Like other gold rushes across the West, the Black Hills boom of the mid-1800s brought tremendous changes – both positive and negative – to the new frontier. While prostitution, high-noon showdowns and general lawlessness have gone the way of Wild Bill, two other products of the Black Hills gold rush remain: regulated gambling and trout fishing. And while you can test your luck in Deadwood’s No. 10 Saloon, the area’s lakes and streams offer better odds of success.

The waters of the Black Hills most likely saw the first introduction of brown and rainbow trout thanks to barrel-brigade stockings by miners from the Rockies and other points west. By the early 1900s, the state of South Dakota was supplementing the original trout population with regulated stockings that continue to this day. The result is a thriving fishery of wild and stocked brook, brown and rainbow trout that a relatively small number of anglers often have all to themselves, despite the millions of visitors who flock to the area’s other attractions, including Mount Rushmore.

Many, if not most, of the Black Hills’ lakes hold trout, though a few of the bigger ones have suffered recently due to low water conditions and growing populations of invasive northern pike. One lake that continues to shine is Deerfield Lake, located about 50 miles west of Rapid City, though that drive can take all of an hour and a half due to winding mountain roads. But it’s time well spent if the lake’s population of browns and rainbows are on the feed. Streamers, damsels and nymphs are the best choices here.

Pactola Reservoir is easier to get to and can offer up some big trout, but the lake is one of those suffering from the double whammies of low water and pike. Still, it’s a good lake and one worth trying if you’re in the area. In addition to a healthy population of brown and rainbow trout, anglers have a chance of a bonus in the form of kokanee salmon that swim Pactola.


Below the lake flows the Black Hills’ most famous fishery, Rapid Creek. From the lake’s catch-and-release-only tailwater all the way through Rapid City and into Canyon Lake, the creek offers some of the best fishing in the Hills. With plenty of public access in the national forest and miles of hiking trails, this is a can’t-miss stop for any angler in the area. Baetis, caddis and yellow stones are go-to flies in late spring and summer.

Spring Creek is another great option, with access along Route 228 west of Rapid City. But don’t think easy access means hordes of anglers. Like most water in the Black Hills, Spring Creek offers a solitary experience amongst the hustle of the Hills’ tourism-centered business.

If you do happen to share Rapid or Spring Creek with another angler and just can’t stand the crowd, get in your truck and head northwest to Spearfish Creek. This blue-ribbon fishery is far enough from the T-shirt shops and tourist traps of the eastern Hills and Rapid City that you’ll most likely have it all to yourself, except for the trophy trout, including a wild population of rainbows.