Nebraskaland

30 NEBRASKAland • MARCH 2015 Where to Fish Refer to Outdoornebraska.org to find a public pond or lake near you. If you have access to a private farm pond, some of the best fish come out of them, too. When fishing from the shore of a lake or pond, look for cover such as logs, stumps, fallen trees, docks, brush and rocks, which provide game fish shelter and protection from predators. Good places to fish include breakwaters and rocky riprap shorelines. If you know where underwater structures such as weed beds or sunken objects are located, search for fish in those areas. On a lake map (see sidebar), find underwater shelves, points and sandbars that gradually extend into deeper water. Drop-offs are also great places to fish for species like largemouth bass. In open, flat areas with no structure, species like yellow perch, bluegills, walleyes, white bass and channel catfish can be caught in reservoirs because these areas are loaded with natural fish food. In ponds, also look for channel catfish in deep holes and near dams, levees and where ponds are fed by creeks. When to Fish When to fish is both a simple and complicated question. Obviously, the best time to go is when you can, but there are so many variables it is hard to generalize. In early spring, bright, warm, windless mornings might be ideal. Prior to storms and fronts, and mornings and evenings, can also be prime. But it's also trial and error. The best thing you can do is keep a small journal of when fish have been the most active and inactive for you, and for which species, because they all function a little differently depending on the weather. How to Fish Setting the Hook Once you have cast, keep the line fairly taut so you can feel the fish strike whether you are casting and retrieving with a lure, bottom fishing or have your bait sitting below a bobber. Once you feel a strike, you then need to set the hook, meaning to force the hook into the fish's mouth so that it can be reeled in. For panfish, one sharp snap with the wrist is all it takes. Do not use too much force when fishing for panfish or the hook may rip through their paper-thin mouths. Bigger fish such as catfish will require more force to set the hook. When do you set the hook? Look or feel for these common signs: when your bobber is pulled under water, you hear and feel line being pulled out from the spool, a thump on the line, or when your rod tip quickly taps and bends. A cautious fish may bite or bump into the bait lightly without taking it into its mouth. As a beginner, it is best to wait until you feel the weight of the fish before setting the hook. It may take Lake Map Reading K nowing how to read a lake map will help you determine where to fish. Using Summit Lake near Tekamah as an example, look at the map key first to identify all the symbols and lines. For fishing, contour lines, the green and blue lines on this map, are most important. Contour lines allow you to imagine what the bottom of a lake looks like, as far as depth and its underwater features. Contour lines simply designate different depths of water, and can tell you where gradual slopes, islands, holes, points, drop-offs, etc., are located to help you make educated guesses on where fish may or may not be feeding and spending time. The bold numbers represent the depth along a specific line in feet. The closer the lines are together, the steeper the depth change; the farther apart, the more gradual the depth change. Depressions, bowls, holes and islands will be indicated by circular contour lines, and all of these places will hold fish at various parts of the year. Locating shallow water is also key to reading lake maps, as these locations often include vegetation and a variety of fish food that draws in gamefish. See Nebraska Game and Parks Lake Mapping Program. S L View NEBRASKAland's fi shing destination picks of the year. V d

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