Lakes in the Rapid City Area??

[S.D. Ice Angular]

How many fishable lakes are there in the Rapid City area?? There is a chance I may be spending several months out there this spring and summer.

If I were to bring my boat out how much use would I get out of it?

How far away are the lakes around R.C. and what type of fishing is it?

[AugieAngler1010]

All of the lakes in the Hills are well stocked with trout. In my opinion, the best of them for numbers is Deerfield. Deerfield also holds the potential for world-class sized fish (I'll let you figure out what species). If you're looking for bass/panfish the stock dams west of the Missouri River to Rapid City are hit-or-miss. Some of them will be loaded with some of the nicest gills, perch, and crappies, whereas others will have nothing. You just have to get out and be willing to check a few different places.

If you're looking for 'eyes, Angostura puts out some real pigs. Shadehill (bit of a drive from RC) also has some fish.

As far as the boat goes, definitely bring it.

[Moses2531]

Is there any decent shore fishing opportunities on Deerfield Lake? I spend some time out in the Hills and very much enjoy catching Trout, but they've been few and far between for me on Pactola, when you mentioned Deerfield and numbers, that sounds like a great afternoon however I dont bring a boat with me...

[paul pachowicz]

Pactola & Sheridan offer shoreline fishin. Sheridan has a pull-off area for parking and fishin along 385 just north of Hill City. Jenny's Gulch, Vets point and south of the vistor center on Pactola has some shore fishin. Deerfield is just a few miles from Hill City and so is Horsethief, just below Mt Rushmore. Newell and Orman put out some pretty good eyes but the slot is hard to live with. I'd sure bring the boat and head to Angastora or Orman. All the area lakes are pretty full with all the moisture we've had. Rapid Creek is a favorite fly fishing haunt. Rooster's sport shoppe (in the gap) puts out reports a few times a week in the paper, offers live bait and won't hesitate to give ya a good bite report, ask for Dennis, everyone picks on him. To be bitterly candid, you are not going to see the type of fishin you have in Minn but, it's tolerable.

[AugieAngler1010]

There are some really good spots on Deerfield to shorefish. I have a few favorite spots that I won't disclose here, but I'll highlight a couple of the popular community spots. The first is the pull-off on the south end of the lake on Whitetail Loop. You can catch fish anywhere off the shore, but the best luck for me has been to hike until you can find a small little cove or bay and fish that. The second spot is the picnic area on the south east side of the lake where a large arm of the resevoir meets the main lake. Fish off the "arm" side of the park there, it drops into 30+ FOW pretty quickly.

Lastly, you can try the lake access off of Deerfield Cove Road. Once you get to the access, hike along shore towards the dam. Once you get out and around the bay where the access is, the water drops off really fast again and anywhere between there and the cliffs you will catch fish.

Good luck!