OutdoorNebraska

Nebraskaland magazine's • A YEAR OUTDOORS 9 Late April or early May • Fish for white bass as this open- water predator starts spawning at reservoirs around the state. Fish instinctively swim upriver to spawn, making any place where water flows into a reservoir the best bets to cast jigs on light line. Locations includes Lonergan and Otter Creek inlets at Lake McConaughy and the North Platte River above it when water is high; Gracie Creek inlet and the Calamus River above Calamus Reservoir; canal inlets at Sherman, Davis Creek and Sutherland reservoirs and Lake Minatare, Lake Maloney and Johnson Lake. Late April • Begin catching largemouth bass along areas with emerging vegetation, along drop-offs and rip-rap areas of lakes and ponds. I-80 lakes give ample opportunity for bass anglers. Camp at Windmill SRA near Gibbon, which has six lakes to fish, or at Mormon Island SRA near Grand Island, which has perfect spring camping and bass fishing. • Look for morel mushrooms after early spring rains or snow followed by warm, sunny conditions with night temperatures above 50 degrees. Sunny, south-facing slopes can produce mushrooms early in the season. Moist wooded areas near dying or dead elm or ash trees, old apple orchards and timbered areas along rivers and streams are good places to find morels. Recently burned woods have been cited as good producing areas as well. • Plant pollinator gardens that have blooming flowers from June until the frost to support monarch butterflies and other pollinators. • View shorebirds, including ibises, at Buffalo Bill Ranch SRA, sandhill lakes and playas and the Valentine National Wildlife Refuge. Pelicans can be found at Calamus Reservoir, Lake Ogallala, Sutherland Reservoir, and Lake Maloney SRAs and Harlan County Reservoir. • Turkey hunt or fish on an Open Fields and Waters area. • Pick up nightcrawlers after a spring rain to use for fishing. PHOTO BY ERIC FOWLER. WORM PHOTO BELOW BY JEFF KURRUS PHOTO BY JEFF KURRUS PHOTO BY JEFF KURRUS

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