Grove Lake is two fisheries for the price of one gravel road. The main 50-acre lake holds northern pike — a genuinely unusual opportunity this far east — along with bass, bluegill, crappie, and catfish. But the real prize is the East Branch of Verdigre Creek winding through the WMA: one of Nebraska’s few Class A cold-water trout streams, and the easternmost trout stream in the state, where 57-degree spring water keeps rainbows and browns happy year-round.
Game and Parks runs the Grove Trout Rearing Station right here, and the creek gets regular trout plants on top of its wild fish. Nebraska Trout Unlimited has worked with the commission on habitat improvements, and it shows — this is legitimate small-stream trout water in farm country, three hours from Omaha.
It’s primitive: dispersed camping is free up to 14 days, there are vault toilets and fire rings, and there is no cell service. Come prepared, keep it clean, and you’ll understand why the regulars are protective of this place.