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Best brown bullhead lakes in South Dakota

43 South Dakota waters hold brown bullhead. Ranked below by size and depth-data quality — open any water to see exactly where to fish it: depth contours, scored spots with plain-English reasons, seasonal windows and bait picks. Night-feeding catfish of weedy, mud-bottomed lakes — the classic after-dark shoreline bite across the east and Canada.

1. Waubay Lake — 31 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, White Bass
2. Thompson Lake — 26 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, White Bass
3. Bitter Lake — 32 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, White Bass
4. Whitewood Lake — 7 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Walleye, White Bass, Northern Pike
5. Poinsett Lake — 22 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, White Bass
6. Red Lake — 10 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Walleye, White Bass, Northern Pike
7. Kampeska Lake — 16 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Walleye, White Bass, Northern Pike
8. Richmond Lake — 23 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike, Crappie
9. Pelican Lake — 8 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Walleye, White Bass, Northern Pike
10. Albert Lake — 13 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Walleye, White Bass, Northern Pike
11. Roy Lake — 21 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, White Bass
12. Long Lake — 23 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, White Bass
13. Opitz Lake — 23 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
14. Goose Lake — 15 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Walleye, White Bass, Northern Pike
15. Sinai Lake — 33 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike
16. Mitchell Lake — 29 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike, Crappie
17. Swan Lake — 17 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike, Crappie
18. Dry Lake — 14 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike, Crappie
19. Henry Lake — 8 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Walleye, White Bass, Northern Pike
20. Enemy Swim Lake — 26 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, White Bass
21. Grass Lake — 9 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Walleye, White Bass, Northern Pike
22. Pocasse Lake — 17 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike, Crappie
23. Byron Lake — 10 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike, Crappie
24. Campbell Lake — 8 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike, Crappie
25. Cottonwood Lake — 9 ft max · Largemouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike, Crappie

…plus 18 more South Dakota waters holding brown bullhead.

When to fish brown bullhead in South Dakota

• Spring 2–8 ft — First warm rains pull bullheads into black-bottomed bays and creek mouths — the classic spring shore bite.
• Summer 3–12 ft — Day fish hold on deeper mud and weed edges; after dark they spread across the shallows to feed by smell.
• Fall 5–15 ft — Fish slide toward deeper soft bottoms as the shallows cool — the evening bite shortens with the days.
• Winter 10–25 ft — Bullheads pod up half-dormant in the deepest mud basins; a long soak with bait on bottom is the lone play.

Also in South Dakota: best largemouth bass lakes · best smallmouth bass lakes · best walleye lakes · best white bass lakes · best northern pike lakes · best crappie lakes · best bluegill lakes · best channel catfish lakes · best yellow perch lakes

Brown Bullhead elsewhere: Minnesota · Michigan · New Hampshire · New York