The Big Mac attack is on.
A Nebraska angler hauled in a near-state record walleye at Lake McConaughy last week to launch what fisheries biologists expect to be a phenomenal fishing year at the state's largest reservoir.
Brad Cochran of Imperial caught a 16-pound, 31 ¼-inch walleye while fishing from the face of Kingsley Dam on Thursday night. The lunker was two ounces shy of the state record walleye caught at McConaughy in 1971.
Cochran said fishing skill had nothing to do with his big catch.
“I just happened to be standing on the right rock at the right time,'' he said. “I'm a lucky guy.''
The prized walleye fishery at McConaughy has rebounded with the rising big western Nebraska reservoir on the North Platte River. The lake is expected to be the best water in the state for big walleyes this year.
There are an estimated 132,000 big walleye — at least 25 inches long and weighing at least 6 pounds — waiting for anglers this spring and summer, according to the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission.
McConaughy's population of walleye in the 20- to 25-inch and 15- to 20-inch categories also is large.
Don Gablehouse, the commission's fisheries chief in Lincoln, recently put it this way: “We've never seen anything like it before. We've got walleyes in spades at McConaughy.''
Cochran, of course, knows that.
The walleye spawning run at McConaughy is just beginning. It's a time when walleye swarm the rocky dam face as the females lay their eggs. Anglers follow.
Cochran, a 49-year-old Frito-Lay route sales manager, has fished McConaughy for 18 years since being introduced to the sport by Mark Bishop of Imperial.
“He's a man of ethics,'' Cochran said. “If we're fishing during the spawn and snag a fish, we let it go, and we never kept a female. I've probably caught at least a dozen Master Angler-sized females and never kept one.''
Until Thursday night.
Cochran was fishing with his son, Chad Cochran, a student at the University of Nebraska at Kearney, and John Johnson of Imperial. They were among at least 40 anglers fishing from the dam, about 100 yards north of the Morning Glory. Anglers in about 20 boats were in the water nearby.
Cochran's group arrived about sundown and by 8:15 p.m. were ready to leave because no one on land or water appeared to be catching fish. The trio lingered, however, and at about 8:30 p.m., a fish hit Brad Cochran's lure.
“It didn't feel like anything special,'' he said. “I reeled it in, and when it was about five feet from shore I could see it was a pretty special fish.''
Cochran hollered at his son for help, then waded into the water to better work the walleye into the rocks and trap it from escaping.
Cochran handed the rod to his son, flopped himself over the walleye, cradled it in his arms and lifted it higher into the rocky dam face.
“She was big,'' he said. “I had never seen one like this. She just nipped the lure and caught the back treble (hook) with her lips. She wasn't on very good.''
Cochran said he decided at that moment that this female was one that wouldn't be released. The night before at McConaughy, Cochran and Johnson each caught three walleye, five males and one female. The female, about 27 inches long and weighing 10 pounds, was released.
No bait stores were open late Thursday for Cochran to get an official weight on his big catch, so he put the fish into a cooler of water and took it home. Dirk Greene, a Game and Parks conservation officer in Imperial, officially weighed and measured the fish Friday morning.
Cochran said he always fishes from the bank at McConaughy. He was fishing with a 7-foot Fish Eagle pole with 8-pound Trilene XT line on a Shimano Symetre spinning reel. The walleye went for a black and silver No. 13 floating Rapala lure. Cochran will have the fish mounted by Rex Walgren of Wauneta, Neb.
The big catch came while Game and Parks biologists were in their final night of a two-day detail to net female walleye at the dam and collect eggs for hatchery production. The females' egg are stripped and the fish returned to the water unharmed.
Daryl Eichner, the fishery biologist at McConaughy, said the effort was hugely successful. Crews working the north third of the dam netted 100 females Wednesday night and 359 females Thursday night.
“Everyone was awestruck,'' Eichner said. “No one has ever seen anything like this.''
Eichner said the size and plump body condition of all the netted walleye was impressive.
Biologists collected walleye eggs at McConaughy and at Merritt and Sherman reservoirs this month because nearly 69 million eggs are needed to satisfy this year's stocking requests. An estimated 80 percent of McConaughy's walleye are stocked fish from hatcheries at North Platte, Neb., and Calamus Reservoir near Burwell, Neb.
Walleye fishing also is expected to be good this year at Swanson, Merritt, Sherman, Enders, Johnson and Sutherland reservoirs. Lewis and Clark Lake also offers excellent walleye fishing.
McConaughy's walleye spawning run is expected to last into next weekend.
Cochran expects a lot of hot fishing at Big Mac this year.
“You always have a chance to get a big one there,'' he said.
Contact the writer:
444-1127, david.hendee@owh.com
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