Durbin Lake Fishing in Cherry County, Nebraska

• Overview

  Durbin Lake falls in Cherry County, part of Nebraska. This is rolling bush ground. The water covers some 78 acres, so pick a bank rather than trying to cover it all. Around 1.3 miles of margin, front to back. The town to know is Valentine, 29 miles out. The big place round here is Sioux Falls, 208 miles distant. One jurisdiction covers this water end to end.

• Where to Fish on Durbin Lake

  We hold no survey for this water; read the slope of the shoreline instead. Still water like this holds fish on the edges rather than out in the open. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. Across Cherry County, recorded fish include white sucker, common carp, green sunfish and rock bass. Those are county-wide records, so not every one of them will be in this water. Treat Durbin Lake as a water to read rather than to cover.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The year swings from about 22°F in January to roughly 73°F in July. The freeze arrives properly here and holds. Once it clears, about late March, the fishing comes on quickly. Open water usually runs from late March until about early December. Early summer and early autumn carry the open-water season. That is the shape of the year on Durbin Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  We have no record of the rules that apply on this bank. It formed naturally, so levels move with rainfall rather than with a gate. Nothing is listed nearby for parking or launching a boat. Bass water: a Texas-rigged worm near cover, a spinnerbait when you need to cover ground. A landowner's word beats anything printed elsewhere. Some stretches are reserved and marked as such on the ground. The nearest alternative is Tate Lake, 0.9 miles out. For Durbin Lake, the notice at the access point is the final word.