Reausaw Lake Fishing near Lead, South Dakota

• Overview

  South Dakota holds Reausaw Lake, in Lawrence County. Height above sea level is 5,282 feet. At roughly 4 acres, the whole thing is within casting reach of a single walk. Our Lawrence County list holds plenty of bigger water. Lead is the closest town at 10 miles. Billings sits 261 miles out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. A county boundary sits nearby, which can matter for local access rules.

• Where to Fish on Reausaw Lake

  Depth figures are not published for this one. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. Across Lawrence County, recorded fish include brown trout, brook trout and rainbow trout. The county list is broader than any single water. Take Reausaw Lake a stretch at a time.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The seasonal spread runs 22°F to 66°F. Spring and autumn carry the fishing; summer and winter test it. Ice fishing carries the winter, and the water opens about mid April. On average, mid April opens the water and late November closes it again. Look to early summer and the first cool weeks of autumn. Reausaw Lake runs to that rhythm year in and year out.

• Tackle & Baits

  There is no clear statement anywhere on who can fish it. We find no slipway, car park or made path within a short radius, so treat access as rough. Trout here take small spinners, spoons and, where fly water allows, a nymph or dry. Bank access can be seasonal on ground like this. Some water is controlled locally without a sign saying so. Roubaix Lake, 4.3 miles away, makes the obvious fallback. Treat Reausaw Lake as unsettled until someone local tells you otherwise.