Sandy Channel State Recreation Area, NE

Waterbody Information:

Ten lakes ranging from .5 to 28 acres are available at Sandy Channel Recreation Area. The area is maintained by the Parks Division, but no park entry permit is required. Primitive camping is allowed and vault toilets are available. Shoreline access ranges from poor to very good on these lakes. A concrete boat ramp is available on Lake #8 and boats are limited to 5 mph/no wake. All the other lakes are open to electric and non-powered boats only. Active fisheries management only occurs on Lakes 2, 4 and 8. The remaining lakes are either too shallow or have flooding issues, which limit their potential for quality fisheries. The four lakes listed below provide most of the fishing opportunities at Sandy Channel. A fish survey was completed on Lake’s 2, 4, and 8 in 2009 and the next survey is scheduled for 2014.

Lake #1:

This 20 acre lake is located on the southern edge of the park. The south channel of the Platte River flows through this lake allowing rough fish to enter and creating poor water quality. No fisheries management is done on this lake. The lake does provide good fishing for channel catfish, common carp and gar. Shoreline access is poor.

Lake #2:

This 10 acre lake has a maximum depth of 16 feet. The lake was renovated in 2003 to remove rough fish populations and has been re-stocked with largemouth bass, bluegill and channel catfish. At the time of the last survey, the lake had a very good, although still developing fishery. Largemouth bass were extremely abundant, but the average size was small. The majority of the bass were 9 to 11 inches, but several fish greater than 15 inches were caught. The largest bass was 18 inches. Bluegill were moderately abundant, but most were small. Bluegill lengths ranged from 3 to 7 inches and averaged about six inches. No channel catfish were sampled, but some quality fish should be present. Catfish have been stocked four times since the renovation and the next stocking of 300 ten-inch fish is scheduled for the fall of 2013. Other fish species caught in low abundance included green sunfish and bluegill x green sunfish hybrids. Shoreline access is poor on this lake for bank fishing.

Lake #4:

This 5 acre lake has maximum depth of 14 feet. Results from the last survey indicated a good fishery for largemouth bass, bluegill and channel catfish. Largemouth bass abundance was fairly high and bass from 4 to 15 inches were caught. The majority of the bass population measured 11 to 13 inches. Bluegill abundance was fairly low, but some quality fish were sampled. Most bluegill ranged from 6 to 8.5 inches. Channel catfish are also present and they ranged from 13 to 15 inches in length. Catfish are stocked on alternate years, with the next stocking of 250 ten-inch fish scheduled for the fall of 2013. Other fish captured included some very large common carp (28-34 inches) and a few small green sunfish x bluegill hybrids. Shoreline access is fair for bank angling.

Lake #8:

At 28 acres, this is the largest lake on the area. Lake #8 has a maximum depth of 28 feet and a detailed contour map of the lake can be found here: http://outdoornebraska.ne.gov/Fishing/programs/lakemapping/pdfs/SandyChannel.pdf. This lake has extremely clear water and provides very good fishing opportunities for several species. Largemouth bass are abundant and the population contains good numbers of large fish. Bass collected in the survey ranged from 6 to 20.5 inches. The majority of the bass are 11 to 13 inches and there was a high abundance of bass greater than 15 inches. Bluegill were also very abundant with lengths ranging from 3 to 9 inches. Most of the bluegills measured 5 to 7 inches. Both black and white crappie are also present in low numbers, with most fish less than 10 inches in length. Rock bass densities were high and had lengths ranging from 3 to 8.5 inches. There is a good yellow perch population present in Sandy Channel #8. While most of the perch were less than 8 inches, several 11 inch fish were caught. Yellow perch fingerlings are stocked on alternate years to help improve densities. A good number of channel catfish were sampled, ranging from 13 to 18 inches. Catfish are stocked on alternate years, with the next stocking of 840 ten-inch fish scheduled for the fall of 2013. A few nice walleye were also collected. These fish ranged from 14 to 16 inches. Walleye have been sporadically stocked in Sandy Channel over the years, so a few larger walleye should be present. Additional walleye are tentatively scheduled for stocking in the fall of 2012. Other fish captured in the survey included a few large common carp, green sunfish, and green sunfish x bluegill hybrids. Shoreline access is fair.