Best Ice Fishing Lakes in South Dakota

Short answer: for walleye and yellow perch, start with Waubay Lake and Blue Dog Lake in Day County. South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks (GFP) manages Waubay Lake as a walleye and yellow perch fishery and Blue Dog Lake as a walleye fishery. Lake Kampeska, Lake Poinsett, Lake Thompson and Bitter Lake round out the northeast walleye and perch water. For northern pike, Roy Lake in Marshall County is the lake a GFP survey calls out for high pike numbers. For crappie, Roy Lake is the best sourced pick, though GFP calls its crappie "not abundant". The big Missouri River reservoirs, Lake Oahe, Lake Sharpe and Lake Francis Case, hold walleye and, per GFP surveys, perch in some stretches.

The picks below come from GFP lake survey reports and GFP species pages. Those surveys are summer and fall net samples. They tell you what lives in a lake. They do not tell you how it bites through the ice, and they say nothing about ice conditions.

No ice is ever 100% safe. Check it yourself.

Quick list by species

• Walleye: Waubay Lake, Blue Dog Lake, Bitter Lake, Lake Kampeska, Lake Thompson, Lake Poinsett, Lake Oahe, Lake Sharpe, Lake Francis Case.
• Yellow perch: Waubay Lake, Blue Dog Lake, Lake Kampeska, Lake Poinsett (numbers down, see below), Lake Sharpe, Lake Francis Case.
• Crappie: Roy Lake (black crappie), Lake Thompson, Lake Poinsett.
• Northern pike: Roy Lake, plus pike present in Lake Thompson, Bitter Lake and Lake Kampeska.

Ice safety first

A Sioux Falls Live article lists these ice thickness guidelines and credits them to GFP. We could not find them on a GFP page, so treat them as the article's report of GFP guidance:

• Less than 4 inches: stay off.
• 4 to 6 inches: foot travel only, in single file, on clear ice free of snow.
• 6 to 12 inches: snowmobiles and ATVs, on good ice at least 6 inches thick.
• 12 to 16 inches: small cars and pickups, though GFP encourages anglers to avoid driving on less than 16 inches.
• More than 16 inches: medium-sized cars and pickups on good, clear ice.

The same article says to carry ice picks, rope and a throwable flotation device, and that vehicle travel depends on snow and ice conditions. A KOTA TV report quoted a local water rescue team leader who said no ice is safe ice, because the freezing and thawing make conditions hard to know. The article frames its numbers for good, clear ice. They are not a promise.

No ice is ever 100% safe. Check it yourself. Go with other people instead of alone, wear a life jacket, and carry ice picks and rope.

1. Waubay Lake (Day County)

The pick for walleye and perch together. GFP's 2024 survey lists Waubay at 16,943 acres, with a maximum depth of 31 feet and a mean depth of 13 feet. GFP says it is managed as a walleye and yellow perch fishery.

The 2024 numbers are good. Walleye gill net catch was 9.4 per net, which GFP says suggests high relative abundance. Of walleye at least 10 inches, 46% were longer than 15 inches and 9% were longer than 20 inches. Yellow perch gill net catch was 16.0 per net, the highest recorded from 2016 to 2024. Of the perch sampled, 69% were longer than 8 inches and 14% were longer than 10 inches.

2. Blue Dog Lake (Day County)

Blue Dog sits half a mile north of Waubay. GFP says it is primarily managed as a walleye fishery, with northern pike, smallmouth bass, white bass and yellow perch also present. In the 2023 survey (the latest we found), walleye gill net catch was 10.2 per net. GFP called that high. Of walleye at least 10 inches, 68% were longer than 15 inches. Yellow perch came in at 11.7 per net, which GFP rated moderate to high. GFP notes zebra mussels and curlyleaf pondweed are present, so clean your gear.

3. Bitter Lake (Day County)

The 2025 GFP survey lists 17,194 acres and a maximum depth of 32 feet. Walleye, northern pike and yellow perch are among the common species present. The 2025 walleye gill net catch was 17.4 per net, from a sample of 290 stock-length walleye. The perch catch was 5.1 per net. Our read: a walleye lake first.

4. Lake Kampeska (Codington County)

Kampeska sits at Watertown. The 2025 survey lists 4,987 acres, a maximum depth of 16 feet and a mean depth of 7 feet. Walleye, smallmouth bass, black and white crappie, yellow perch and northern pike are all present.

The 2025 yellow perch gill net catch was 10.4 per net. That was the highest in the report's multi-year table. Walleye catch was 1.5 per net, the lowest in that table. Our read: a perch lake this year, with walleye present but fewer.

5. Lake Poinsett (Hamlin County)

The 2025 survey lists 7,978 acres in Hamlin County, 22 feet deep at most, with a mean depth of 17 feet. Yellow perch, walleye, northern pike and black crappie are on the species list.

Be honest about the trend. The 2025 gill net catch of yellow perch was 3.1 per net, down from 25.1 in 2016. Walleye catch was 2.7 per net, below the 10-year average of 6.31. Our read: expect fewer fish than the lake's past numbers suggest, and check recent reports from the lake before you drive.

6. Lake Thompson (Kingsbury County)

The 2025 survey lists 13,701 acres and a maximum depth of 26 feet. Walleye, yellow perch, black crappie and northern pike are all on the species list. It is the lake on this list that carries all four target species in one place. We found no survey narrative for it, so we give no catch numbers.

7. Roy Lake (Marshall County)

The best sourced pike and crappie lake in this guide. GFP's 2024 survey lists 2,113 acres, 21 feet deep at most. GFP manages it as a multiple species fishery.

• Pike: catch of 4.5 per gill net, which GFP calls high. Of pike sampled, 57% were longer than 21 inches and 6% longer than 28 inches.
• Crappie: GFP says black crappie are not abundant, but more were sampled in 2024 than in surveys from 2015 to 2021. Of those at least 5 inches, 37% were longer than 8 inches and 21% longer than 10 inches.
• Perch and walleye: perch were the most abundant species in the gill net catch, but only 2% were longer than 8 inches. GFP says walleye were not abundant.

Zebra mussels and curlyleaf pondweed are present in Roy Lake.

8. The Missouri River reservoirs

Lake Oahe is 154,978 acres in the lower reach (2025 survey) and 124,724 acres in the upper reach (2024 survey). Lake Sharpe is 58,660 acres and Lake Francis Case is 88,007 acres. Walleye are on the common species list for all of them. Yellow perch are on the list for Sharpe, Francis Case and upper Oahe. Smallmouth bass, sauger and channel catfish also show up on some lists.

We did not find GFP ice access or ice condition pages for these waters, so we do not rank them for hardwater. They are huge and have current. We have no sourced ice data for them. Treat any plan there with extra caution and ask local sources about ice before you go.

Limits to know

GFP lists these statewide daily limits on its species pages:

• Walleye: 4, combined with sauger and saugeye, with only one 20 inches or longer. Possession limit 8. Some lakes have their own length rules, so check the South Dakota Fishing Handbook.
• Yellow perch: 15. Possession limit 30.
• Black crappie: 15. Possession limit 30.
• Northern pike: 6. Possession limit 12. Border waters with Nebraska have a lower limit.

Before you go

1. Check the ice thickness yourself at every spot.
2. Wear ice picks around your neck. Carry rope and a throwable flotation device.
3. If you drive on the ice, go slowly, stay in areas other anglers have already tested, and only where ice depth fits the vehicle.
4. Go with other people instead of alone.
5. Clean your gear before you leave a lake with zebra mussels, as GFP asks of all users.

No ice is ever 100% safe. Check it yourself.

FAQ

What is the best ice fishing lake in South Dakota?

It depends on the fish. For walleye and perch, Waubay Lake and Blue Dog Lake in Day County have the strongest GFP survey numbers we found. For pike, Roy Lake in Marshall County. For crappie, Roy Lake again, though GFP calls them not abundant.

How thick does ice need to be in South Dakota?

A Sioux Falls Live article that credits GFP lists under 4 inches as stay off, and 4 to 6 inches of clear ice free of snow for foot travel. It lists 12 to 16 inches or more for vehicles. These are for good clear ice, and no ice is ever 100% safe. Check it yourself.

Where can I ice fish for walleye in South Dakota?

Walleye are found statewide per GFP. Waubay Lake, Blue Dog Lake, Bitter Lake, Lake Kampeska, Lake Thompson and Lake Poinsett all list walleye in the 2023 to 2025 GFP surveys. The Missouri River reservoirs hold walleye too.

What is the daily limit for perch in South Dakota?

GFP lists 15 yellow perch per day statewide, with a possession limit of 30. Rules for individual lakes can differ, so check the current handbook.

Is Lake Poinsett still good for perch?

Less than it was. The 2025 GFP survey caught 3.1 perch per net, down from 25.1 in 2016. Waubay Lake's 2024 perch catch of 16.0 per net was the highest recorded from 2016 to 2024.