Fishing at Shigley Lake, Grant County, Nebraska

• Overview

  Look for Shigley Lake in Grant County, Nebraska. The surface lies 3,796 feet up. Roughly 68 acres: a morning covers one end, an afternoon the other. Bank access stretches around 1.3 miles in total. The nearest place of any size is Gordon, 43 miles away. For a city, Greeley is 192 miles off. No county line comes close, which keeps the paperwork simple.

• Where to Fish on Shigley Lake

  We hold no survey for this water; read the slope of the shoreline instead. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. Species logged across Grant County include bluegill, green sunfish, white perch, yellow perch and brown trout. Take it as the county picture rather than a promise for this water. On Shigley Lake the obvious spot is not always the productive one.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The warm month here averages 71°F; the cold one sits at 22°F. Winter closes the water for a while, and the reopening is worth catching. Winter locks it down, and late March brings it back. Averages place the thaw at late March and the freeze at early December. Late spring and early autumn carry the year between them. That is the shape of the year on Shigley Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  Nothing in our records says who may fish here. 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. Light line and small metal for the trout; a fly rod earns its place on calm evenings. Parking is often the real limit rather than the bank itself. A polite question at the farm gate opens more banks than anything else. For a change of water, Downing Lake is 1.6 miles distant. Where Shigley Lake is concerned, a local answer beats a written one.