The waters near Spencer Dam in southwestern Nebraska offer trophy-sized channel and flathead catfish that can be caught from a drift boat or by walking the shoreline and sandbars. During July and August, when other fish seem less inclined to go after your bait, catfish often bite near the dam.
Licenses
Nebraska requires anyone over the age of 15 to have a state fishing license. As of October 2010, fees range from $28.50 for an annual license for residents to $60.50 for a non-resident annual license. Non-residents also can also buy a 1-day license for $7.50 or a 3-day license to $27.50.
Locations
The Niobrara River offers an abundance of catfish from the river's confluence with the Missouri River all the way up to the lower section of the Spencer Dam. Surveys completed by U.S. Fish and Wildlife show that the upper Niobrara River also offers a resident population of channel catfish that cannot migrate due to the dam. Access the lower river from the Spencer Wildlife Management area where you'll also find primitive campsites. Cast your line in deep holes along the river's delta and near fallen trees since catfish usually stay in these areas.
Bait
Bait resembling the natural foods that catfish normally eat near the Spencer Dam may help hook them. You also should consider using dip-bait in the summer when temperatures get warm. For fishing earlier in the year, stinky baits, including shad sides, work well. Once water temperatures rise above 50 degrees F, crawlers and minnows should do the trick.
Tackle
While lighter-weight lines work to catch smaller catfish, be prepared to catch a big channel or flathead catfish by using 25-lb. test line. Bait-casting reels and rods manufactured to catch steelhead and salmon also work well to catch Niobrara River catfish.
Special Limits
Special limits have been placed on channel catfish caught on the Niobrara River section of the Spencer Wildlife Management area. You can catch five channel or flathead catfish per day in the area stretching from the dam to the Missouri River with a total possession limit of 10 fish. Daily bag limits on blue catfish are one daily with a total limit possession of two. Daily bag limits include the number of fish harvested from midnight to the following midnight. You cannot possess more than one day's limit of fish while actively fishing. Possession limits equal the total number of fish that a person may possess in portable coolers or home freezers.
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