Ell Lake Fishing near Valentine, Nebraska

• Overview

  You will find Ell Lake in Cherry County, Nebraska. The ground round it is mixed forest. It measures about 122 acres, which is a comfortable size for bank fishing. The whole outline is near 2.3 miles, and most of it is walkable. 16 miles away sits Valentine, the nearest town. After that come Ainsworth at 36 miles and Rosebud at 43 miles. No boundary runs near, so the county rules hold throughout.

• Where to Fish on Ell Lake

  Depth went unrecorded, which puts the reading back on you. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Across Cherry County, recorded fish include white sucker, common carp, green sunfish and rock bass. It is the county picture; the agency list is water-specific. Work Ell Lake in sections rather than trying to cover it.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The range across the year is 22°F to 73°F. The season turns properly here, and fish follow it closely. Look for the thaw near late March; the fishing lifts straight after. Averages place the thaw at late March and the freeze at early December. The middle of summer slows a little, with dawn and dusk carrying it. That is the shape of the year on Ell Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  Nothing in our records says who may fish here. Records list it as a natural water body rather than an impoundment. Formal access is not mapped, so the last stretch is likely on foot. Bass water: a Texas-rigged worm near cover, a spinnerbait when you need to cover ground. Look for a notice board at the entrance. Access can change hands, so last year's answer may not hold. For a change of water, Smith Lake is 1.3 miles distant. For Ell Lake, the notice at the access point is the final word.