Just like the streams, Black Hills lakes can be categorized into large and small. All of the lakes are manmade and either 40 acres and smaller or 100 acres and larger, but not all of them hold trout. At one time they did, but over the past ten years or so, two lakes--Sheridan Lake and Pactola Reservoir--have been polluted with illegally-stocked northern pike, and the trout don't last long after a stocking. Several other lakes still offer excellent trout fishing and are great for float-tubing.

Canyon Lake, off Jackson Boulevard, is located inside the Rapid City limits. Though small, Canyon holds huge trout--stocked rainbows and browns up to 30 inches--and because of its proximity to the Cleghorn Springs Fish Hatchery, the state dumps a few brood stock in the lake each year. Pictures of these 30-inch, 12-pound monsters decorate the wall in Rapid City's Dakota Angler and Outfitter fly shop. A #12 Woolly Bugger stripped slowly through the lake's currents often gets the trout's attention. A parking lot and boat ramp at the west end of the lake offer easy and convenient access to the water.

Sylvan Lake is special not only for its fishing for rainbows and browns, but for its location. The lake sits at the foot of Harney Peak, the highest peak between the Rocky Mountains and the Pyrenees Mountains in Europe. The lake is small, but was built among nubs of granite that sprout from the water like the spikes on a pair of baseball cleats. Sylvan sits at the top of Needle Highway, one of the most exhilarating and beautiful car rides in the Black Hills. A parking lot at the lake makes for easy access.

Deerfield Lake may be the best of the Black Hills' bigger lakes. Located 14 miles west of Hill City, this long, skinny lake is best fished along its banks, where large groups of rainbows and browns congregate.

If you plan to fish any of the Black Hills lakes, cast a bead-head nymph, Woolly Bugger, or Black-nosed Dace streamer to within a few feet of the bank and retrieve it slowly. Just as the sun sets, tie on a #16 Zug Bug and speed up the retrieval a bit. Fish seem to prefer the smaller fly and the flash of the peacock sword tail. I usually fish with floating lines on the lakes, but during the middle of summer, a sinking line helps me get the fly to the trout holding deep in the cooler water.

Before heading out to any of the bigger lakes in the Hills, check the weather report. The wind can howl in the Hills and make maneuvering a float tube next to impossible.

If you're driving to some Western river and you're passing through the Black Hills, or if you're sightseeing at Mount Rushmore, the Crazy Horse Monument, or Custer State Park, keep your fly rod ready. You may cross a great trout stream or pass a good lake. If you take the time to stop, you won't regret it.