OutdoorNebraska

NEBRASKAland Magazine • Fishing the Sandhills Panfish Bluegills, yellow perch and crappies grow fast and fat in Sandhills lakes and are the main draw for many anglers. Bluegills in Sandhills lakes spend most of their time in cattails, bulrushes, smartweed, pondweed and other vegetation, where they have the most cover from hungry bass and pike and plenty of food. Use Mepps spinners, Johnson Beetle Spins or Blakemore Roadrunners to search for fish along the edge of the vegetation. If you find fish, toss out a jig tipped with a piece of nightcrawler or PowerBait worm or waxworm under a bobber and you may be able to pull several fish from a school. Bluegill spawning beds are harder to find in Sandhills lakes than elsewhere due to the thick vegetation that rings most lakes. But if you find an open patch of sandy shoreline in late May, be sure to fish it. During this time of year and at other times when water is clear, a high vantage point from your casting deck and polarized sunglasses can allow you to sight fish for bluegills. Yellow perch can be caught using the same tactics as bluegill through much of the year. They are, however, a more nomadic species and more likely to be found in deeper water that may even be free of vegetation. Crappies will spawn in the shoreline vegetation in May and fishing during this time can be excellent. The rest of the year they are found near vegetation in deeper, open water. Minnows aren't allowed in many lakes, but where permitted they are the preferred bait for crappies and perch. Light spinning or spincasting tackle or a fly rod is sufficient for panfish in the Sandhills. Weedy lakes aren't unfishable, they just require a change in tactics. When vegetation gets thick, a fly rod allows you to cast a dry fly to places you'd never be able to retrieve a jig through. A long cane pole or spinning rod can also be used to probe the weeds for panfish. Drift or motor slowly across the thick vegetation and cast a fly or drop a jig and crawler into any hole in the weeds big enough to fit one in, and it will often hold fish. You can also cast a slip-bobber to these holes. If you catch one fish from a hole, you're likely to catch more. Bluegill Yellow Perch Black Crappie PHOTO BY ERIC FOWLER

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