Imperial Reservoir, Nebraska: Fishing Spots and Seasons

• Overview

  The Chase County entry here is Imperial Reservoir, in Nebraska. The surface lies 3,215 feet up. It runs to roughly 47 acres — big enough to hold fish away from the bank, small enough to learn. Bank access stretches around 1.2 miles in total. The nearest town is Imperial, 4.7 miles away. Greeley is the closest city, 158 miles away. There is no boundary nearby to worry about.

• Where to Fish on Imperial Reservoir

  No figure exists for depth, so let the water show you. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. Fish documented in Chase County include common carp, smallmouth bass and orangethroat darter. Those are county-wide records, so not every one of them will be in this water. Take Imperial Reservoir a stretch at a time.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Climate records put July near 74°F and January near 25°F. Most months fish reasonably, given the right weather. It is not guaranteed from one year to the next. The cooler months are the comfortable ones to fish here. Time your trip to Imperial Reservoir by conditions rather than dates.

• Tackle & Baits

  The paperwork position is blank for this one. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. No built facilities appear in mapping around this water. Bass water: a Texas-rigged worm near cover, a spinnerbait when you need to cover ground. A phone call first saves an afternoon. Access can change hands, so last year's answer may not hold. Kilpatrick Reservoir 1 at 4.3 miles is the sensible second choice. What applies at Imperial Reservoir may have changed since it was mapped.