Elwood is a regulations success story. The walleye rule here — one fish from 15 to 18 inches and three over 18, or four over 18 — is designed to protect the spawners and let fish get big, and it works: this is one of the better bets in south-central Nebraska for a genuinely large walleye.
It’s a Central Nebraska Public Power and Irrigation District reservoir managed partly as a wildlife management area, which means it fishes wilder than the more developed lakes nearby. Wipers, largemouth bass, crappie, and channel cats fill out the card, and muskies are stocked for the toothy-critter crowd.
The trade-off is water level: CNPPID moves a lot of water through Elwood for power and irrigation, so the lake can swing dramatically. Check current levels before you launch. When it’s up, the flooded cover fishes excellently; when it’s down, concentrate on the old creek channel.