Cottonwood Lake Fishing Guide, Cherry County, Nebraska

• Overview

  This water sits in Cherry County, Nebraska. It sits in rolling bush country. It measures about 48 acres, which is a comfortable size for bank fishing. Bank access stretches around 1.0 miles in total. Martin is the closest place, 18 miles off. It is 232 miles to Greeley, the nearest city. No boundary runs near, so the county rules hold throughout.

• Where to Fish on Cottonwood Lake

  The deepest measured water here is close to 9.8 feet. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. Species logged across Cherry County include white sucker, common carp, green sunfish and rock bass. Records at county level tell you what is around, not what is stocked here. At Cottonwood Lake the first feature you find is worth twenty minutes.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The warm month here averages 73°F; the cold one sits at 22°F. Winter puts a hard lid on this one. Break-up comes around late March, and the run that follows is short and strong. Ice usually gives way near late March, and forms again about early December. Right after break-up, and again as the nights sharpen, is when to go. Cottonwood Lake fishes to that pattern most years.

• Tackle & Baits

  Who may fish here is not settled in anything we hold. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. There is no mapped parking or launch nearby, which keeps numbers down. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Parking is often the real limit rather than the bank itself. Rules for boats are stricter than rules for the bank in many places. Should this one be busy, Trumbull Lake is 6.5 miles off. Check the current arrangement for Cottonwood Lake.