Smith lake questions

My fiancee’s folks live north east of Oshkosh by a few miles and I am headed out the weekend of Feb. 10 and 11. I saw that Smith is listed by NGPC as a great lake, Zach T was there recently with a good report and it is a half an hour tops from her folk’s place making for an easy drive. I have lots of questions if I may. Having never fished this lake in specific but recently fishing my first sandhill’s lake which was a shallow weed bowl is Smith the same way? What is the deepest water in the lake and is that what I should be trying to find? Will put up 5 tip ups between her and I and then fish with a few rods ourselves for our 10 pole limit between two people. Shooting for panfish is the big goal and it will be her first time so hoping to do enough right to get her excited. She went crappie fishing with me last spring for the first time and had a blast so action is way better then big fish but for panfish and only 10 per person I am hoping for some good fish. From the picture of the lake it looks like it runs long instead of round. Where should I start? I know she will not fish all day from the cold and we will be headed back that night to Kearney as I think we will fish the Sunday. Am I best off getting there at the crack of dawn or do the fish bite all day?

Any suggestions, tips or otherwise would be greatly appreciated.

Craig

SORRY

Different Zach referenced from the other report Fisherman Zach but thank you anyway good sir as I know you have been to lots of places out west I have yet to hear about let alone fish.
Craig

Craig- I’ve never fished the lake but I might be able to help get you started.
Do you have a fish finder?
You’ll usually want to find some deeper water if it’s available. I like to start off finding some drop offs when I’m on new water. If the lake has a lot of vegitaion left, that would be another place to start looking. Try to find a pocket in the weeds or get on the edge of them. A lot of times I will drill holes and check them with my Vexilar for fish. I won’t even start fishing until I mark some fish. Sometimes I drill 30 or 40 holes before I drop a line. Hopefully you have a power auger.
Do you have a camera?
If water clarity is good a camera can be a big help in finding some vegitation, structure or fish.
With a 5 line limit in Nebraska I feel a lot of people make the mistake of getting out and getting your 5 lines out before they find active fish. I wouldn’t put a tip-up in a hole until you know it’s productive. If you are in an area with no fish setting up 5 tip-ups and then moving them because there are no fish will waste a lot of good fishing time.
Just remember to be mobile. If you were in a boat you wouldn’t anchor all day and wait for the fish to come to you so keep moving. If you mark fish and they are not active keep moving. You’ll come upon some active fish sooner or later.

I Don’t know a thing about Smith Lake I moved up here this spring and have been fishing Mac all the time but the report in Lewllen this week about Smith wasn’t to good.The guys that were up yesterday said there were quite a few fishing but not to many catching.Are the future in laws farmers or ranchers out here?I run a spray company out here in Oshkosh and know quite a few of the people out that way.There are some catching trout out below the dam on the little lake.

I have a hand auger, no vexilar, no camera and nothing but desire and fishing equipment without the extra gadgets. I will however take all of that good advice into account as active fish is indeed crucial. To answer sharbait’s question her father is Dennis Allen who is the superintendent of roads for Garden County so you may know who he is.

I have fished Smith several times and have had great luck. One thing to remember is that there is a 10 panfish limit on Smith since the first of the year.

Do NOT try to get on the lake at the boat ramp. There is an aireator there and the ice is unsafe. You can get on the lake on the east end or drive around past the boat ramp and actually get to a parking area on the south side of the lake.

You can download a map of Smith on the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission Website. It is an acurate map and very useful. Last weekend we took our limits of panfish. Our ‘gills ranged from 7-11″ and some crappies in the 12″ range. We only picked up a couple pike and they were small.

pm me for more information; if you wish.

dj

I may have created some confusion flatwater as I have discovered there are more then one Smith lakes in that area. The one I was looking at is north of Oshkosh in the Crescent lake wildlife area and the other that is shown on the NGPC map is the one further north up by Rushville. I would guess the one you are referring to is the one further north?

Yep! Sorry about that.

It is a great lake though. Will try to help you out again some time.

dj

Thanks DJ for taking the time however to try and give me a hand and your information and reports give me good ideas on how to try to find the panfish in this lake too.
Thanks
Craig