Sheridan Lake in Pennington County: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  In South Dakota, Sheridan Lake falls inside Pennington County. The water sits 4,629 feet up. It measures some 383 acres, and wind has room to build across it. Shoreline length is close to 5.6 miles, and each section fishes a little differently. Compared with other South Dakota water on our list, it sits high. For a base, Colonial Pine Hills sits 8 miles out. It is 249 miles to Fort Collins, the nearest city. The nearest boundary is a fair way off.

• Where to Fish on Sheridan Lake

  Without a survey to go on, judge depth from how the bank falls away. Points where the flooded channel swings in are the reliable ones. Inflow corners move water, and moving water gathers fish. Species logged across Pennington County include brook trout, brown trout and rainbow trout. What holds for the county may not hold for this water. Sheridan Lake repays a walk before the first cast.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Averages move between 24°F in January and 67°F in July. The middle months are generous; the ends are demanding. Winter locks it down, and early April brings it back. Break-up near early April, freeze-up near early December: that is the shape of an average year. Fishing peaks soon after break-up and again before the cold returns. That is the shape of the year on Sheridan Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  No access rule appears in what we hold. There is a mapped slipway roughly half a mile away. Sheridan Lake Marina sits half a mile away and handles boats. Mapping shows a jetty some half a mile off. A picnic site half a mile off makes this workable with family in tow. There are toilets mapped about half a mile away. Fishing rules and camping rules are set separately here. Horse Thief Lake sits 5.6 miles off and takes the overflow. For Sheridan Lake, the notice at the access point is the final word.