Turpin Lake in Sheridan County: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Within Sheridan County, Nebraska, you have Turpin Lake. The water sits 3,717 feet up. Around 121 acres of surface means several distinct areas to work. Shoreline comes to about 1.6 miles, small enough to learn in a day. Few waters listed in Sheridan County are bigger. Gordon sits 32 miles from the bank. It is 201 miles to Greeley, the nearest city. There is no boundary nearby to worry about.

• Where to Fish on Turpin Lake

  Depth is unknown to us, and the shoreline is the better guide. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Open biodiversity records for Sheridan County list white sucker, brown trout and rock bass. What holds for the county may not hold for this water. The near bank of Turpin Lake is often the one people ignore.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Averages move between 22°F in January and 72°F in July. Expect a real winter and a strong spring after it. Ice fishing carries the winter, and the water opens about late March. On the long-run averages the water opens up around late March and starts locking again about early December. The weeks after the thaw and the ones before the freeze are the strongest. On Turpin Lake that shapes the whole year.

• Tackle & Baits

  The rules here are undocumented as far as public sources go. Records list it as a natural water body rather than an impoundment. Nothing in the way of made access shows up nearby: no ramp, no car park, no path. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Take the rules with you rather than trusting memory. Signs go up and come down, so check on the day. Should this one be busy, Middle Lake is 1 mile off. For Turpin Lake in particular, ask before you travel.