Beta

GuidedFloats is in beta. The full site launches March 1, 2027. The mobile app follows.

Guides: claim before March 1, 2027 and your first full season of Premium is free. Claim your founding spot →

Log in List your guide serviceFor guides
Home › Waters › South Dakota › Deerfield Reservoir
Reservoir · Western South Dakota, Pennington County, the high Black Hills on Castle Creek northwest of Hill City · South Dakota

Deerfield Reservoir Fishing Guides

A high cold-water reservoir on Castle Creek in the Black Hills northwest of Hill City, managed for trout and one of the few South Dakota waters that holds lake trout and splake.

A long wooden dock reaching into a misty lake at dawn
Gauge location. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Guides on the Deerfield Reservoir

Claimed profiles take booking requests. Unclaimed profiles are built from public records so the river is never empty; the guide can claim or remove one any time.

No guides listed yet

Guide or outfit this water? Create your profile. Listing is free, the commission is 10% or 7% with a premium profile, and premium profiles list first on this water.

About the Deerfield Reservoir

Deerfield Reservoir sits at around six thousand feet on Castle Creek in the high central Black Hills, northwest of Hill City in Pennington County. Ninety-two square miles of forested hills drain to it. The gauge reads reservoir water surface elevation, which is the number that matters on a storage reservoir, and it is the reading to check when planning a launch late in a dry season. The lake is comparatively small at a few hundred surface acres, and it is cold, which is the whole point of it.

Elevation and depth are what set this water apart from almost everything else in South Dakota. The reservoir stratifies and holds cold water through the summer, and South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks manages it as a cold-water fishery rather than a warm-water one. That makes it one of very few waters in the state to hold lake trout and splake alongside the more usual rainbows, browns and brook trout. The lake trout in particular give the reservoir a following among anglers who would otherwise drive to Montana or Wyoming for that fish.

The shoreline is ponderosa pine down to the water with rock points, submerged timber and shallow bays at the inlet end. Trolling is the dominant method for the deeper fish, and shore and float-tube angling works well in spring and autumn when trout are near the surface. A no-wake restriction keeps the water quiet, which suits the fishery and the setting.

Castle Creek above and below the reservoir is a trout stream in its own right, and Rapid Creek downstream of the dam is one of the better wild brown trout fisheries in the region, so a trip here can easily cover more than the lake.

This water needs a real photo

The photo at the top of this page is not Deerfield Reservoir.

It is a regional stand-in, honestly captioned but generic — we will not put a name to a river we cannot prove. Send us a photograph you took here and it replaces the stand-in, with your credit on it.

Add a photo of this water See the badges

Pioneer badgeUnclaimed

Add a photo of this water

Landscape, not fish — the water itself. Reviewed by hand before it appears. The first one published here earns the Pioneer badge.

Never published. It is how the badge is held for you until member accounts open.

Posting to Deerfield Reservoir.

JPG, PNG or WebP, up to 12 MB. Landscape orientation looks best at the top of the page. We resize it and strip the location data out of the file.

The name printed under the photo and on your badge. Leave blank to stay anonymous.

Reader photo license v1.0 — the short version:

  • You grant Guided Floats, LLC a non-exclusive, royalty-free license to publish, resize and crop your photo on guidedfloats.com and in GuidedFloats’ own social posts and apps. You keep the copyright and can use the photo anywhere else.
  • You confirm that you took the photo yourself, that publishing it does not infringe anyone else’s rights, and that anyone recognisable in it (or a parent or guardian, if they are under 18) is happy for it to appear here.
  • Credit is printed beside the photo wherever it appears on the site, using the credit name you give us. Leave it blank and we use your name; write “Anonymous” for no name. Your email address is never published.
  • Withdrawing is one email to hello@guidedfloats.com naming the photo. It comes off the site within 7 days.
Read the full license

Version 1.0, dated 6 September 2026. Applies to every photograph submitted to GuidedFloats through the contact form, a species page, or the community board.

1. What you give us

By ticking the box on the form you grant Guided Floats, LLC (“GuidedFloats”, “we”) a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to store, copy, resize, crop and display your photograph on guidedfloats.com, in GuidedFloats’ own social media accounts and mobile apps, and in material that promotes the site itself, in connection with the fish, water or community feature you sent it in for. The license lasts until you withdraw it (section 4).

You keep the copyright. The license is not exclusive, so you can use the photo anywhere else and license it to anyone else. We will not sell your photo, license it on to anyone else on its own, or use it in paid advertising for a third party.

2. What you confirm

You confirm that you took the photograph yourself (or otherwise own the rights to it), that you have the right to grant this license, and that publishing the photo does not infringe anyone else’s copyright, privacy or other rights.

If any person is recognisable in the photo, you confirm that they have agreed to its being published here, and that a parent or guardian has agreed on behalf of anyone under 18. Please do not send photographs of other people’s catches, screenshots, or pictures copied from other websites or social media.

3. Credit

We print the credit name you give us beside the photo wherever it appears on the site, and record it as the photo’s creator in the page’s structured data. If you leave the credit blank we use the name you gave us on the form. Write “Anonymous” if you prefer no name at all. Your email address, phone number and the exact spot the photo was taken are never published.

4. Withdrawing the license

You can withdraw the license at any time by emailing hello@guidedfloats.com, or by using the contact form, and telling us which photo you mean. We will remove the photo from guidedfloats.com within 7 days of receiving your message and stop using it in anything new. Copies that are already outside our control — search-engine caches, social posts that have already gone out, printed material already produced — may take longer to disappear or may not be recallable, and we are not responsible for those.

5. What we may do

We choose which photos to publish and may decline any submission without giving a reason. We may crop, resize, sharpen or colour-correct a photo for display, and we may remove a photo at any time. We will not alter a photo in a way that misrepresents the fish, the water or you.

6. Your details

We keep your name, email address, the credit name, the water and date you gave us, and the network address the submission came from, with the submission record, as our evidence of this license. We hold that record for as long as the photo is published and for the retention period described in our privacy policy. Location data that your camera or phone embedded in the file is removed before the photo is published.

7. Versions

The version of this license you accepted is stored with your submission and printed with the photo. A later version does not apply to a photo you have already sent unless you agree to it.

Pool right now

2.25ft NGVD29
  • 24 hours-0.10 ft → steady

Reading taken 1h ago at USGS 06409500, DEERFIELD RESERVOIR NEAR HILL CITY SD. Elevation is the surface of the lake above the survey datum, not depth. Source.

Fished this water? Add a photo

Reviewed by hand before it appears. Pick the water, not the spot — we never publish exact locations.

Never published. We use it only if we need to ask about the photo.

Posting to Deerfield Reservoir.

JPG, PNG or WebP, up to 12 MB. We resize it and strip the location data out of the file.

The name shown under the photo. Leave blank to stay anonymous.

Reader photo license v1.0 — the short version:

  • You grant Guided Floats, LLC a non-exclusive, royalty-free license to publish, resize and crop your photo on guidedfloats.com and in GuidedFloats’ own social posts and apps. You keep the copyright and can use the photo anywhere else.
  • You confirm that you took the photo yourself, that publishing it does not infringe anyone else’s rights, and that anyone recognisable in it (or a parent or guardian, if they are under 18) is happy for it to appear here.
  • Credit is printed beside the photo wherever it appears on the site, using the credit name you give us. Leave it blank and we use your name; write “Anonymous” for no name. Your email address is never published.
  • Withdrawing is one email to hello@guidedfloats.com naming the photo. It comes off the site within 7 days.
Read the full license

Version 1.0, dated 6 September 2026. Applies to every photograph submitted to GuidedFloats through the contact form, a species page, or the community board.

1. What you give us

By ticking the box on the form you grant Guided Floats, LLC (“GuidedFloats”, “we”) a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to store, copy, resize, crop and display your photograph on guidedfloats.com, in GuidedFloats’ own social media accounts and mobile apps, and in material that promotes the site itself, in connection with the fish, water or community feature you sent it in for. The license lasts until you withdraw it (section 4).

You keep the copyright. The license is not exclusive, so you can use the photo anywhere else and license it to anyone else. We will not sell your photo, license it on to anyone else on its own, or use it in paid advertising for a third party.

2. What you confirm

You confirm that you took the photograph yourself (or otherwise own the rights to it), that you have the right to grant this license, and that publishing the photo does not infringe anyone else’s copyright, privacy or other rights.

If any person is recognisable in the photo, you confirm that they have agreed to its being published here, and that a parent or guardian has agreed on behalf of anyone under 18. Please do not send photographs of other people’s catches, screenshots, or pictures copied from other websites or social media.

3. Credit

We print the credit name you give us beside the photo wherever it appears on the site, and record it as the photo’s creator in the page’s structured data. If you leave the credit blank we use the name you gave us on the form. Write “Anonymous” if you prefer no name at all. Your email address, phone number and the exact spot the photo was taken are never published.

4. Withdrawing the license

You can withdraw the license at any time by emailing hello@guidedfloats.com, or by using the contact form, and telling us which photo you mean. We will remove the photo from guidedfloats.com within 7 days of receiving your message and stop using it in anything new. Copies that are already outside our control — search-engine caches, social posts that have already gone out, printed material already produced — may take longer to disappear or may not be recallable, and we are not responsible for those.

5. What we may do

We choose which photos to publish and may decline any submission without giving a reason. We may crop, resize, sharpen or colour-correct a photo for display, and we may remove a photo at any time. We will not alter a photo in a way that misrepresents the fish, the water or you.

6. Your details

We keep your name, email address, the credit name, the water and date you gave us, and the network address the submission came from, with the submission record, as our evidence of this license. We hold that record for as long as the photo is published and for the retention period described in our privacy policy. Location data that your camera or phone embedded in the file is removed before the photo is published.

7. Versions

The version of this license you accepted is stored with your submission and printed with the photo. A later version does not apply to a photo you have already sent unless you agree to it.

Lake level alert

Tell me when the pool at Deerfield Reservoir ft (NGVD29)

Now: 2.25 ft pool elevation, read 5:00 pm CDT, Sun Oct 18, 2026 (USGS 06409500, DEERFIELD RESERVOIR NEAR HILL CITY SD).

We never use this address for anything else and never share it. See the privacy policy.

Access

Deerfield Lake Recreation Area - the developed Forest Service access with campgrounds and boat ramps.
Hill City - the nearest town, about twenty minutes southeast, with fuel, food, lodging and tackle.
Black Hills National Forest - public land surrounding the reservoir with trails and dispersed camping.
Castle Creek - the inlet and outlet stream, a trout fishery in its own right.
Rapid Creek below the dam - the wild brown trout water downstream, and a strong reason to extend a trip.
Pactola Reservoir - a larger Black Hills reservoir nearby with ramps and its own trout fishery.
Rapid City - the regional centre an hour east, with full services, guides and marine supply.

Seasons

Spring: trout are shallow after ice-out and shore fishing is at its best, with splake and rainbows willing.
Summer: fish hold deep and trolling takes over, with lake trout the reward for working the thermocline.
Fall: cooling water brings trout back toward the surface and brown trout colour up and feed hard.
Winter: the reservoir freezes and ice fishing is popular, with perch and trout both taken through the ice.

From the water

No logged trips yet. Be the first to put this water on your map.

Log this water

Fished it or cleaned it? Log in or create a free account to log a trip with photos and earn the waterway badge.

Questions

What species can you catch on the Deerfield Reservoir?

Anglers target Brook Trout, Brown Trout, Lake Trout, Rainbow Trout, Splake, Yellow Perch on the Deerfield Reservoir in South Dakota.

Where can you access the Deerfield Reservoir?

Deerfield Lake Recreation Area - the developed Forest Service access with campgrounds and boat ramps. Hill City - the nearest town, about twenty minutes southeast, with fuel, food, lodging and tackle. Black Hills National Forest - public land surrounding the reservoir with trails and dispersed camping. Castle Creek - the inlet and outlet stream, a trout fishery in its own right. Rapid Creek below the dam - the wild brown trout water downstream, and a strong reason to extend a trip. Pactola Reservoir - a larger Black Hills reservoir nearby with ramps and its own trout fishery. Rapid City - the...

When is the best time to fish the Deerfield Reservoir?

Spring: trout are shallow after ice-out and shore fishing is at its best, with splake and rainbows willing. Summer: fish hold deep and trolling takes over, with lake trout the reward for working the thermocline. Fall: cooling water brings trout back toward the surface and brown trout colour up and feed hard. Winter: the reservoir freezes and ice fishing is popular, with perch and trout both taken through the ice.

Where are the fishing regulations for the Deerfield Reservoir?

Regulations change by season and section. Read the current rules on the South Dakota agency site: https://gfp.sd.gov/pages/regulations/