Still Lake in Codington County: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  The Codington County entry here is Still Lake, in South Dakota. The surface lies 1,732 feet up. About 340 acres, so local knowledge or a boat saves a lot of walking. With 3.8 miles or so of shoreline, boat anglers cover ground the bank cannot. For supplies, Watertown is 11 miles out. For a city, Sioux Falls is 106 miles off. It sits well inside its county, with no border complications.

• Where to Fish on Still Lake

  The records we hold are silent on depth, so plan to find it yourself. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. Across Codington County, recorded fish include Iowa darter, green sunfish, white sucker, northern pike and yellow perch. County records show what lives in the area; the local agency holds the water-by-water list. Read Still Lake for ten minutes before the first cast goes out.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Long-run averages give July about 71°F and January about 10°F. The middle months are generous; the ends are demanding. After early April the shallows warm and the fish move up. Going by climate averages, expect open water from about early April until roughly late November. The weeks after the thaw and the ones before the freeze are the strongest. Still Lake runs to that rhythm year in and year out.

• Tackle & Baits

  No access rule appears in what we hold. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. We find no slipway, car park or made path within a short radius, so treat access as rough. For the pike, wire up and throw larger lures along the weed edges. Take the rules with you rather than trusting memory. Access can change hands, so last year's answer may not hold. Should this one be busy, Dry Lake is 4.2 miles off. Nothing on Still Lake should be assumed from this page alone.