Nebraskaland

32 Nebraskaland • April 2024 ou call this a lake?" said my friend Hank Shaw as we unloaded out of the truck on a weekday morning in April. From the southwest parking lot near Fort and 168th streets, Flanagan Lake in Omaha looked little more than a pond. Hank didn't know that the rest of the lake was obscured, and I had forgotten it. The last time I was here, the lake hadn't been fi lled with water — construction of Flanagan began in 2015 and fi nished in 2017. Accustomed to ocean fi shing along the coast of California and Mexico — even commercial salmon fi shing in Alaska — Hank, then of Sacramento, California, scoff ed at the new-ish metro construction located just 15 minutes west from our house. I chuckled sheepishly in response, not knowing if I had blown my chance to impress a visitor or if it was just Hank's sense of West Coast superiority teasing. Our guide Dean Thielen of DAB Fishing was already on the lake. He waved to us from his Lund, and after customary introductions near the boat ramp, the four of us began fl inging Gulp! minnows across the water. We worked the deeper, south end of Flanagan near the dam fi rst, slowly fl oating back north toward the boat ramp and kayak launch. Dean was informative, but not pedantic in his instruction. And just because an angler might be a master on saltwater, doesn't mean they will instinctively know what to do on freshwater, and vice versa. Dean reeled in several nice crappie with practiced hands before Hank landed a four-inch "ditch pickle" — a largemouth bass — his fi rst fi sh of 2023. My husband, Rick, followed up with a crappie. And I wouldn't catch my fi rst fi sh — a crappie — until several moments later. As expected during that time of year, the fi sh would be lethargic at that deeper, colder end of Flanagan. So, we abandoned that south side and trolled up toward the north end, and that's where the waterscape opened up. "Whoa, this lake is a lot bigger than I thought," Hank admitted, sitting back and admiring the view and soaking in the warmth of the spring sun. For a metro-area lake, 225 acres of surface water at full pool isn't half bad. The surrounding land adds an additional 505 acres of green space, a playground and park area on the northeastern side south of Ida Street, and over 5 miles of paved trails. Despite being located in the middle of the city and surrounded by homes, our time on the water was peaceful. We delighted over the myriad of songbirds and waterfowl that zoomed close as the boat slowly made its 'Y Game and Parks fi sheries biologists put in a variety of fi sh structure at Flanagan Lake, a few of which were "new" or unique to those done before in past lake constructions. ERIC FOWLER, NEBRASKALAND

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