NEBRASKAland Magazine is dedicated to outstanding photography and informative writing with an engaging mix of articles and photos highlighting Nebraska’s outdoor activities, parklands, wildlife, history and people.
Issue link: http://mag.outdoornebraska.gov/i/823575
80 NEBRASKAland • MAY 2017 Aquatic Updates Angler opportunities improving at lakes across the state. By Eric Fowler The project at Arnold Lake is one of many that have been completed, are underway or are planned through the Commission's Aquatic Habitat Program (AHP), which began in 1996, and the Angler Access Program (AAP), which began in 2010. Using funds paid by anglers through the Aquatic Habitat Stamp, as well as matching funds from other programs, including the federal Sport Fish Restoration Program (SFR) and 71 other partners, the programs have spent $68 million to improve aquatic habitat at 96 Nebraska waters and improve angler access at 52 others. Work has been done at the following lakes for a few years, but fish are now reaching keeper proportions. Watts Lake, Valentine National Wildlife Refuge AHP and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 230-acre Sandhills lake renovated in 2015 to remove carp. Perch and bluegills should reach keeper size by fall or winter. Bass are numerous and growing. Rat and Beaver WMA, Valentine AHP. 450-acre Sandhills lakes renovated in 2014 to remove carp. Crappie and bluegills should reach keeper size by fall or winter. Bass are numerous and growing. Yellow perch should reach 12-inch minimum length limit by 2018. Lake Yankton, Cedar County 332-acre lake below Gavins Point Dam renovated in 2014 to remove rough fish that entered in flood of 2011. High density of bass in 12- to 15-inch range and bluegills in 8-inch range. Channel catfish, crappies and walleyes need more time to grow. Joint effort among the Commission, South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. No gas motors allowed. Sandy Channel SRA, Elm Creek AAP and SFR. New boat ramps on Lakes 2 and 4; six fishing pads on Lakes 2, 4 and 8, one wheelchair accessible; cleared trees and brush and graded shoreline to improve access on Lakes 2, 4 and 8 and to restore swim beach on Lake 8. Jenny Newman Lake, Platte River State Park, Cass County AHP and AAP. New fishing pier, improved shoreline access and ADA trail. Also created a stream with waterfalls to aerate well water that feeds lake. ■ Ready to Fish N ow deep, clear and teeming with fish, it looks like the third time is a charm for Arnold Lake. The Village of Arnold teamed up with the Nebraska Game Forestation and Parks Commission in the early 1930s to buy 40 acres south of town for a park, the centerpiece of which is a small, spring-fed lake. Through the years, the lake, which was only 4 to 6 feet deep, suffered from dense aquatic vegetation and periodic fish dieoffs. The village received a Nebraska Environmental Trust grant and help from the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission to hydraulically dredge 30,000 cubic yards of silt from the lake in 1997, deepening it to 10 feet. The benefits were short-lived for reasons discovered when the latest attempt to rehabilitate the lake through the Commission's Aquatic Habitat Program began in 2011. When the lake was drained and crews began to remove sediment, saturated soil oozed out of the banks and filled spots that were just excavated. Engineering used fabric mat to stabilize the banks, allowing it to be deepened to 12 feet. The project also built five fishing points, one of them accessible by wheelchair, to get anglers closer to deep water; replaced the outlet structure; and installed a new boat ramp. Below the surface, shoals, rubble piles and spawning beds were also installed to provide fish habitat. Adult largemouth bass – stocked when the work was completed and the pond began refilling in 2013 – are reaching the 21-inch minimum length limit, and fingerling bass that were stocked are reaching 15 inches and providing plenty of angling action. Bluegills will reach the 8-inch range this year, giving anglers the chance to take home a meal, as will the 10-inch channel catfish stocked in 2014 and 2016. Black crappies were stocked in 2016. The angling opportunities are proving to be popular for kids of all ages in the town of 600, a goal of similar community lake projects like this that have been completed under the Aquatic Habitat Program. "We try to develop amenities and also fisheries that are well suited for families and children," said Mark Porath, head of the program in the Commission's Fisheries Division. The Commission transferred the state recreation area to the Village of Arnold in 2010. The community has added several improvements, including a shower house to serve campers using 20 campsites with electrical hookups and numerous primitive sites for tents. ■