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Lake McConaughy Fishing Report

Updated Fri, Oct 23, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

Lake McConaughy: Nebraska's largest reservoir, 22 miles of North Platte water behind Kingsley Dam, with walleye, wipers and smallmouth.

No public boat ramps in use. Nebraska Game and Parks says public boat-ramp access is no longer available at Lake McConaughy, which is at its lowest level since 2006; only private launch services operate. Source, read October 8, 2026.

3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Water temp
~55 F est.
Air / High
83 / 85 F
Wind
SSW 20 mph

Sources: Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.

Tap a marker for today's tip
Friday
23
October 2026

Today's Fishing Report

Generated this morning from live readings: gauge, weather model, sun and moon. A fresh report is published here every morning.

3/5Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Lake McConaughy rewards those who follow the bait as the water cools. Today brings clear skies, wind SSW around 20 mph, steady pressure near 1005 hPa and a high of 85. Water sits around 55 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 9:24 AM-11:24 AM and 9:53 PM-11:53 PM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

WalleyeGood

Spring: post-spawn fish scatter and can be slow for a couple of weeks. Fall: one of the best windows, with minnows on jigs and three-way rigs as the water cools toward ice-up.

Northern pikeGood

The best band for pike: right after ice-out they move into flooded vegetated shallows to spawn, and they feed actively again as the water cools in fall.

Smallmouth bassGood

Spring pre-spawn and fall: Iowa DNR notes the larger bass come up to shallow structure, where a shallow-running minnow bait or a spinnerbait just under the surface works.

Catfish (blue, channel)Good

In spring after ice-out, Iowa finds channel cats feeding on winter-killed shad on the shallow, warmer mudflats at the upper ends of reservoirs; cut bait on the bottom works there.

Yellow perchGood

Spring and fall: perch hold shallower and, by Michigan DNR's account, feed through the day, so shoreline weed edges, flats and the shallows near spawning areas are worth searching.

White bassFair

The spring run happens in this band: tributaries, shoals and the upper ends of reservoirs as the water reaches about 55Β°F.

Hybrid striped bassFair

In spring, windblown shorelines, riprap and dams during the shad spawn (May in Oklahoma); in fall, the pre-winter feed on the same kind of banks.

Tomorrow: Cooler at 72 F with a rain chance. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Oct 24, 6:30 AMHow this report is made β†’

Before you go

Nebraska requires a fishing licence from age 16, from $41.00 for residents. What a Nebraska licence costs and where to buy it β†’

Chasing walleye here? Check the size and bag limits with NGPC before you keep anything. The season dates for Nebraska, read off the agency, are on the Nebraska seasons page.

Water and weather

Live readings.

No live gauge on this water

Conditions here are modeled from weather, season and the nearest stations. Water readings appear when a USGS gauge is available.

304050607080JanMarMayJulSepNovOct, ~55 F now

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp83 F
High / Low85 / 61 F
WindSSW 20-26 mph
Pressure1004.8 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain0% cloud, 4%
Sunrise / Sunset07:08 / 17:54
MoonWaxing Gibbous, 91%
Water temp (seasonal)~55 F est.

Bite planner

Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today. Tap a bar to see why.

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunsetPRIMEPRIME

Which day to fish Lake McConaughy this week

Today is the pick of the week on Lake McConaughy, at 3 out of 5.

Best day this week: today, Oct 23 β€” fair at 3/5, steady pressure, neither help nor hindrance.

Today, Oct 23 β€” Fair

A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Solunar majors
9:24 AM-11:24 AM and 9:53 PM-11:53 PM
Minor period
3:47 AM-4:47 AM
Sun
07:08 to 17:54
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Overcast, 20 mph
Rain chance
4%

Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out: how the score is built.

Species guide

The species that matter on Lake McConaughy: seasons, structure and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.

Walleye illustration

Walleye

Best: spring and late fall, around dawn, dusk and night

A cool-water perch of large lakes, reservoirs and rivers whose reflective eyes are built for low light, so it feeds most at night and in murky water. The Missouri Department of Conservation ranks it among the continent's most important freshwater game fish. Spring: post-spawn fish scatter and can be slow for a couple of weeks. Fall: one of the best windows, with minnows on jigs and three-way rigs as the water cools toward ice-up.

White bass illustration

White bass

Best: the spring run up the tributaries, then summer surface schools

A silvery temperate bass of rivers and large reservoirs, also called sand bass, that schools in open water after shad and runs up tributaries to spawn in early spring. The spring run happens in this band: tributaries, shoals and the upper ends of reservoirs as the water reaches about 55Β°F.

Northern pike illustration

Northern pike

Best: cool water, from ice-out through spring, in fall and under the ice

A long, duck-billed predator of weedy lakes, slow rivers and backwaters that ambushes fish from vegetation. Wisconsin DNR points out that, unlike most of the state's common game fish, pike do their best feeding in cool water. The best band for pike: right after ice-out they move into flooded vegetated shallows to spawn, and they feed actively again as the water cools in fall.

Smallmouth bass illustration

Smallmouth bass

Best: spring and fall, when bigger fish come shallow

A bronze-brown black bass of clear, cool streams and rocky lakes, with dark vertical bars instead of a side stripe. Michigan DNR says its southeastern coast, from Port Huron to Lake Erie, is known nationally for both the size and the number of its smallmouth. Spring pre-spawn and fall: Iowa DNR notes the larger bass come up to shallow structure, where a shallow-running minnow bait or a spinnerbait just under the surface works.

Hybrid striped bass illustration

Hybrid striped bass

Best: the spring shad spawn and fall; summer at dawn and dusk

A hatchery cross of striped bass and white bass, also called wiper or palmetto bass, stocked by state agencies into reservoirs and rivers as a sport fish that also eats gizzard shad. Schools roam open water after shad. In spring, windblown shorelines, riprap and dams during the shad spawn (May in Oklahoma); in fall, the pre-winter feed on the same kind of banks.

Catfish (blue, channel) illustration

Catfish (blue, channel)

Year-round, best at dusk and after dark

Three big catfish share most of the country's rivers and reservoirs: the channel catfish, the most widespread; the blue catfish, the largest; and the flathead, which hunts live fish. All feed mostly on or near the bottom. In spring after ice-out, Iowa finds channel cats feeding on winter-killed shad on the shallow, warmer mudflats at the upper ends of reservoirs; cut bait on the bottom works there.

Yellow perch illustration

Yellow perch

Caught all year, including under the ice through winter

Yellow perch are schooling panfish of the Great Lakes and northern lakes, and Michigan DNR calls them the game fish most often caught in that state. Spring and fall: perch hold shallower and, by Michigan DNR's account, feed through the day, so shoreline weed edges, flats and the shallows near spawning areas are worth searching.

When to come: the Lake McConaughy calendar

Activity by species and month, and how the water warms through the year. Tap any cell.

Species activity by month

1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted.

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Walleye
White bass
Northern pike
Smallmouth bass
Hybrid striped bass
Catfish (blue, channel)
Yellow perch
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 55 F (estimated, not a reading).

304050607080JanMarMayJulSepNovOct, ~55 F now

Angler reports

Real reports from real anglers, reviewed before publishing. The water log below tracks each day automatically.

No angler reports yet this weekBe the first: your report helps every angler who checks Lake McConaughy today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Oct 22

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Walleye led the card at good. High of 81 F, wind to 17 mph.

Wed, Oct 21

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Walleye led the card at good. High of 78 F, wind to 9 mph.

Tue, Oct 20

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Walleye led the card at excellent. High of 75 F, wind to 11 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
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Before you go

License

Nebraska requires a valid fishing license for adults. Buy online from the state agency; one-day options exist for visitors.

Regulations

Nebraska fishing permit and park entry permit. Walleye 15-inch minimum, 4 a day, one 22 in. or longer. Special rules at the dam (April nights), on Lonergan and Otter creeks (April 1-June 30) and for spearfishing (July 1-Dec. 31): see the 2026 Nebraska Fishing Guide.

Access

Public boat ramps are out of the water (Game and Parks, August 2026); private launch services operate. Fish-cleaning stations at Martin Bay, Otter Creek and Cedar View. Camping is by advance reservation May 20-Sept. 10.

About this water

30,500 surface acres (Central; Game and Parks: 30,000), 22 miles long, behind Kingsley Dam (1936-1941) on the North Platte, Keith County, Nebraska.

Fishing Lake McConaughy: the full guide

The reservoir

Central Nebraska Public Power and Irrigation District built Kingsley Dam from 1936 to 1941; the dam is 3.1 miles long and 163 feet high, and the lake behind it runs 22 miles with 30,500 surface acres and 1.7 million acre-feet of storage. Game and Parks rounds the lake to 30,000 acres, calls it Nebraska's largest reservoir and says its fish account for several state records. The state recreation area lies eight miles northeast of Ogallala.

Low water in 2026

On Aug. 7, 2026, Game and Parks reported that long drought had pulled the lake to its lowest level since 2006 and that Spillway Bay's single-lane ramp, with its end at elevation 3,202 feet, was the last public ramp still in the water and would likely be dry within the month. The park page now says public boat ramp access is no longer available and points boaters to three private launch services; launching from the beach is at your own risk, and boaters are asked not to travel beyond Van's Lakeview on the west end.

Fish and rules

Game and Parks names walleye, channel catfish, northern pike, wipers, smallmouth bass and white bass among the game fish, and the 2026 Fishing Guide adds black bullhead, carp, freshwater drum and yellow perch. Walleye follow the inland rule of a 15-inch minimum and four a day, one of them 22 inches or longer. From sunset to sunrise in April, boat fishing within 30 yards of the dam is allowed only from 200 feet north of the morning-glory outlet, traveling south to north; spearfishing for game fish is allowed July 1-Dec. 31; and from April 1 to June 30 no walleye, white bass or wipers may be possessed on Lonergan and Otter creeks from the lakeshore up to the Highway 92 culverts.

Levels and the dam

Central sets maximum operating elevations through the year, from 3,260 feet (March 1-April 24 and Oct. 1-Dec. 31) to 3,265 feet (Jan. 1-Feb. 28 and May 21-Sept. 30), and publishes the lake's current elevation on its website. Central also plans to reface the upstream face of Kingsley Dam; its February 2026 schedule puts the start of construction in spring 2029.

Common questions

Is Lake Ogallala part of Lake McConaughy?

It is a separate lake below Kingsley Dam, formed when sand was pumped from the riverbed to build the dam's downstream side (Central). Game and Parks manages it as a 650-acre, 5 mph lake with its own species list and rules.

What are the walleye rules at Lake McConaughy?

The statewide inland rule applies: 15-inch minimum, four a day, only one 22 inches or longer. On Lonergan and Otter creeks, walleye may not be possessed from April 1 to June 30.

Is fishing good at Lake McConaughy right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Nearby waters

Lake Ogallala8 miEnders Reservoir58 miMerritt Reservoir106 miNiobrara River138 miCalamus Reservoir139 miSherman Reservoir149 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 41.2493, -101.8098 in this water's own timezone. A model, not an observation.
Moon and solunar windows
Calculated on this site
Astronomical calculation from these coordinates and the date, not a third-party feed. How much weight it deserves.
Pages checked
The facts in the written guide were checked against these pages, from the agencies and operators that manage the water, on October 8, 2026. Anything we could not verify was taken out.
The written guide on this page
Pablo Ruiz Quintero
How this page was made. The daily report is computed by our scoring engine from live readings; nobody types it. The written text was drafted with AI assistance from the official pages listed above, and its facts were checked against those pages by automated verification on October 8, 2026; anything that could not be verified was taken out. Pablo Ruiz Quintero sets every guideline, the data-verification system and the minimum standards a page must meet to be published, reviews page structure and approves what goes live; the responsibility is his, and the AI carries out the work. We work this way because it is how one person can keep every page current with named sources. Errors are published in the verification log; the full policy is in the editorial policy.

Readings refresh on a 30-minute window. The full method, with every figure and its source, is on how our reports are made. Something wrong here? Tell us and it goes in the log with the date.