Mud Lake Reservoir Fishing in Brown County, South Dakota

• Overview

  Look for Mud Lake Reservoir in Brown County, South Dakota. The surface lies 1,280 feet up. Ground here is low by South Dakota standards. Head to Ellendale, 21 miles away, for anything you forgot. Groton is 24 miles away, with Britton at 24 miles. More in the same country: Hyatt Slough the better part of 13 miles, Willow Creek Lake 18 miles away, Elm Lake the better part of 23 miles, Webber Gulch 23 miles away and Richmond Lake the better part of 23 miles. There is no boundary nearby to worry about.

• Where to Fish on Mud Lake Reservoir

  Federal mapping classes it as swamp or marsh rather than open lake, so expect shallow water and heavy cover. Inflow corners move water, and moving water gathers fish. A reservoir gives you a hard edge, a shelf, and not much else. Survey and observation records for Brown County include green sunfish, bluegill and yellow perch. County data is a starting point rather than a guarantee. At Mud Lake Reservoir the water rewards a slow, careful approach.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Between January at about 10°F and July at about 72°F, the water has a wide range to work through. Winter shuts the surface down for months. The lid usually goes in early April, which opens the strongest weeks of the year. Ice clears near early April and comes back about late November in a typical year. Late spring and early autumn carry the year between them. That is the shape of the year on Mud Lake Reservoir.

• Tackle & Baits

  No public source sets out the position on this bank. Mapping records no facilities at all near this water. Pike mean a wire trace, no exceptions; big spoons and jerkbaits do the searching. Where access is informal, keep it that way by behaving. Where parking is tight, arriving early solves most problems. For a change of water, Hyatt Slough is 13 miles distant. Rules at Mud Lake Reservoir are worth checking on the day.