Box Butte Reservoir in Box Butte County: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Set in Box Butte County, Nebraska, this is Box Butte Reservoir. Everything around it is lake country bush. About 1,263 acres, so local knowledge or a boat saves a lot of walking. Some 7.0 miles of bank gives room to move when the wind turns. It ranks among the bigger water on our Nebraska list. Chadron sits 26 miles from the bank. The nearest city of size is Greeley, 163 miles away. The county line is nowhere near, so one local authority covers the water.

• Where to Fish on Box Butte Reservoir

  The basin drops to a measured 39 feet. Rip-rap along the wall holds fish that the open bank never does. Draw-down through summer strips the margins, so follow the water out. Reported across Box Butte County: rudd, bluegill, spotted bass and white bass. It is the county picture; the agency list is water-specific. Fish Box Butte Reservoir to its features, not to its size.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The seasonal spread runs 23°F to 73°F. A hard winter is normal, and the thaw brings a strong few weeks. Count on hard cover from midwinter, and open water from late March. Average temperatures cross freezing around late March in spring and again near early December in autumn. The shoulder weeks of the open season are the productive ones. Anyone fishing Box Butte Reservoir regularly works to that calendar.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether the bank is open is not something our records settle. Box Butte Reservoir State Wildlife Management Area covers ground next to the water; its rules will apply on that side. A small crankbait along the drop and a worm in the thick stuff cover the bass. Where access is informal, keep it that way by behaving. Some ground is open by custom rather than by right, so tread carefully. Should this one be busy, Frost Reservoir is 17 miles off. What applies at Box Butte Reservoir may have changed since it was mapped.