Box Butte sits in a sweet spot most Nebraska anglers overlook: a Niobrara River impoundment on the western edge of the Sandhills, below the Pine Ridge escarpment, with water clear enough that bowfishers and spearfishers work it in summer. The open-water fishing covers pike, walleye, both bass species, crappie, perch, and rock bass.
Winter is when it really earns its reputation. Box Butte is a top-tier ice fishery for northern pike, bluegill, and yellow perch — the kind of lake Panhandle anglers drive past three other lakes to reach in January.
The northeast end is a state recreation area with electrical and primitive camping; the rest is wildlife management area. It’s a Bureau of Reclamation project from the early 1940s, built for irrigation and flood control. Bring binoculars in any season — the birding here (ferruginous hawks, Say’s phoebes, buntings) is some of the best in the Panhandle.