I traveled home to South Dakota earlier this month and spent a few days camping with family near Custer State Park in the Black Hills. While there, I decided to take the kayak out on the water at two really nice spots I've fished in the past: Stockade Lake and Bismark Lake.

Although I only had about five hours total to kayak fish during the camping trip, I was happy to bag a few nice largemouth bass and enjoy the beautiful scenery of the Black Hills. Growing up near the Black Hills was so much fun, and I always love going home to see family and friends and catch a few fish.

I also did some shore fishing from a few other spots near/inside Custer State Park like Lakota Lake, Center Lake, Deerfield Lake, and Sheridan Lake while in the hills, but the best fishing was definitely from the kayak! Many of these lakes get constant fishing pressure, so unless you're fishing with live bait you may need to spend time figuring out the bite because it was TOUGH during my trip.

Most bites were on either a Keitech 3" crawfish imiation bait with an offset EWG style jig, or a 5" green pumpkin Senko rigged weightless on a 4/0 EWG hook.