe May is the best month for crappie fishing in Nebraska," said Brad Newcomb, district fisheries supervisor for the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission's Kearney office. "After the spring bite, the fish are more scattered, and that results in lower fishing success. Anglers fishing for crappie during the summer and fall months should spend time searching for the fish with sonar units, and by using techniques that cover a lot of area, such as trolling.

"In my district, which includes 18 counties in south-central Nebraska, the best public crappie waters include Sherman Reservoir and the Central Nebraska Public Power and Irrigation District's canal system and reservoirs. The latter includes the canals as well as Midway, Gallagher Canyon and Plum Creek reservoirs.

"The sandpit lakes along Interstate 80 provide limited success on slab crappie, and Mormon Island State Recreation Area south of Grand Island is one of the best spots."

Newcomb's overview of crappie fishing differs little from those of fisheries biologists and fishermen across Nebraska -- the playing fields change, but the game's basically the same.

"Merritt and Calamus reservoirs, along with Twin and Big Alkali lakes, are the best crappie waters in my district," said Joel Klammer, district fisheries supervisor at the NGPC's Bassett office. "For slabs I would pick North Twin, Calamus and Big Alkali; for numbers it would be Merritt.

"The crappie is a popular fish in the district, and anglers love to fish for them, but we just don't have a lot of places for them to do it."

Klammer believes that the best fishing is had from January to May. "Twin Lakes (North and South) is a good winter fishery, as is Merritt, and all are good during the spring bite in May," he said.

Al Hanson, district fisheries chief at Alliance, reports that Box Butte, Whitney and Oliver reservoirs are his best crappie waters. "I'd pick May and June as the peak months here in the Panhandle," he offered. "All of these reservoirs have some slab crappie. Whitney is best for numbers, with quite a few fish in the 10- to 12-inch class."

In the southwest, says district fisheries biologist Steve Brezenski at North Platte, the best three public crappie spots in the district are Red Willow and Medicine Creek reservoirs along with Diamond Bar Lake. "I'd pick May as the best month for crappie," he stated, "and I would say Diamond Bar would be the best for slabs as well as numbers. The crappie is a popular fish, and if the numbers are there, people will go after them. However, right now the supply is pretty low here in the southwest, due to low water levels in the reservoirs the past four or five years."