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Public Sandhills Lakes Public Sandhills lakes are scattered throughout north-central Nebraska. The following list details them by county from west to east. Unless otherwise stated, boats are limited to 5 mph and can leave no wake. Walgren Lake SRA 113 Acres. Sheridan County, 3E, 3S of Hay Springs. Bluegill, Bullhead, Channel Catfish, Crappie, Largemouth Bass, Northern Pike, Walleye, Yellow Perch. While this lake isn't technically a Sandhills lake, it looks, acts and fishes like one, and you can see the Sandhills from there, so we'll include it. The lake filled in 2015 after a dry period sapped its water level. It offers good perch, bluegill and bass fishing, and with a hard bottom, an excellent population of channel catfish. A few big flathead catfish, survivors from fish stocked years ago, still swim there, too. The east half of the lake is private and no bank access is allowed. Wheelchair-accessible fishing pier, concrete boat ramp, primitive campground, stone picnic shelter, pit toilet. Smith Lake WMA 290 Acres. Sheridan County, 23S of Rushville. Bluegill, Bullhead, Crappie, Largemouth Bass, Northern Pike, Yellow Perch. Smith Lake has long been an excellent panfish lake, producing big bluegills and bass and abundant perch. An Aquatic Habitat Program project in the late-1990s used a dredge to provide depths of 10 to 12 feet in the center of the lake, lessening the likelihood of winterkill. Like other lakes with good water quality, Smith has always had abundant vegetation. That took a new turn recently when curly-leaf pondweed appeared at the lake in 2015, the first occurrence in the Panhandle. Common in eastern lakes, this submersed vegetation thrived at Smith, covering all of the lake in depths of 6 feet or less and making boating and fishing difficult. Handicap-accessible concrete boat ramp, primitive camping, pit toilet. Shell Lake WMA 160 Acres. Cherry County, 3N, 4E, 8N of Gordon. Bluegill, Channel Catfish, Crappie, Largemouth Bass, Northern Pike, Yellow Perch. W 113 ● 1 S ● 2 S 160 ● 3 The sun rises over an ice-covered Smith Lake. LEON SPANGLER OF EWING REELS IN A NORTHERN PIKE AT GOOSE LAKE. PHOTO BY JUSTIN HAAG Fishing the Sandhills • NEBRASKAland Magazine Swan Lake Twin Lakes WMA Overton Lake Goose Lake WMA Bassett Burwell Bartlett Taylor Atkinson Newport O'Neill ● ● ● ● ● ● ●