Bear Creek Reservoir 7-F Fishing in Gage County, Nebraska

• Overview

  Nebraska holds Bear Creek Reservoir 7-F, in Gage County. Elevation runs to 1,388 feet. The water measures roughly 15 acres, so nothing here is far from anything else. Beatrice is the closest place, 12 miles off. Hickman lies 17 miles off, Wymore another 19 miles. No border sits close enough to matter. It is the kind of place people fish for years without exhausting.

• Where to Fish on Bear Creek Reservoir 7-F

  Depth here is unknown, so count the lead down before committing. On a natural lake the weed line and the shelf beyond it do the work. Where the bottom changes texture, fish gather; find that line. Records held for Gage County cover common carp, flathead catfish, orangespotted sunfish, green sunfish and stonecat. What holds for the county may not hold for this water. On this water the first feature you find is usually worth a session.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The warm month here averages 77°F; the cold one sits at 23°F. The middle months are generous; the ends are demanding. Break-up comes around mid March, and the run that follows is short and strong. On the long-run averages the water opens up around mid March and starts locking again about mid December. From the thaw to midsummer the fishing improves week by week. Plan any trip to this water around it.

• Tackle & Baits

  No access rule appears in what we hold. No made access appears within a short radius, so plan to park on a verge and walk. For the catfish, fish bottom baits into the deeper holes and let them sit. Where a permit is needed, the nearest town usually sells it. Some water is controlled locally without a sign saying so. For a change of water, Bear Creek Reservoir 7-C is 1 mile distant. Where this water is concerned, a local answer beats a written one.