Your rods are packed, electronics are charged, gas tanks are full and it’s time to hit the road on the ice fishing trip you’ve been planning for months. You pull out your phone to text your friends and see “WINTER WEATHER WARNING” pop up on your screen. You’ve got to be kidding me. Shouldn’t there be a rule that forbids the interstate from closing if you are going fishing!? Well, your car insurance agent just called and whole-heartedly disagreed, plus shared a reminder that staying safe is important too!
Fortunately, ice fishing adventures don’t have to require great amounts of travel. In fact, many great fisheries are available right within local communities. When winter weather gets in the way of your travel plans, you can still enjoy a great time on the hard water. In fact, many of these local fisheries provide a brand-new opportunity during the winter months!
Ice season brings a new species to the mix for much of the state. Rainbow trout do not typically occur in waterbodies in eastern South Dakota because of the warm temperatures in the summer, but stocking efforts by GFP provide an opportunity to target trout near larger communities. Trout depend on the cold water for survival, which is why these stocking efforts take place in the fall before ice fishing season and early spring while the water temperatures are still cooler.
These urban fisheries are a great way to introduce new anglers to the sport and to get the whole family involved in fishing. The addition of these trout for the ice fishing season means there will be plenty of active, willing biters, and hard fighters that can be found at the end of your line! Whether you are looking to broaden your skills and species as an angler or to ensure there will be plenty of action for a new angler these trout make an excellent target species! Trout are also excellent table fare and offer a unique meal for one of the cold winter days! The daily limit on trout is five fish and anglers are more than welcome to harvest and enjoy these fish as a meal!
The trout stocked in these fisheries will be of “catchable size”, which means they will be about 10-11 inches long. These trout are raised for 18 months in GFP’s cold-water hatcheries in the Black Hills and are then transported across the state to be stocked in these urban fisheries.
Trout are also very easy to target and the same basic ice fishing equipment can put trout on the ice. A small, simple ice fishing jig tipped with a couple wax worms or spikes is a great starting bait. A simple hook and weight under a bobber baited with the same wax worms, spikes, a piece of crawler, corn, or even a small plastic bait can produce trout as well.
You don’t need to travel hundreds of miles to find a great fishery, or a new species to target. This winter, take advantage of these unique opportunities within your very community. Whether you are looking to introduce a new angler to the sport, catch a meal for dinner, or just improve your skills as an angler and cross a new species off your list you’ll find everything you’re looking for right in your own backyard!
Find Weekly Stocking Reports
You can find weekly stockings on the GFP website by visiting gfp.sd.gov/fish and clicking on the “Weekly Fish Stockings” tab. This will automatically generate a report based on the stockings that have taken place that week.
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