Cottonwood Slough in Deuel County: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Cottonwood Slough is listed under Deuel County, South Dakota. It sits in pine and birch. It runs to roughly 188 acres — big enough to hold fish away from the bank, small enough to learn. At about 3.3 miles of edge, most people work one arm at a time. Some 11 miles away sits Clear Lake, the nearest settlement. Then Canby, 13 miles, and Minneota, 26 miles. One jurisdiction covers this water end to end.

• Where to Fish on Cottonwood Slough

  Depth here is unknown, so count the lead down before committing. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. Records held for Deuel County cover white sucker, Iowa darter, johnny darter and yellow perch. Those are county-wide records, so not every one of them will be in this water. At Cottonwood Slough the water rewards a slow, careful approach.

• Seasonal Patterns

  On the long-term average, July reads 71°F and January reads 11°F. Winter puts a hard lid on this one. The lid usually sets by midwinter and gives way around early April. Open water usually runs from early April until about late November. The open run goes from the thaw to the freeze, and April through October covers most of it. Plan around that when you fish Cottonwood Slough.

• Tackle & Baits

  Public data does not answer the access question here. It formed naturally, so levels move with rainfall rather than with a gate. Fox Lake State Wildlife Management Area takes in this water; protected-area rules will apply. Trout here take small spinners, spoons and, where fly water allows, a nymph or dry. Check whether a boat is allowed before you tow one. Barbless rules turn up on managed water more often than not. For a change of water, Fox Lake is 1.3 miles distant. Rules at Cottonwood Slough are worth checking on the day.