April 29

I went fishing at Red Willow Lake for a few hours in the late afternoon. I caught one Master Angler largemouth bass at 23 inches plus others up to 17 inches, and wipers up to 23 inches on suspending jerkbait. These fish were caught around main lake points in depth of 20 feet or less. The surface water temperature is in the mid 50s.

April 28

I went fishing at a private sandpit in the late afternoon and caught over 15 largemouth bass between 10 and 18 inches, including one master angler at 20.50 inches. These fish were caught on a weightless plastic worm (Senko) around underwater brush piles and weed beds along the first drop-off.

April 27

I took my brother, Tim, fishing at Red Willow Lake in the afternoon. We caught good numbers of wipers between 10 and 20 inches and white bass up to 12 inches on live shiners using dropshot rigs and ReelBait's Walleye Flasher Jig as a weight. These fish were caught around a underwater humps in depths of 20 feet or less. I  also caught one Master Angler Wiper at 27" using a suspending jerkbait fishing along a rocky bluff near a creek channel. The surface water temperature is in the low 50s.

April 26

I went to Cedar Bluff Lake in Kansas to fish a Jackpot Buddy Bass Tournament. My partner and I placed 8th with five largemouth bass weighting 11.72 pounds (the 1st place team won with 14 pounds). We caught them on jig 'n plastic bait combos worked along lay down trees and standing timber in coves.

April 25

I guided on Red Willow Lake. The water temperature dropped to 52 degrees, and the water clarity changed from clear to stained, due to the rain and cooler weather we had the last three days. We caught wipers up to 20 inches and a walleye to approximately 18 inches on dropshot rigs using live shiners. A few fish came on a suspending jerkbaits. These fish were caught around underwater humps and flats next to a creek channel where the water was a little clearer.

April 22

I went fishing at a private sandpit in the afternoon and caught over 20 largemouth bass between 13 and 18 inches. They were caught around underwater brush piles and edges of deep weed beds along the first drop-off using a weightless Texas-rigged plastic bait (Gary Yamamoto 5" Senko).

April 21

I took a friend fishing at Red Willow Lake for a few hours in the late afternoon. We caught two Master Angler largemouth bass at 22.50 and 21 inches, one wiper at 22 inches, one northern pike at 32 inches, and one walleye at 23 inches. They were caught on a suspending jerkbaits and crankbaits around main lake points. The surface water temperature is in the mid 50s.

April 19

I took my son Jeremy and my brother Tim fishing at Red Willow Lake in the afternoon, and we caught goods numbers of crappies up to 12 inches, one Master Angler wiper at 27 inches, and a few largemouth bass up to 15 inches on dropshot rigs with a live shiner or small plastic baits. These fish were caught around underwater brush piles near the mouth of a cove.

April 18

I took my brother Rod and a friend fishing at Red Willow Lake in the late afternoon for a few hours. We caught two walleye at 26 and 25.50 inches, one wiper at 22 inches, and a few white bass on jerkbaits, jigs, and a spinnerbait. The fish were caught around a main lake points and along a flat near a creek channel in depths of 10 feet or less. The surface water temperature is in the low 50s.

April 14, 15

I went fishing by myself on the 14th and took my doctor fishing on the 15th at Red Willow Lake in the afternoon. I'm still catching walleye up to 24 inches, largemouth bass up to 18 inches, northern pike up to 34 inches, wipers up to 22 inches , and white bass up to 11 inches. They were caught on suspending jerkbaits around main lake points, secondary points in coves, and main lake flats. I also caught crappies up to 12 inches on dropshot rigs with plastic baits around underwater brush piles at the mouth of a deep cove. The surface water temperature is in the mid 50s on the main lake and in the lower 60s back in the coves.

April 13

I took my brother, Tim, fishing at Red Willow Lake in the afternoon and caught a limit of walleye between 16 and 20 inches. I used a dropshot rig with plastic baits and my brother was using a jig and plastic grub. We also caught smaller wipers, largemouth bass and white bass on suspending jerkbaits. These fish were caught around main lake points and flats next to deep water. The surface water temperature is in the low to mid 50s.

April 10, 11, 12

I took my brother, Rod, and a friend fishing in the afternoon at Red Willow Lake and we caught six Master Angler wipers ( 31.50", two 28", two 26", and 25.50") and one Master Angler northern pike at 45". We also caught smaller wipers between 14 and 23 inches, largemouth bass between 12 and 18 inches, northern pike between 24 and 34 inches, and a few white bass up to 12 inches. They were caught on a suspending jerkbaits around main lake points, secondary points in coves, and main lake flats next to deep water. The main lake water temperature is in the low 50s on the main lake and mid 50s back in the coves.

April 4

I guided on Red Willow Lake and fishing was a little tougher today. The water temperature dropped to 48 - 50 degrees, from 55 degrees yesterday, due to a cold front that came through late last night. We caught two largemouth bass (19.50" and 18") and two northern pike (35" and 33"), plus we lost couple of nice fish, including one that broke the line. The action came on suspending jerkbaits around points at the mouths of coves.

April 3

I took Nebraska Game and Parks Commission fisheries biologist, Monte Madsen, fishing this afternoon at Red Willow Lake. We caught four Master Angler wipers (29", 25.50", 24.50", and 24") plus eight other wipers between 15 and 23 inches. We also caught four largemouth bass between 12 and 16 inches, and one northern pike at approximately 28 inches. These fish were caught on main lake points and points on mouth of coves using suspending jerkbaits. The main lake water temperature is in the mid 50s.

April 2

I went fishing in the afternoon at Red Willow Lake and caught six Master Anglers wipers (27", 26", 2 - 25", 24.50", and 24") plus one that went 22 inches. They were caught on main lake points using a suspending jerkbait. The surface water temperature is in the lower 50s.

April 1

I took my Doctor and my brother Rod fishing in the afternoon at Red Willow Lake. We caught five Master Angler wipers (29", 27", 26", 25", and 24") and five largemouth bass between 12 and 17 inches, plus one northern pike approximately 32 inches. The fish were caught on suspending jerkbaits around main lakes points, secondary points in coves and flats next to deep water. The main lake water temperature is in the upper 40s and back in the coves it's 50 degrees.

March 30

My brother Tim and I went fishing at Red Willow Lake in the afternoon and caught northern pike up to 33 inches. They were caught on suspending jerkbaits around main lake points and secondary points in coves. The surface water temperature is 46 degrees.

March 24, 25, 26

I went fishing at Red Willow Lake in the afternoon to try out my new bass boat and caught good numbers of crappies up to 13 inches. I caught 9 largemouth bass between 12 and 19 inches, including one Master Angler that measured 23.50 inches and weighed approximately 8 pounds. I also took and few wipers up to 20 inches, white bass to 12 inches and one northern pike at 30 inches.

These fish were caught on a 4-inch plastic worm, 4-inch Zoom Super Fluke JR., and a 3-inch Bass Assassin rigged on a dropshot rig, and on a suspending jerkbait. They were caught around main lake points and secondary points in coves around underwater brush piles and rocky areas in depths of 20 feet or less.

I also caught some crappies along the creek channel edges around tree stumps in depths of 35 to 40 feet on the dropshot rigs. The surface water temperature is in the upper 40s on the main lake and 50 degrees in the coves.

March 23

My brother and I went fishing at a private sandpit and caught good number of crappies between 8 and 14 inches, and largemouth bass between 10 and 19 inches. They were caught around the edges of deep weed beds and brush piles along the first drop-off. We were using a 3- and 4-inch Berkley Power Worms rigged on a dropshot rig, small tube baits on a jig head, and suspending jerkbaits.

March 17

I went back to the same private sandpit in the afternoon and caught good numbers of crappies between 8 and 14 inches including one Nebraska Master Angler that measured 16 inches and also caught good numbers of largemouth bass between 10 and 18 inches. They were caught along the edges of deep weed beds and brush piles along the first drop-off using a size 11 Uncle Josh Pork Frog (frog color) rigged on a dropshot rig.

March 16

My brother and I went fishing in the afternoon at a private sandpits and caught over 20 largemouth bass between 10 and 19 inches and approximately 40 crappies between 8 and 14 inches. We were using 3- and 4-inch plastic worms rigged on a dropshot rig. We also caught a few fish on suspending 4-inch jerkbaits. They were caught around underwater brush piles and edges of deep weep beds along the first drop-off on the windy shorelines.

March 13

I went fishing at Red Willow with a friend to try out his new Minn Kota Maxxum Trolling Motor on his boat, and to make sure his transducer for his flasher was working. We caught good numbers of crappies between 10 and 12 inches using 1.5- and 3-inch Shad Assassin and live fathead minnows rigged on dropshot rigs. We fished around the underwater brush piles and secondary points in coves. The surface water temperature is approximately 34 degrees and all the ice is gone.

March 12

I went fishing at a private sand pit in the afternoon and caught five largemouth bass between 16 and 19 inches, plus good numbers of crappies between 8 and 14 inches. They were caught around underwater brush piles and edges of deep weed beds along the first drop-off using a 4-inch finesse worm and the new Super Fluke Jr. rigged on a dropshot rig.

March 9

My brother and I went to Red Willow Lake to check the ice conditions. Most of the ice was less than three inches in the bay and unsafe. We found a lot of open water on the main lake and back in the bays. We ended up going back to the same private sandpit I fished yesterday and caught three largemouth bass (19", 15", and 14") fishing the same underwater brush piles with dropshot rigs with a Berkley Power Worm.

March 8

I went fishing in open water at a private sand pit in the late afternoon and caught two largemouth bass (14" and 16")  4-inch plastic worm rigged on a dropshot rig. They were caught around underwater brush piles next to the first drop-off casting from the shore.

March 3

I went to Red Willow Lake to check the ice depths and most of the main lake was frozen over with less than two inches of ice. Back in the bays was less than four inches and unsafe to ice fish.