Cottonmill Reservoir Fishing near Kearney, Nebraska

• Overview

  Cottonmill Reservoir is a Buffalo County water, Nebraska side. The ground around here is lake country bush. It runs to roughly 45 acres — big enough to hold fish away from the bank, small enough to learn. Of the waters listed here in Buffalo County, this is the largest. Kearney lies 3.5 miles from the water. Then Gibbon, 16 miles, and Minden, 18 miles. The county edge is within a short distance of the bank.

• Where to Fish on Cottonmill Reservoir

  No figure exists for depth, so let the water show you. Rip-rap along the wall holds fish that the open bank never does. A reservoir gives you a hard edge, a shelf, and not much else. Records held for Buffalo County cover common carp, bluegill and channel catfish. The county list is broader than any single water. At Cottonmill Reservoir the first feature you find is worth twenty minutes.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Temperature averages peak at 76°F in July and bottom out at 24°F in January. Winter shuts the surface down for months. After mid March the shallows warm and the fish move up. On the long-run averages the water opens up around mid March and starts locking again about mid December. The weeks after the thaw and the ones before the freeze are the strongest. Plan around that when you fish Cottonmill Reservoir.

• Tackle & Baits

  The access position is unclear from public sources. A slipway 130 yards out gives trailer access. You can leave the car about half a mile from the water. There is a pier recorded roughly 130 yards away. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Where the road in crosses private land, ask first. Barbless rules turn up on managed water more often than not. Kearney Reservoir sits 2.4 miles off and takes the overflow. Treat access at Cottonmill Reservoir as something to verify.