Smith Lake

Smith Lake is located 27 miles south of Rushville on Highway 250. It has a concrete boat ramp and dock, a primitive campground and picnic area. You can visit Smith Lake for fishing in the summer or winter. You can go for hunting, bird-watching, camping or you can go to experience one of the most scenic and remote highways in the Panhandle. Don’t count on fishing from the shore because it is surrounded by reeds but you can expect to catch yellow perch, bluegill, black bullhead and sunfish. It’s a no wake zone, with boat speeds restricted to 5 mph. The 290 acre lake is surrounded by a wildlife management area where hunting is allowed for deer, dove, grouse, pheasant, rabbits, turkeys, and waterfowl. It’s a popular destination for birding. Avid observers report seeing grebes, terns, woodpeckers, phoebes, bluebirds, bobolinks, red-winged blackbirds, long-eared owls, black-necked stilts, piping plover and marbled godwit.