Swanson Lake fishing: Northern Pike, Blue Catfish, White Bass
Target species: Northern Pike, Blue Catfish, White Bass, White Crappie, Rock Bass
Boat: 4 ramps and launches on file for this water.
Start here: Launch at Spring Canyon North, 2 lanes.
The reservoir
Swanson Lake covers 3,743 acres in Nebraska, across Hitchcock County. It is a reservoir: 91.3% of it is 42 feet deep or less; the deepest point measured is at least 45 feet (13.7 m). Our records hold 7 species for this water.
5 target fish, led by Northern Pike
- Northern Pike — Feeding water: 50–75°F.
- Blue Catfish — Feeding water: 70–85°F.
- White Bass — Feeding water: 65–75°F.
- White Crappie — Feeding water: 65–75°F.
- Rock Bass — Feeding water: 65–75°F.
Also recorded here: Common Carp, Western Mosquitofish.
Depth and bottom
Deepest measured point: at least 45 ft (13.7 m). That is the deepest contour line: the bottom goes deeper. 91.3% of the water is 42 feet or shallower. We hold 88 depth contour lines for this water.
- 0–3 ft: 0.7% of the water
- 3–6 ft: 2.1% of the water
- 6–9 ft: 3.1% of the water
- 9–12 ft: 3.7% of the water
- 12–15 ft: 4.6% of the water
- 15–18 ft: 7.2% of the water
- 18–21 ft: 14.4% of the water
- 21–24 ft: 8.9% of the water
- 24–27 ft: 6% of the water
- 27–30 ft: 7.8% of the water
- 30–33 ft: 9.2% of the water
- 33–36 ft: 10.1% of the water
- 36–39 ft: 7.7% of the water
- 39–42 ft: 5.8% of the water
- 42–45 ft: 8.8% of the water
Water and conditions
Our water temperature readings average 72°F; they do not cover the whole year, so this is not a yearly average. pH averages 8.6. These readings span 2018–2024.
4 ramps and launches on this water
On this water we hold 4 trailer ramps.
- Spring Canyon North — 2 lanes, restrooms. Nebraska Game and Parks Commission.
- Trail #3 — 2 lanes, lit for night fishing, restrooms. Nebraska Game and Parks Commission.
- Low Water Boat Ramp — 1 lane, restrooms. Nebraska Game and Parks Commission.
- Macklin Bay — 1 lane, lit for night fishing, restrooms. Nebraska Game and Parks Commission.
Fee and opening hours are blank for all 4 places in this list: a blank means we hold no such field, not that it is free or always open, and this list may not be complete.
What is hard here
Only 4 public ramps are on file, so the launch decides where you fish.
Where this data comes from
- Nebraska Game and Parks — Nebraska Game and Parks: depth contours: class A, a survey of the bottom.
- U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (RISE) — USBR area-capacity tables (RISE): class B, a depth figure measured and published by an agency, without a bottom map.
- Webster, K.E., McCullough, I.M., Soranno, P.A. LAGOS-US DEPTH v1.0, EDI, doi:10.6073/pasta/64ddc4d04661d9aef4bd702dc5d8984f (CC BY 4.0); Cheruvelil et al. LAGOS-US LOCUS v1.0 (EDI) — LAGOS-US DEPTH v1.0: Lake depth for 17,675 lakes in the conterminous U.S.: class B, a depth figure measured and published by an agency, without a bottom map.
