Chapelle Lake Fishing Guide, Hyde County, South Dakota

• Overview

  Chapelle Lake is set in Hyde County, South Dakota. It sits in mixed forest country. At about 40 acres, a day is enough to walk the shoreline properly. 24 miles away sits Fort Thompson, the nearest town. Sioux Falls sits 154 miles out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. One jurisdiction covers this water end to end. Rain comes to about 19 inches a year, with the wet end in June and the dry end in January.

• Where to Fish on Chapelle Lake

  No figure exists for depth, so let the water show you. The arms fish better than the open middle whenever the water is up. Rip-rap along the wall holds fish that the open bank never does. Fish documented in Hyde County include common carp and largemouth bass. These are county-wide records, so not all of them will be in this water. At Chapelle Lake light and wind decide more than tackle does.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Seasonal averages run from 14°F in January up to 73°F in July. Winter puts a hard lid on this one. Hard cover is dependable here; it goes around early April. Averages place the thaw at early April and the freeze at late November. Late spring and early autumn carry the year between them. That shapes the year on Chapelle Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether the bank is open is not something our records settle. No made access is recorded, so a short walk in is the likely arrangement. Bass water: a Texas-rigged worm near cover, a spinnerbait when you need to cover ground. Rules for this water may differ from the county norm. Access can change hands, so last year's answer may not hold. For a change of water, Lake Ambrose is 12 miles distant. Signs at Chapelle Lake carry more weight than any list.