Not many anglers are aware that South Dakota is home to some of the prettiest and best trout fishing east of the Rocky Mountains. Most associate western South Dakota with the colossal visages of U.S. presidents carved into Mount Rushmore. But most tourists don't know that a few presidents also made this area their fishing mecca. Both Calvin Coolidge and Theodore Roosevelt regularly fished these intimate streams. The Black Hills are home to over 400 miles of trout streams and 14 lakes.
Sportsmen can cast fly lines in year-round solitude surrounded only by ponderosa pine forests.
Brook trout populate the headwaters of the streams, while wild brown trout and stocked rainbow trout inhabit the main stems of the Black Hills waters. This region's streams are similar to those found in the West, but smaller in size and, as a bonus, lightly fished. The trout are also on the lighter and smaller size but the trophy trout hunter can certainly find some attractive prospects. Some of the smaller rivers produce unusually large trout relative to their small stature, owing in part to fertile habitat, few anglers, and great cover like undercut banks and thick watercress. The best fishing for trout in South Dakota runs from spring to late summer and early fall.