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Home › Waters › Nebraska › Frenchman Creek
Creek · Hitchcock and Chase Counties, the lower Frenchman Creek at Culbertson above its junction with the Republican River in southwest Nebraska · Nebraska

Frenchman Creek Fishing Guides

A spring-fed southwest Nebraska creek below Enders Reservoir, running cool and clear through cottonwood bottom to the Republican River at Culbertson.

Warm light on a slow river running through heavy timber
Gauge location. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Guides on the Frenchman Creek

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About the Frenchman Creek

Frenchman Creek drains a large block of the southwest Nebraska tableland and reaches the Republican River at Culbertson, and it is a better fishery than its modest name suggests. A substantial share of its flow comes from groundwater discharge out of the High Plains aquifer rather than from surface runoff, which gives it a steadier baseflow and cooler summer temperatures than a prairie creek of this size would otherwise have. Enders Reservoir sits on it upstream, and releases from the dam moderate the flow further. The result is a creek that keeps fishing through August when others in the region are reduced to warm puddles.

The channel runs through cottonwood and willow bottom between cut banks, with gravel and sand riffles separating deeper pools. Channel catfish are the mainstay and reach a good size in the deeper holes, flatheads hold in the log jams, and both largemouth and smallmouth bass use the rock and woody cover. Walleye, sauger and northern pike drop down out of Enders and are caught with some regularity in the upper reach, which gives the creek an unusual species list for its size. Rock bass and green sunfish fill in everywhere, and the carp are large enough to be worth targeting deliberately.

The gauge at Culbertson reports both discharge and stage, so this water can be read properly before a trip. Flow is the useful number: moderate discharge gives wadeable riffles and fishable pools, while irrigation-season withdrawal upstream can pull the creek down sharply in mid-summer and a thunderstorm on the tableland can spike it brown within hours. Much of the bank is private ranch and farm ground, so access runs through bridge crossings, the reservoir above and the Republican River below, and asking permission is the normal courtesy.

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Version 1.0, dated 6 September 2026. Applies to every photograph submitted to GuidedFloats through the contact form, a species page, or the community board.

1. What you give us

By ticking the box on the form you grant Guided Floats, LLC (“GuidedFloats”, “we”) a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to store, copy, resize, crop and display your photograph on guidedfloats.com, in GuidedFloats’ own social media accounts and mobile apps, and in material that promotes the site itself, in connection with the fish, water or community feature you sent it in for. The license lasts until you withdraw it (section 4).

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2. What you confirm

You confirm that you took the photograph yourself (or otherwise own the rights to it), that you have the right to grant this license, and that publishing the photo does not infringe anyone else’s copyright, privacy or other rights.

If any person is recognisable in the photo, you confirm that they have agreed to its being published here, and that a parent or guardian has agreed on behalf of anyone under 18. Please do not send photographs of other people’s catches, screenshots, or pictures copied from other websites or social media.

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5. What we may do

We choose which photos to publish and may decline any submission without giving a reason. We may crop, resize, sharpen or colour-correct a photo for display, and we may remove a photo at any time. We will not alter a photo in a way that misrepresents the fish, the water or you.

6. Your details

We keep your name, email address, the credit name, the water and date you gave us, and the network address the submission came from, with the submission record, as our evidence of this license. We hold that record for as long as the photo is published and for the retention period described in our privacy policy. Location data that your camera or phone embedded in the file is removed before the photo is published.

7. Versions

The version of this license you accepted is stored with your submission and printed with the photo. A later version does not apply to a photo you have already sent unless you agree to it.

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Posting to Frenchman Creek.

JPG, PNG or WebP, up to 12 MB. We resize it and strip the location data out of the file.

The name shown under the photo. Leave blank to stay anonymous.

Reader photo license v1.0 — the short version:

  • You grant Guided Floats, LLC a non-exclusive, royalty-free license to publish, resize and crop your photo on guidedfloats.com and in GuidedFloats’ own social posts and apps. You keep the copyright and can use the photo anywhere else.
  • You confirm that you took the photo yourself, that publishing it does not infringe anyone else’s rights, and that anyone recognisable in it (or a parent or guardian, if they are under 18) is happy for it to appear here.
  • Credit is printed beside the photo wherever it appears on the site, using the credit name you give us. Leave it blank and we use your name; write “Anonymous” for no name. Your email address is never published.
  • Withdrawing is one email to hello@guidedfloats.com naming the photo. It comes off the site within 7 days.
Read the full license

Version 1.0, dated 6 September 2026. Applies to every photograph submitted to GuidedFloats through the contact form, a species page, or the community board.

1. What you give us

By ticking the box on the form you grant Guided Floats, LLC (“GuidedFloats”, “we”) a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to store, copy, resize, crop and display your photograph on guidedfloats.com, in GuidedFloats’ own social media accounts and mobile apps, and in material that promotes the site itself, in connection with the fish, water or community feature you sent it in for. The license lasts until you withdraw it (section 4).

You keep the copyright. The license is not exclusive, so you can use the photo anywhere else and license it to anyone else. We will not sell your photo, license it on to anyone else on its own, or use it in paid advertising for a third party.

2. What you confirm

You confirm that you took the photograph yourself (or otherwise own the rights to it), that you have the right to grant this license, and that publishing the photo does not infringe anyone else’s copyright, privacy or other rights.

If any person is recognisable in the photo, you confirm that they have agreed to its being published here, and that a parent or guardian has agreed on behalf of anyone under 18. Please do not send photographs of other people’s catches, screenshots, or pictures copied from other websites or social media.

3. Credit

We print the credit name you give us beside the photo wherever it appears on the site, and record it as the photo’s creator in the page’s structured data. If you leave the credit blank we use the name you gave us on the form. Write “Anonymous” if you prefer no name at all. Your email address, phone number and the exact spot the photo was taken are never published.

4. Withdrawing the license

You can withdraw the license at any time by emailing hello@guidedfloats.com, or by using the contact form, and telling us which photo you mean. We will remove the photo from guidedfloats.com within 7 days of receiving your message and stop using it in anything new. Copies that are already outside our control — search-engine caches, social posts that have already gone out, printed material already produced — may take longer to disappear or may not be recallable, and we are not responsible for those.

5. What we may do

We choose which photos to publish and may decline any submission without giving a reason. We may crop, resize, sharpen or colour-correct a photo for display, and we may remove a photo at any time. We will not alter a photo in a way that misrepresents the fish, the water or you.

6. Your details

We keep your name, email address, the credit name, the water and date you gave us, and the network address the submission came from, with the submission record, as our evidence of this license. We hold that record for as long as the photo is published and for the retention period described in our privacy policy. Location data that your camera or phone embedded in the file is removed before the photo is published.

7. Versions

The version of this license you accepted is stored with your submission and printed with the photo. A later version does not apply to a photo you have already sent unless you agree to it.

Flow alert

Tell me when the Frenchman Creek cfs

Now: 13.2 cfs, read 5:15 pm CDT, Sun Oct 18, 2026 (USGS 06835500, Frenchman Creek at Culbertson, Nebr.).

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Access

Culbertson - the Hitchcock County town at the gauge and the creek's junction with the Republican River. / McCook - the largest town in the region east of the creek, the base for supplies, tackle and lodging. / Enders Reservoir State Recreation Area - the impoundment upstream with ramps, camping and its own walleye and pike fishery. / Imperial - the Chase County seat giving access to the upper creek. / Palisade - a small town on the middle reach with bridge access. / US 6 and US 34 bridges - the main highway crossings giving public bank access. / County road crossings - the network of section-line bridges that provide most wade access, with narrow shoulders.

Seasons

Spring: the strongest season, with catfish moving and walleye and pike dropping out of Enders as the water warms. / Summer: groundwater keeps it cooler than neighbouring creeks, but irrigation withdrawal pulls flows down; fish the deep pools early and late. / Fall: steady flows and cooling water bring excellent catfish and bass fishing with almost no pressure. / Winter: cold and low, with fish stacked in the deepest holes; a hard time to fish but the catfish still feed on mild afternoons.

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Questions

What is the current flow on the Frenchman Creek?

As of Oct 18, 5:15 pm, the USGS gauge Frenchman Creek at Culbertson, Nebr. reads 13 cfs. Conditions update every 15 minutes.

What species can you catch on the Frenchman Creek?

Anglers target Bluegill, Bullhead, Channel Catfish, Common Carp, Flathead Catfish, Freshwater Drum, Green Sunfish, Largemouth Bass, Northern Pike, Rock Bass, Sauger, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, White Bass on the Frenchman Creek in Nebraska.

Where can you access the Frenchman Creek?

Culbertson - the Hitchcock County town at the gauge and the creek's junction with the Republican River. / McCook - the largest town in the region east of the creek, the base for supplies, tackle and lodging. / Enders Reservoir State Recreation Area - the impoundment upstream with ramps, camping and its own walleye and pike fishery. / Imperial - the Chase County seat giving access to the upper creek. / Palisade - a small town on the middle reach with bridge access. / US 6 and US 34 bridges - the main highway crossings giving public bank access. / County road crossings - the network of section-l...

When is the best time to fish the Frenchman Creek?

Spring: the strongest season, with catfish moving and walleye and pike dropping out of Enders as the water warms. / Summer: groundwater keeps it cooler than neighbouring creeks, but irrigation withdrawal pulls flows down; fish the deep pools early and late. / Fall: steady flows and cooling water bring excellent catfish and bass fishing with almost no pressure. / Winter: cold and low, with fish stacked in the deepest holes; a hard time to fish but the catfish still feed on mild afternoons.

Where are the fishing regulations for the Frenchman Creek?

Regulations change by season and section. Read the current rules on the Nebraska agency site: https://outdoornebraska.gov/guides-maps/fishing-guides-reports/