Lake McConaughy

10/15/2026

FALL OUTDOOR REPORT

Sunny skies and some whitecaps on the water this afternoon. Water temperature was 68°F at last report.

FISHING: Both docks remain in the water at Lake Ogallala and there is currently a good trout bite there, as well as the river below the lake.

The water level at Lake McConaughy has come up nearly 2 feet in the last month (3,202.5 ft elevation or 405,500ac-ft) but there are currently no boat docks in service due to ongoing low water conditions.

Boat fishermen who are launching at their own risk at the big lake are seeing some success slabbing for walleye and white bass. Anglers fishing from the rocks on the face of the dam and nearby areas are also catching a few wiper, bass and a limited number of walleye.

CAMPING: All camping is now first-come, first-served until May 20, 2027. The new modern campground at Martin Bay is completed and in use with 38 full hook-ups. The Lake McConaughy Visitors Center is open Monday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. (Closed Sunday). You may pay for camping there or at the self-pay stations in the campgrounds.

HUNTING: See www.outdoornebraska.gov/hunt/hunting-seasons for more info on open Nebraska hunting seasons, including archery deer through the end of the year, fall turkey archery and sh***un through the end of November, and Zone 2 duck and coot through December 15. Check the public access atlas at www.outdoornebraska.gov/guides-maps/public-access-atlas.

10/15/2026

👀 Hold up, there's a theatre ghost?

👻 Prairie Theatre board member Travis Byers has the story! The Ghost Tour schedule is at the end of the video. Just in time for spooky season. 🎃🦇

10/11/2026

🎥 Built in 1936, Ogallala’s historic theatre is now a non-profit community theater run by volunteers. Board members Michael Law and Travis Byers have been hard at work with their team to keep the Prairie Theatre tradition going.

🍿 Check PrairieTheatre.org and the Prairie Theatre page for more information on movies and showtimes plus upcoming ghost tours! 👀👻

🎬 Prairie Theatre is also available to rent for private parties and events.

10/08/2026

If you think of a better fish pun, let minnow!🐟🎣

Various minnow species, alewives and other forage fish all contribute to Lake Mac's robust food web and sustain all those trophy-class predators.

10/05/2026

Great white bass and wiper bite this fall!


📷: thanks to NE Wings and Walleye for sharing!

10/03/2026

It was a beautiful day for the Ogallala Rotary Dam Paddle! Plan a trip to come kayak, canoe or paddle board at Lake Ogallala this fall! 🛶🍂


📷: thanks to Scott Michael for sharing!

10/02/2026

Grab your paddle and join Ogallala Rotary Club for the annual DAM Paddle tomorrow (Oct. 3) at beautiful Lake Ogallala!

Paddlers of all ages and experience levels are invited to enjoy a fun morning on the water. Paddle at your own pace with family and friends, or challenge yourself by competing in the timed race.

The event will also feature awards, door prizes and plenty of fun—all while supporting the Rotary Club of Ogallala and its work in our community.

📅 Saturday, October 3, 2026
🕙 10:00 AM Mountain Time
📍 Lake Ogallala State Recreation Area

Early Bird Registration: $35
https://ogallalarotary.square.site/product/dam-paddle-race-or-leisure-division-april-11th-2026-10-am/22ACEJAUGL4NCJ3QOS66SYLP?

Day-of-Event Registration: $40

📷: Thanks to Travis Byers

09/30/2026

😍

09/28/2026

Do you know what first gave C. W. McConaughy the idea to divert Platte River water to help crops?

Snowdrifts. ❄️❄️❄️

McConaughy was a grain merchant and mayor of Holdrege, NE. As he drove past a wheat field in a dry summer, he noticed some spots with tall and healthy plants amid all the drought-stunted wheat. He asked the farmer why, and he replied that was where snowdrifts piled up the previous winter.

That gave McConaughy the idea for the “supplemental irrigation” project that eventually became Lake McConaughy.

Kingsley Dam was the world’s second-largest hydraulic-fill dam when it was completed, and it created Nebraska’s largest lake: Lake McConaughy.

09/27/2026

A big beautiful harvest moon rising tonight over Roscoe, by our Nebraska historical marker on the escape of the Northern Cheyenne. The anniversary of the 1878 flight is coming up.

Led by Dull Knife and Little Wolf, a band of more than 300 escaped the reservation they'd been exiled to Oklahoma and headed for their homeland in the north, fighting their way across Kansas.

At about noon on October 4, 1878, they arrived at a crossing of the South Platte River and the Union Pacific Railroad northwest of Alkali Station but east of Ogallala.
Already aboard rail cars at the fort, the soldiers believed they could stop the Northern Cheyennes at this crossing.

Arriving at 4 p.m., they began tracking the trail leading north, but the Cheyennes had already crossed the North Platte River and escaped into the Sandhills.

The Cheyennes soon parted ways. Little Wolf's people made it home to Montana, but Dull Knife continued to northwest Nebraska. His group was captured and taken to Ft. Robinson. They escaped January 9, 1879, but most were captured or killed in a running fight known as the Cheyenne Outbreak or Ft Robinson Massacre.