Nebraskaland

April 2024 • Nebraskaland 33 Bait - The No. 1 bait for multiple species of fish is a jig and a plastic, using different sizes for the different species of fish. With bluegill, use a 1 ⁄64-ounce jig with 1-inch Gulp! minnow. For crappie, move to a 1 ⁄32-ounce. For bass, throw a Ned rig, a mushroom jig tipped with a short plastic worm or creature. For crappie and other panfish, simply put a jig and a bobber about a foot, 2 feet or 3 feet above that, depending on the kind of habitat you're fishing. You just twitch it back slowly. Pike and bass might want some- thing with more aggressive action, like a spinner. Crankbaits certainly work. Overall, I find plastics and jigs to be much more effective in this part of the country than crankbaits and spinnerbaits because of what the food source is in Flanagan. The jig will catch every fish in the lake, including catfish. We've caught 36-inch pike on 1-inch Gulp! minnows. Early Spring - When the water starts to warm up in April, occasionally in March, fish will typically start to move into the shallow coves and shallow bays and stay there starting April through May. There's a lot of habitat in Flanagan, especially right in the bay down from the boat ramp at the cove. There will be a lot of fish there starting in April and through May and a little bit into June. Late Spring - After that, the fish will move out to their summertime location to spawn. The crappie will spawn in May. The bass will spawn at the end of May. The bluegill spawn in June. Spawning areas will be along the rocks and riprap at the end of May and into June. And they'll also be along the bottom of some of those flats. Summer - After the spawn, figure out where food is located. A lot of the food will be along the weed edges. So, if you're fishing from shore on Flanagan, it will be tough during the summertime because the weeds get thick. When temperatures get hot, usually in July and August, the weeds start dying off, and then shoreline fishing gets good again. But if you're out on a boat, focus on weed edges because a lot of fish will be there. Flanagan also has a lot of timber. When temperatures rise in the summer, the shade provided by timber becomes valuable. Big horizontal logs are better than vertical logs because they'll provide a lot more shade. Fall - After that, it's basically looking at what the food source is doing and what's going on with the weeds. The remaining vegetation will hold some weeds into the fall, and as it totally dies off, so do the bug hatches. So, the fish might move into the trees again if the trees are providing cover and food. That can vary a little bit, but not a lot. Spots that are good one year are typically going to be good the next year. How to Fish Flanagan Throughout the Year By Dean Thielen Hank Shaw of Minnesota holding a largemouth bass. Shaw founded the Hunt, Gather, Cook website.

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