Fishing at Devils Punch Bowl Lake, Cherry County, Nebraska

• Overview

  Devils Punch Bowl Lake lies within the bounds of Cherry County, Nebraska. Elevation runs to 2,989 feet. It runs to roughly 57 acres — big enough to hold fish away from the bank, small enough to learn. About 1.2 miles of bank, so nothing stays unexplored for long. Valentine sits 28 miles from the bank. Ainsworth is 43 miles and Rosebud 52 miles. No county line comes close, which keeps the paperwork simple.

• Where to Fish on Devils Punch Bowl Lake

  Depth is unmeasured here, so let the shoreline guide you. On a natural lake the weed line and the shelf beyond it do the work. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. County-wide records name white sucker, common carp, green sunfish and rock bass. What holds for the county may not hold for this water. Read Devils Punch Bowl Lake before you fish it and the day goes better.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Long-run averages give July about 73°F and January about 22°F. Hard water is a season in its own right here. Winter fishing happens on the ice here, with open water back around late March. Ice clears near late March and comes back about early December in a typical year. June through September is the settled part of the year, with the shoulders busier for fish. It sets the rhythm of the year at Devils Punch Bowl Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether you may fish here is not something records settle. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. Nothing formal is recorded here: no ramp, no car park, no marked path. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Where a permit is needed, the nearest town usually sells it. Some stretches are reserved and marked as such on the ground. Mule Lake sits 1.5 miles off and takes the overflow. Confirm before you fish Devils Punch Bowl Lake.