Old Merrill Lake Fishing near Alliance, Nebraska

• Overview

  Old Merrill Lake belongs to Sheridan County, Nebraska. It stands 3,881 feet above sea level. It sits higher than most water we list in Nebraska. Alliance is the closest place, 21 miles off. It is 153 miles to Greeley, the nearest city. Also within reach: Clough Lake a touch under 1.6 miles, Whitehead Lake sits 1.6 miles out, Jordan Lake a touch under 2.2 miles, Merrill Lake sits 2.4 miles out and Rogers Lake a touch under 2.9 miles. No border sits close enough to matter.

• Where to Fish on Old Merrill Lake

  Depth remains unrecorded, so treat the first session as a survey. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. This is a lake, so the margins and the first drop matter most. Public occurrence data for Sheridan County names white sucker, brown trout, rock bass and yellow perch. Take it as the county picture rather than a promise for this water. At Old Merrill Lake the first feature you find is worth twenty minutes.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Climate normals give 73°F for July and 24°F for January. Winter shuts things down for a spell, then spring reopens them fast. Ice-out usually falls in mid March, and the weeks after it fish hardest. Average temperatures cross freezing around mid March in spring and again near early December in autumn. Early summer and early autumn carry the open-water season. Expect Old Merrill Lake to follow that timing.

• Tackle & Baits

  No public source sets out the position on this bank. Public data shows nothing built here, so treat the whole approach as informal. Largemouth respond to soft plastics tight to cover; go weedless where the growth is heavy. Bank access can be seasonal on ground like this. Some water is controlled locally without a sign saying so. The nearest alternative is Clough Lake, 1.6 miles out. Treat Old Merrill Lake as unsettled until someone local tells you otherwise.