Blue Lake (FWS-NWR)

Yellow perch and gizzard shad (forage) water; 3 stockings on the 2026 record.

Garden County · Nebraska · see it on the national map

3 stockings 2026

Jun 3 last stocked

15,100 fish reported

288 acres (NHD)

The year here

stocked last 7 days announced ahead · tap a tick for details

What swims here

Yellow perch 1 stocking

Gizzard shad (forage) 1 stocking

Walleye 1 stocking

Stocking record 2026

Date	Species	Size	Fish	Status
Mar 31	Yellow perch	fingerling	2,000	completed
May 4	Gizzard shad (forage)	catchable	100	completed
Jun 3	Walleye	fingerling	13,000	completed

Gear for this water

It has been a while since the trucks came. The holdovers have spread out and wised up; downsize and fish natural.

For the panfish (yellow perch stocked 1 time here in 2026, stillwater)

Small tubes and grubs	1 to 2 inch plastics for crappie around brush
Long telescoping pole	reach the pockets without spooking the school
Ultralight rod and small jigs	1/32 to 1/64 oz jigs under a float; 2 to 4 lb line

For the walleye (walleye stocked 1 time here in 2026, stillwater)

Medium spinning rod	6.5 to 7 ft medium, 8 lb line; sensitivity beats power here
Jigging raps and blade baits	vertical over deep structure in the cold months
Jig and minnow	1/8 to 1/4 oz round jigs tipped live or plastic; drag the bottom slowly

Suggestions follow from what the state actually stocks here and what kind of water it is, nothing else. No sponsored placements.

Nearby stocked waters

The closest waters with stocking pages of their own, straight-line miles from this one.

Water	Distance	Most recent
Island Lake (FWS)	2.7 mi	Jun 3
Lake McConaughy	45 mi	Jun 15
Goldeneye Pond	49 mi	Aug 19
Box Butte Reservoir (BOR)	62 mi	Aug 18
South Fork Dismal River	73 mi	May 21

Records from Nebraska Game and Parks Commission (official page). Placement from USGS GNIS and the National Hydrography Dataset. Schedules change without notice. Seasons, limits, and licenses: Nebraska fishing regulations.