State Game, Fish & Parks Department fisheries crews are planning to expand their annual fish-stocking operations to include streams, small lakes and stock dams that filled up with water this spring after shriveling through years of drought.

With heavy rains multiplying stream flows and runoff - and filling lakes and dams throughout much of western South Dakota - fish stocking this year will be an exciting challenge, GF&P regional fisheries manager Gene Gallinat of Rapid City said.

"We've got a lot of work ahead of us," Gallinat said. "We've got guys out looking at public waters to see which ones to stock. Quite a few that were dry or nearly dry will now be getting fish."

Some streams in the Black Hills that have been too low and warm to sustain trout are likely to receive regular fish stockings this year. The streams include Spring, Boxelder and Battle creeks, all of which were popular angling spots before the drought.

Those streams are likely to receive fingerling rainbow trout that will grow to 9 or 10 inches by this fall. A few larger trout also might be stocked to provide more immediate angling options.

Public fishing lakes on the prairie, including some on Buffalo Gap National Grasslands, also will receive fish for the first time in years, Gallinat said. Private landowners willing to sign public-fishing agreements also might receive free fish stockings through agreements with GF&P.

Other landowners are likely to buy fish from private hatcheries so they can limit fishing access, Gallinat said.

Some public lakes will receive adult fish - crappies, bass or perch - that are trapped in other lakes and transferred to the stocking sites. But most are likely to receive fingerling fish, especially largemouth bass, which will take several years to reach a size desired by anglers.

With the amount of available water, GF&P expects to have more water than fish, Gallinat said.

"We've got a lot of water now that needs fish," he said. "So we're trying to pick the ones that are going to last and not winter kill on us."

Popular Curlew Lake northeast of New Underwood has filled up with water this spring. Gallinat said Curlew got low enough to suffer a partial winterkill, but test netting this spring indicated that good numbers of crappies had survived. Some of those crappies were trapped to be stocked in other waters.

Curlew still has some largemouth bass as well, Gallinat said.

Nearby New Underwood Dam along Interstate 90 didn't get as much water as Curlew. But waters on the popular lake rose enough that GF&P stocked a few largemouth bass and crappies.

"We thought New Underwood might have completely winterkilled, so we added some fish," Gallinat said.

Opal Lake near Faith is another example of public fishing water that was nearly dry because of the drought. With water levels up again, GF&P has stocked northern pike fry and bluegills in Opal and plans further stockings, probably including largemouth bass and perch.

"We're really excited about the opportunities out there," Gallinat said.

Contact Kevin Woster at 394-8413 or kevin.woster@rapidcityjournal.com