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Fishing Fish Lake: what the data says
754-acre lake near Deuel County. The lake tops out around 8 ft. The contours are modeled from the water's real shoreline and maximum depth. Treat them as a rough guide, and never use them for navigation. What follows comes from the same scoring engine that paints the spots above.
Yellow Perch fishing at Fish Lake
Start shallow in spring: yellow perch sit in 2 to 8 ft that time of year. Summer fish stay in 2 to 8 ft, and winter fish hold in 2 to 8 ft. Shallow bay flat is the standout, a weed flat at roughly 3 ft, rated prime for spring yellow perch. Best bite is early morning. Tie on a drop-shot micro plastics or a small spoon tipped with worm and you're in the game.
| Season | Depth | Best window | Go-to baits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spring | 2 to 8 ft | midday & dawn | Small jig + curly tail, Perch-pattern micro crank |
| Summer | 2 to 8 ft | dawn | Drop-shot micro plastics, Small spoon tipped with worm |
| Fall | 2 to 8 ft | midday | Jigging spoon (small), Perch rig / spreader |
| Winter | 2 to 8 ft | midday & dawn | Tungsten jig + spikes, Rattle spoon (small) |
Crappie fishing at Fish Lake
In spring, crappie run shallow here, mostly 2 to 8 ft. Summer fish stay in 2 to 8 ft, and winter fish hold in 2 to 8 ft. The spot to know is Old creek channel, a creek channel in about 4 ft of water that rates prime for crappie in fall. In summer the feeding windows fall in early morning and the evening. Tie on a jig trolled/spider-rigged or a small crankbait (trolled) and you're in the game.
| Season | Depth | Best window | Go-to baits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spring | 2 to 8 ft | midday & dawn | 1/16 oz jig + tube, Curly-tail grub |
| Summer | 2 to 8 ft | dawn & dusk | Jig trolled/spider-rigged, Small crankbait (trolled) |
| Fall | 2 to 8 ft | dawn | Jig + minnow combo, Small swimbait (1.5-2") |
| Winter | 2 to 8 ft | midday | Tungsten jig + soft plastic, Tiny jigging spoon |
Bluegill fishing at Fish Lake
Start shallow in spring: bluegill sit in 1 to 6 ft that time of year. They move out to 2 to 8 ft in summer and finish the year down in 2 to 8 ft. Shallow bay flat is the standout, a weed flat at roughly 3 ft, rated prime for spring bluegill. Best bite is early morning and the evening. A small sponge spider (fly) or a micro tube jig covers the summer program.
| Season | Depth | Best window | Go-to baits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spring | 1 to 6 ft | midday & dusk | 1/32 oz jig + micro plastic, Tiny popper (evenings) |
| Summer | 2 to 8 ft | dawn & dusk | Small sponge spider (fly), Micro tube jig |
| Fall | 2 to 8 ft | midday | Micro jig + waxworm, Small spoon tipped |
| Winter | 2 to 8 ft | midday | Tungsten ice jig + plastic, Tiny spoon |
Northern Pike fishing at Fish Lake
In spring, northern pike run shallow here, mostly 2 to 8 ft. Summer fish stay in 2 to 8 ft, and winter fish hold in 2 to 8 ft. Shallow bay flat is the standout, a weed flat at roughly 3 ft, rated prime for spring northern pike. Best bite is early morning and the evening. Tie on a bucktail or a weedless spoon over cabbage and you're in the game.
| Season | Depth | Best window | Go-to baits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spring | 2 to 8 ft | midday & dawn | #5 inline spinner, Spoon (red/white) |
| Summer | 2 to 8 ft | dawn & dusk | Bucktail, Weedless spoon over cabbage |
| Fall | 2 to 8 ft | midday & dawn | Big rubber (Bull Dawg style), Husky-style jerkbait |
| Winter | 2 to 8 ft | midday | Tip-ups, Large jigging spoon |
Walleye fishing at Fish Lake
Start shallow in spring: walleye sit in 2 to 8 ft that time of year. Summer fish stay in 2 to 8 ft, and winter fish hold in 2 to 8 ft. Creek inflow is the standout, a inflow / creek mouth at roughly 4 ft, rated prime for spring walleye. Plan around the evening and early morning in the warm months. A crawler harness on bottom bouncer or a deep crankbait (trolled) covers the summer program.
| Season | Depth | Best window | Go-to baits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spring | 2 to 8 ft | dusk & dawn | 1/8 oz jig + minnow, Hair jig |
| Summer | 2 to 8 ft | dusk & dawn | Crawler harness on bottom bouncer, Deep crankbait (trolled) |
| Fall | 2 to 8 ft | dusk & night | Jigging rap, Jig + big minnow |
| Winter | 2 to 8 ft | dusk & dawn | Jigging spoon + minnow head, Rattle bait |
Largemouth Bass fishing at Fish Lake
In spring, largemouth bass run shallow here, mostly 2 to 8 ft. Summer fish stay in 2 to 8 ft, and winter fish hold in 2 to 8 ft. The spot to know is Shallow bay flat, a weed flat in about 3 ft of water that rates prime for largemouth bass in spring. In summer the feeding windows fall in early morning and the evening. Tie on a texas-rigged 10" worm or a deep-diving crankbait and you're in the game.
| Season | Depth | Best window | Go-to baits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spring | 2 to 8 ft | dawn & dusk | Spinnerbait, Chatterbait |
| Summer | 2 to 8 ft | dawn & dusk | Texas-rigged 10" worm, Deep-diving crankbait |
| Fall | 2 to 8 ft | midday & dawn | Squarebill crankbait (shad), Spinnerbait |
| Winter | 2 to 8 ft | midday | Blade bait, Jigging spoon |
Fish Lake also holds brown bullhead (2 to 8 ft in summer). Pick any of them on the map above for rated spots and bait picks.
Notable structure
- Main-lake point: point, around 8 ft
- Secondary point: point, around 8 ft
- Deep basin: deep basin, around 7 ft
- Break off the point: drop-off, around 4 ft
- Creek inflow: inflow / creek mouth, around 4 ft
- Creek inflow: inflow / creek mouth, around 4 ft
- Old creek channel: creek channel, around 4 ft
- Shallow bay flat: weed flat, around 3 ft
- Back-bay flat: weed flat, around 3 ft
Common questions
How deep is Fish Lake?
Fish Lake is about 8 ft at its deepest point. The contours here are modeled from the water's real shape and maximum depth, so treat them as a rough guide.
What fish are in Fish Lake?
Anglers target largemouth bass, walleye, northern pike, crappie, bluegill, yellow perch, brown bullhead on Fish Lake.
Where is the best fishing spot on Fish Lake?
Shallow bay flat is the top-rated area: a weed flat in about 3 ft of water that rates prime for yellow perch in spring. Open the map above to see every rated spot for each species and season.
When is the best time to fish Fish Lake?
For yellow perch, the summer bite is best in early morning. Each species page section below lists the seasonal windows, and the map shows a live NOW badge when you're inside one.
Nearby waters
Oak Lake · Cochrane Lake · Clear Lake · Bullhead Lake · Round Lake · Campbell Lake
See how Fish Lake stacks up: best largemouth bass lakes in South Dakota · best walleye lakes in South Dakota · best northern pike lakes in South Dakota · best crappie lakes in South Dakota
Browse all South Dakota fishing maps or every water on DepthScout. How we build these maps. For fishing guidance only, never navigation.