Ansley Reservoir in Custer County: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Look for Ansley Reservoir in the Custer County part of Nebraska. Beyond the shoreline you have mixed forest. Small at around 5 acres: two anglers spread out cover most of it. 15 miles away sits Broken Bow, the nearest town. The big place round here is Lincoln, 146 miles distant. Rules here are straightforward: one county, one set of rules.

• Where to Fish on Ansley Reservoir

  Depth is not on record here, so the bank has to tell you. Inflow corners move water, and moving water gathers fish. The old creek line under the surface is the feature worth finding. Across Custer County, recorded fish include common carp, green sunfish, black bullhead, Iowa darter and johnny darter. These are county-wide records, so not all of them will be in this water. On Ansley Reservoir the first feature you find is usually worth a session.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Climate records put July near 75°F and January near 23°F. The year splits cleanly: hard water, then open water. The lid usually sets by midwinter and gives way around mid March. The water is typically free of ice between mid March and mid December. Look to early summer and the first cool weeks of autumn. At Ansley Reservoir the season follows that pattern closely.

• Tackle & Baits

  The rules here are undocumented as far as public sources go. Mapping shows an empty shoreline: no ramp, no jetty, no marked entry. For the catfish, fish bottom baits into the deeper holes and let them sit. Rules for this water may differ from the county norm. Some ground is open by custom rather than by right, so tread carefully. For a change of water, Sherman Reservoir is 25 miles distant. For Ansley Reservoir, the notice at the access point is the final word.