Little Skull Lake in Cherry County: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Little Skull Lake falls in Cherry County, part of Nebraska. The country round it is rolling bush from end to end. At about 178 acres, a day is enough to walk the shoreline properly. The bank runs in an even curve, so features come from what lies under the surface. The town to know is Ainsworth, 23 miles out. The nearest city of size is Sioux Falls, 196 miles away. It sits well inside the county, so one set of rules covers it.

• Where to Fish on Little Skull Lake

  There is no recorded depth, so work from what you can see. Where the bottom changes texture, fish gather; find that line. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Survey and observation records for Cherry County include white sucker, common carp, green sunfish, rock bass and redfin pickerel. These are county-wide records, so not all of them will be in this water. The shape of Little Skull Lake decides where the fish sit.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Between January at about 22°F and July at about 74°F, the water has a wide range to work through. Winter closes the water for a while, and the reopening is worth catching. Break-up comes around late March, and the run that follows is short and strong. The season between ice runs from about late March to early December. From the thaw to midsummer the fishing improves week by week. Little Skull Lake runs to that rhythm year in and year out.

• Tackle & Baits

  Our records carry no access rule either way. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. No made access is recorded, so a short walk in is the likely arrangement. A small crankbait along the drop and a worm in the thick stuff cover the bass. Some banks are open only from a marked point. Fishing rules and camping rules are set separately here. The nearest alternative is Skull Lake, 2.3 miles out. None of that is settled for Little Skull Lake in what we hold.