South Dakota Water Levels & the Daily Bite

Live water for the Mount Rushmore State — the great Missouri reservoirs Oahe, Sharpe & Francis Case, the Black Hills lakes, and the glacial walleye lakes of the northeast. This is walleye country, with cold-water trout in the Black Hills. The dammed reservoirs with NWPS gauges run live; the ungauged glacial lakes & Lewis & Clark read as honest SNAPSHOT cards. Every tube shows the pool, the current level, the lake's two signature fish (hover for the species, click for 2026 tournaments), and a live bite gauge. Scroll down for the Black Hills trout streams, the Missouri channel cats, the paddle rivers, and the Prairie Pothole duck country.

Fetching live readings…

Pick how you're using the water today — jump to live conditions:

🎣 Fishing another state? Step 1: pick it Step 2: how you use the water

Flood / above normal At normal pool Below normal Current level Bite gauge: slow → hot (solunar)

Hover a fish for its species · click a fish to search that lake's 2026 tournaments

Each cylinder is scaled to its own operating band: the gold line is normal full (conservation) pool, the red line is the flood / above-normal line, and the blue water is the live reading. Most South Dakota reservoir gauges report true pool elevation; the glacial lakes show snapshot elevation (ft MSL). The colored bar at left is a solunar bite forecast for right now at each lake (red = slow, green = hot).

Black Hills Trout — Cold Mountain Streams

The Black Hills hold the only wild trout in the Dakotas — brown & rainbow in Rapid Creek below Pactola, Spearfish Creek in its canyon, and Whitewood Creek. The cylinder shows live gage height (ft) — low = wadeable, high = fast, off-color water. Hover a trout for the species; tap it for a guide.

Roughly 100–200 cfs is prime wadeable/tubing flow; big releases above ~1,000 cfs run fast and cold. Always check Canyon Dam releases before wading.

River Catfish — the Missouri & the James

The Missouri below Oahe (Pierre) and below Gavins Point (Yankton) gives up trophy flathead & channel cats, along with the James & the Big Sioux at Sioux Falls. Live river stage (ft) from NOAA, with action & flood marked. Rising, off-color water turns the cats on. Hover a cat; tap it for a guide.

Paddle Rivers — the Missouri Rec. River & the Black Hills

The Missouri National Recreational River below Gavins Point is the last free-flowing stretch of the river; the Big Sioux, James & Belle Fourche run the prairie & the Hills. Live USGS gage height (ft); each tube marks FLOAT, EXPERT & FLOOD. Hover a fish; tap it for an outfitter.

The Missouri below Gavins Point is dam-controlled and floatable most of the season; the Black Hills & prairie rivers are flashier. Always check the gage before launching.

Duck Water — Prairie Pothole & the Glacial Lakes

Northeast South Dakota sits in the heart of the Prairie Pothole Region — Sand Lake & Waubay NWRs and the glacial lakes pull migrating ducks down the James & Missouri flyways. Live water-level (ft) from NOAA & USGS. Hover a duck for the species; tap it for a guide.

The potholes & refuges fill with snowmelt & rain for the fall migration. Duck season runs roughly late September–December.