Belle Fourche Reservoir fishing: Northern Pike, Walleye, Smallmouth Bass
Target species: Northern Pike, Walleye, Smallmouth Bass, White Bass, Yellow Perch, Green Sunfish
Boat: 1 ramp or launch on file for this water.
Start here: Launch at Rocky Point Recreation Area - West, 2 lanes.
The reservoir
Belle Fourche Reservoir covers 7,332 acres in South Dakota, across Butte County. It is a reservoir: 91.3% of it is 24 feet deep or less; the deepest point measured is ≈39.5 feet (12 m). Our records hold 7 species for this water.
6 target fish, led by Northern Pike
- Northern Pike — Feeding water: 50–75°F.
- Walleye — Feeding water: 50–75°F.
- Smallmouth Bass — Feeding water: 60–75°F.
- White Bass — Feeding water: 65–75°F.
- Yellow Perch — Feeding water: 45–75°F.
- Green Sunfish — Feeding water: 65–80°F.
Also recorded here: Common Carp.
Depth and bottom
Deepest measured point: ≈39.5 ft (12 m). 91.3% of the water is 24 feet or shallower. We hold 25 depth contours for this water, drawn from 76,430 soundings.
- 0–2 ft: 55.4% of the water
- 2–4 ft: 7.4% of the water
- 4–6 ft: 5% of the water
- 6–8 ft: 4.3% of the water
- 8–10 ft: 3.3% of the water
- 10–12 ft: 2.9% of the water
- 12–14 ft: 2.5% of the water
- 14–16 ft: 2.5% of the water
- 16–18 ft: 2.3% of the water
- 18–20 ft: 2.1% of the water
- 20–22 ft: 1.9% of the water
- 22–24 ft: 1.7% of the water
- 24–26 ft: 1.5% of the water
- 26–28 ft: 1.3% of the water
- 28–30 ft: 1.2% of the water
- 30–32 ft: 1.2% of the water
- 32–34 ft: 1.4% of the water
- 34–36 ft: 1.2% of the water
- 36–38 ft: 0.9% of the water
- 38–39 ft: 0.2% of the water
1 ramp or launch on this water
On this water we hold 1 trailer ramp.
- Rocky Point Recreation Area - West — 2 lanes.
The place listed has no fee or opening hours on file: a blank means we hold no such field, not that it is free or always open, and this list may not be complete.
Water and conditions
Our water temperature readings average 69°F; they do not cover the whole year, so this is not a yearly average. pH averages 8.2. These readings span 2017–2020. The latest reading is from 2020, more than three years ago: read these numbers as history, not as the water today.
What is hard here
Wind is the limit, not the fish: 7,332 acres of open water build a short steep chop, and there is no shelter in the middle. Only 1 public ramp is on file, so the launch decides where you fish.
Where this data comes from
- US Bureau of Reclamation — USBR reservoir sedimentation surveys: class A, a survey of the bottom, 2006.
Part of these depths rest on an averaged water level, so they are approximate (≈).
