Round Lake in Cherry County: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Round Lake is a Cherry County water, in Nebraska. The bank is 3,491 feet above sea level. At 317 acres this is proper open water rather than a pond. Shoreline comes to about 2.9 miles, small enough to learn in a day. It ranks high for size among our Cherry County listings. Gordon is the closest town at 42 miles. Greeley sits 214 miles out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. This one is safely inside the county line.

• Where to Fish on Round Lake

  There is no recorded depth, so work from what you can see. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Open biodiversity records for Cherry County list white sucker, common carp, green sunfish, rock bass and redfin pickerel. What holds for the county may not hold for this water. On Round Lake that means starting tight and working out.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Average temperature peaks around 72°F in July and bottoms out near 22°F in January. Cold locks it up for a good stretch each year. Ice-out usually falls in late March, and the weeks after it fish hardest. Break-up sits around late March on average, with the water closing again about early December. The strongest runs come at either end of the open season. Plan around that when you fish Round Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether the bank is open is not something our records settle. Records list it as a natural water body rather than an impoundment. No launch point is recorded nearby, so this is a bank water unless you carry a boat in. Parking is often the real limit rather than the bank itself. Some water is controlled locally without a sign saying so. If the gate is shut, Goose Lake at 2.8 miles is the nearest alternative. Rules at Round Lake are worth checking on the day.