South Dakota Trout Stocking Report 2026

Every sentence here comes from the South Dakota Department of Game, Fish and Parks (SD GFP), and each section names its sources. Updated .

South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks (SD GFP) raises trout and salmon at two hatcheries, Cleghorn Springs in Rapid City and McNenny near Spearfish, because trout are not native to the state and reproduce poorly in it. Rainbows go into the Missouri River reservoirs and tailwaters, ponds across the state, and Black Hills lakes and streams. GFP lists the stockings of the last 14 days on its website and keeps a stocking report for each year and each lake. In 2025 it stocked 53,845,708 fish of every species.

From SD GFP: Cleghorn Springs State Fish Hatchery, SD GFP: McNenny State Fish Hatchery, SD GFP: Rainbow Trout, SD GFP: 2026 South Dakota Fishing Handbook (PDF), SD GFP: Fishery Reports and SD GFP: Stocking Report by Year, 2025 (PDF).

The SD GFP trout stocking report

The stockings of the past two weeks, by county and water, with the species, the date, the number and the size.

Open the Fish Stockings in the Last 14 Days

From SD GFP: Fish Stockings in the Last 14 Days (PDF) and SD GFP: Fishery Reports.

When South Dakota stocks trout

Black Hills lakes and streams

In the Black Hills the plants run from late February into October. In 2025 Canyon Lake got rainbows on February 27, April 9, May 27, July 1, August 22 and October 1, and Coldbrook on March 10, May 29, August 26 and October 15; 2024 ran the same way. The busiest stretches are late March and September. Pactola Reservoir got plants from March 20 to 28, 2025, and again from September 8 to 30, and Sheridan Lake the same way. Some of the fall fish are big: Pactola's late-September rainbows ran 0.3 fish to the pound, over 3 pounds each. Not all of it is rainbows. Center Lake got cutthroat trout in March, April, July and August 2025, and Pactola Reservoir 21,000 young brown trout on May 5, 2025.

Community ponds and prairie dams, spring and fall

Away from the Black Hills, community ponds and prairie dams get rainbows in March and again in October. In 2025 Wylie Park got plants on March 19 and October 8, Lions CFP on March 20 and October 9, and the Family Park Urban Fishing Pond on March 12 and 24 and October 29; 2024 ran the same way. Some get one more in November: Covell Urban Fishing Pond on November 12, 2025, and the Family Park Urban Fishing Pond on November 6, 2024.

From SD GFP: Stocking Report by Year, 2025 (PDF) and SD GFP: Stocking Report by Year, 2024 (PDF).

Rules on stocked water

  • Anglers under 18 need no license and keep their own limits. Residents pay $31 a year or $10 a day, $17 a year at 65 and older; nonresidents pay $80 a year, $45 for three days or $26 for one. Anglers 18 and older also buy a habitat stamp, $10 for residents and $25 for nonresidents, except with a one-day license. Licenses run from December 15, 2025 to January 31, 2027, and an agent or online sale adds up to $4.
  • The trout limit is 5 a day and 10 in possession, any mix of trout, salmon and splake. On Black Hills streams only one of them may be 14 inches or longer (reservoirs excepted), lake trout and splake are 1 a day, of at least 24 inches, and anywhere in the Black Hills Fish Management Area a trout already kept may not be swapped for one caught later.

From SD GFP: 2026 South Dakota Fishing Handbook (PDF), SD GFP: General License Requirements and SD GFP: Fish Harvest and Length Limits.

How to hear about a stocking

  • Check Fish Stockings in the Last 14 Days before a trip. It is where GFP itself sends anglers asking about recent stockings.

From SD GFP: 2026 South Dakota Fishing Handbook (PDF).

Worth knowing before you go looking

  • Some Black Hills water is catch-and-release with artificial lures only: Rapid Creek from below Pactola Dam to the footbridge at Placerville Camp, Rapid Creek in Rapid City from Park Drive to Jackson Boulevard, and Yates Ponds at Cheyenne Crossing. On a mile of Spearfish Creek below Homestake Hydro Plant No. 2, rainbows go back and other trout keep the standard limit.
  • Inland water over Indian trust land needs a tribal fishing license. The Missouri River and its reservoirs need only the state license, but fishing them from tribal land may need a tribal license or access permit.

From SD GFP: 2026 South Dakota Fishing Handbook (PDF) and SD GFP: General License Requirements.

Which day to fish it

The schedule says where the fish went in. Which day to go is a different question: the forecast scores each day of the week for trout at the water you pick, from its water temperature, the wind and the weather.

See the week for rainbow trout

Species guides: Rainbow Trout · Cutthroat Trout · Brown Trout

Sources

Every sentence above was read on one of these pages, and a check re-reads each quoted line against the page it came from.

Spotted something out of date or plain wrong here? Tell us and we will check it.