See every public fishing venue in South Dakota on the map, with boat ramps, camping, parking and full rules for each one.
Crooked Creek is a public river in Butte County, South Dakota, managed by State of South Dakota (public / navigable water). You can fish it on a South Dakota fishing licence; bank access is at bridge crossings, GFP access points and public parks. South Dakota riverbeds are private property up to the ordinary high-water mark except on a few federally-declared-navigable reaches, so wading or bank fishing away from a public access point needs the landowner's permission. Public access confirmed via public-trust river.
A Black Hills trout stream (Rapid Creek, Spearfish Creek, French Creek, Castle Creek) — GFP's BeneficialUseWaters layer classifies these 'Coldwater' fish-life-propagation waters. Wild and stocked brown, rainbow and brook trout in clear, spring-fed mountain water, a real (if small) trout fishery for the Plains.
It runs roughly 8 miles through the Black Hills region. Anglers here mostly fish for brown trout, rainbow trout, brook trout. The nearest other mapped waters on PiscaMaps are North Indian Creek and Bean Blossom Creek.
Species from PiscaMaps water-type profiles, GFP trout designations and hand research.
Night fishing: No statewide night-fishing closure in South Dakota. Snagging, gigging, bowfishing and setlines for carp, gar, buffalo and catfish are legal on most waters with their own seasons and gear rules; the four Missouri River reservoirs have specific paddlefish-snagging seasons.
Boats: Most South Dakota rivers (the James, Big Sioux, Vermillion, and the West River creeks) are waded or floated by canoe, kayak and jon boat; the Missouri River reservoirs and the lower James take full-size boats.
Bank & bivvy camping: South Dakota treats a 'meandered' waterway (surveyed as navigable at statehood — the Missouri, James, Big Sioux and most major lakes/rivers) as fully public. Many prairie lakes are legally 'non-meandered' with a privately-owned bed; a 2017 state law (SDCL 41-2-18 et seq.) keeps these open to public fishing and boating via GFP-marked public access points, even though the lakebed itself is private — always launch/access from a signed public site, not by crossing private land.
Anyone 16 or older needs a South Dakota fishing licence — the resident annual is about $28, the non-resident annual about $73, with non-resident 1-day (~$16) and 3-day licences also sold. No separate trout stamp is required — the standard licence covers Black Hills trout water. South Dakota residents 65 and older can buy a discounted senior combination licence, and anyone under 16 fishes free with a licensed adult. Buy from GFP at gfp.sd.gov. A South Dakota fishing licence covers this river where it is public. The Missouri River mainstem is fished on a South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa or North Dakota licence in the bordering reaches; check current reciprocity before crossing.
Every water carries species, bank & boat access, current regulations and live water conditions — and members get Swim Mapper, Catch Logger and Trip Planner. It's the only US map with a dedicated carp-water layer.
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