Nebraskaland

July 2023 • Nebraskaland 49 oel Klammer repeatedly casts a woolly bugger fl y toward rock structures in Long Pine Creek and lets it drift through the deep holes below them. He thinks he sees a fi sh attempting to bite on one drift, but after 20 minutes, he decides his fi rst choice of fl ies wasn't going to cut it on this section of the creek on Pine Glen Wildlife Management Area. So, he reaches into his fl y box and ties on a big, brown, rubber-legged nymph. "The water was moving pretty fast. I wanted something bigger to attract their attention," Klammer said. "Those fi sh have to make a decision quick in that faster water. It's fl oating by pretty quick. It's no spring creek, where you're fl oating your fl y down the surface gently for a minute." It was another 20 minutes before that decision paid off , and he landed a brown trout that topped 10 inches. Forty minutes and a quarter mile upstream later, he landed his fourth brown, this one topping 12 inches. The one thing each of the fi sh had in common, other than the fl y they were caught on, is all were hooked near rock structures installed in the creek in 2019 as part of a Nebraska Game and Parks Commission Aquatic Habitat Program project designed to improve habitat for fi sh and success for anglers. As the Stream Flows Long Pine Creek begins fl owing in a pasture on the edge of the Sandhills southwest of the town of Long Pine. After fl owing east for about 6 miles, it turns north, continuing roughly 20 miles, as the crow fl ies, until it meets the Niobrara River. Its winding path stretches 33½ miles, coursing through a canyon more than a mile wide and 200 feet deep in spots, which is forested with ponderosa pines, eastern red cedars and oaks — a stark contrast to the open range and cropland surrounding the canyon. Along the way, the creek winds its way past cabins in Hidden Paradise Resort, where the cool, pristine waters have drawn vacationers since 1910. It continues through Long Pine State Recreation Area, a popular spot for people to camp, fi sh and drift down the stream in tubes to cool off on a hot summer day. After fl owing beneath U.S. Highway 20, it crosses Long Pine Wildlife Management Area, and 13 stream miles later, Pine Glen WMA, both rugged areas that draw anglers and hunters. Similar to most of the streams that feed into the Niobrara River, Long Pine Creek's base fl ow comes from springs of the Ogallala Aquifer. The creek is considered a Class A coldwater stream, where temperatures never top 77 degrees, making it cold enough to support trout Long Pine Creek Work Improves a Unique Fishery in the Sandhills J Story and photos by Eric Fowler A trackhoe installs rock structures in Long Pine Creek following work to remove eastern red cedar trees from the creekbottom. The Aquatic Habitat Program project improved habitat for fi sh and access for anglers.

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