Best Fishing Spots in South Dakota

South Dakota divides into three fishing regions along the same lines the state divides geographically. The eastern third holds glacial lakes on the prairie, shallow and fertile, that freeze hard each winter. Through the middle run the large Missouri River reservoirs, deep impoundments on flooded river valley with structure well below the surface. In the west the Black Hills rise to 1,877 metres, cold enough for mountain streams and small lakes that fish nothing like either. Natural lakes slightly outnumber reservoirs statewide. Everything sits in the temperate band, so the ice season is dependable across the state and open water runs from ice-out in April through to November, with the strongest stretches at either end of summer. Our South Dakota coverage runs to 331 waters in 59 counties. By type it is mostly natural lakes, with reservoirs next. Biggest by surface area is Lake Oahe, about 422 sq miles. Of the waters with a published depth, Big Stone Lake is the deepest at roughly 18 feet. Averages run 13°F in the cold season and 72°F in the warm one. Most of these waters open up around early April in an average year. Open occurrence records for the state name green sunfish, common carp, black bullhead and white sucker most frequently....