Fly Tying with Hans Hot Headed Leech Pattern

Hans Stephenson, Owner of Dakota Angler & Outfitter in Rapid City, South Dakota, ties his Hot Head Leech pattern, a consistent producer for big trout on everything from small streams to the North Platte or the Bighorn River. The tail is tied intentionally long to give more movement to the fly. The heavy tungsten bead at the front of this leech pattern helps the fly dive during a pause in the retrieve. This leech pattern is best fished when attached to the tippet with a no slip loop knot.

Hot Headed Leech Pattern Materials

Hook: Umpqua C900bl

Bead: Red Mettallic Plummetting Tungsten Bead

Thread: Veevus 8/0

Tail: Marabou

Tail Flash: Flashabou

Hackle: Strung Saddle Hackle

Abdomen: Arizona Simi Seal Dubbing – Black Red

Fly Tying with Hans Crazy Legged Gotcha

Hans from Dakota Angler & Outfitter ties a Rubber Legged Gotcha, a staple in many bonefish fly boxes, and also a great carp fly that I have used with great success in our streams and rivers for carp.

The Gotcha is one of the most effective bonefish fly patterns in the world. This version, with a crazy legs (aka sili legs, loco legs), was my top fly in my 2013 trip to the Bahamas.

Materials

Hook: Mustad 34007, Daiichi 2546

Thread: Danville Flymaster Pink, or UTC 140 denier Fl. Shell Pink

Eyes: Beadchain

Tail: Crazy Legs, Loco Legs, or Sili Legs

Body/Abdomen: PearlDiamond Braid or Flat Braid

Wing: Craft Fur or Polar Fibre or Psuedo Hair

Flash: Krystal Flash Pearl or Bonefish Tan

Ryan from Dakota Angler & Outfitter ties a Foam Gurgler Bass Bug, a must-have in any bass fly fisherman’s box. Tie in in Yellow, Green, White, Black, Purple, and Brown for the best success. Take it to your local bass pond or lake, throw it in a weed mat, and hold on!

Materials

Hook: Mustad 3366

Thread: 210 Denier Ultra Thread or 200 denier GSP

Tail/Legs: Round Rubber or Sili Legs

Back/Lip: 2mm Fly Foam

Abdomen/Body: Estaz

George Daniel’s Sowbug

This pattern featured in George Daniel’s book Dynamic Nymphing.

It looks very close to the natural and has been very productive for me on my last two trips to Montana’s Bighorn River. For a realistic pattern, it is very easy to tie.

Materials

Hook: C200bl Size 14-16

Weight: Lead Wire

Thread: 140 Denier Ultra Thread

Body/Legs: UV Micro Polar Chenille

Back: Clear Cure Goo

Fishing has been good to excellent in most streams. Recent rains have cause some flooding in the northern Black Hills. Fishing will be best in the central hills for the next several days.

Rapid Creek

In Town – Fishing is good, and will get better as the flows increase. Flows were not impacted by recent rains. Clear water conditions are the norm below Pactola down through town. In town the fish are eager to feed on top. Good numbers of fish rising to midges in the morning and to Baetis and a few caddis in the afternoon/evening.

Good nymphs include Tungsten San Juans, Tungsten Psychos, T Ready Baetis, Tungsten Bruised Purple & PMD, small pheasant tails, Killer Mayfly nymphs, and UV Czechs and Amexes. Terrestrials are also working well – Beetles, Loco Beetles, Big Secret Crickets, and small Grand Hoppers are working. For dries, Barr’s Viz-A-Dun BWO, BWO Thorax Dun, Sparkle Duns, No-Hackles, and Brook’s Sprout Emerger are producing good numbers of fish. For Streamers, small Sculpzillas and Mini Leeches are working well.

Below Pactola – The low flows are making the fish picky, but they can still be caught. Small Bubble Backs, Black Beauties, Bloodworms, Tungsten San Juans, Tungsten Bruised Purples, UV Czechs, Amexes, and Two Bit Hookers are good bets for subsurface action. The fish will eat dries, but small and olive or black is the ticket. size 20-22 Sparkle Duns, Comparaduns, Parachute BWOs, and Morgan’s Midges are tricking the rising fish into eating. Streamers can wake some of the bigger fish up, with Dungeons, Circus Peanuts, and Home Invaders producing the biggest fish.

Silver City – A little high and off color due to recent rains. Should come down in the next few days. Fishing with large nymphs and streamers should be productive until the water drops.

Castle Creek

Fishing is good above and below Deerfield Reservoir. Good fishing just above the lake with nymphs- fish don’t seem particularly picky as to patterns. Below the dam the fish are a bit spooky, but be persistant and keep a low profile and you will fool some fish. Hatches of Little Black Stoneflies and Blue Winged Olives continue downstream of Deerfield Reservoir.

Spearfish Creek

Very High and Off Color. Flows jumped from 75 cfs to almost 700 cfs over the past 3 days. Flows are down to the mid 300 cfs range as of this morning. Should drop steadily provided no thunderstorms drop additional rains this weekend.
Spring Creek- Had a tough summer in 2012. A few fish made it through the tough conditions. In addition the GF&P has stocked the stream. Good fishing as long as flows hold up.

French Creek

We have heard reports of decent fishing in the area around the Blue Bell Lodge. More info as we get it.

Box Elder Creek

Decent fishing around Steamboat Rock. Better numbers of fish the higher up you go.

Lakes

Center, Sylvan, Roubaix, Pactola and Sheridan are fishing well for trout, with small Sculpzillas, Mini Leeches, and Wooly Buggers are working well. The rising fish will eat size 14-18 Parachute Adams, Callibaetis, and Sparkle Duns trick the rising fish well.

Fishing will pick up as the weather warms this week. Expect dry fly fishing to improve this week. There are Little Black Stoneflies, Blue Winged Olives, and a few Caddis hatching.

Rapid Creek

In Town – Fishing is good, and will get better as the flows increase. Good nymphs include Tungsten San Juans, Tungsten Psychos, T Ready Baetis, Tungsten Bruised Purple & PMD, small pheasant tails, Killer Mayfly nymphs, and UV Czechs and Amexes. Terrestrials are also working well – Beetles, Loco Beetles, Big Secret Crickets, and small Grand Hoppers are working. For dries, Barr’s Viz-A-Dun BWO, BWO Thorax Dun, Sparkle Duns, No-Hackles, and Brook’s Sprout Emerger are producing good numbers of fish. For Streamers, small Sculpzillas and Mini Leeches are working well.

Below Pactola – The low flows are making the fish picky, but they can still be caught. Small Bubble Backs, Black Beauties, Bloodworms, Tungsten San Juans, Tungsten Bruised Purples, UV Czechs, Amexes, and Two Bit Hookers are good bets for subsurface action. The fish will eat dries, but small and olive or black is the ticket. size 20-22 Sparkle Duns, Comparaduns, Parachute BWOs, and Morgan’s Midges are tricking the rising fish into eating. Streamers can wake some of the bigger fish up, with Dungeons, Circus Peanuts, and Home Invaders producing the biggest fish.

Silver City – A bit off color from snow melt. Good fishing in the larger pools and deeper runs. A few BWO’s are hatching, but little to no dry fly fishing opportunities. Best fishing is deep with nymphs. Rainbow Czech Nymphs and Barr’s Tung Teasers are working well.

Spearfish Creek

Spearfish Creek is fishing great, with good numbers of fish being caught. Small Nymphs are the ticket, with UV Czechs, Amexes, Tung Teasers, Psychos, and San Juans being good lead flies, trailed by an 18-22 Black Beauty, Bubble Back, Two Bit Hooker, Killer Mayfly, RS2, WD-40, T. Ready Baetis, or UV Midges. For dries, small 18-20 F-Flies, Parachute BWO’s, Parchute Adams, Brook’s Sprout, Sparkle Duns, and Comparaduns are tricking some of the rising fish.

Castle Creek

Decent fishing above Deerfield. The water is a bit off color above the lake, but should clear with the warming weather this week. Flows and fishing below Deerfield Lake are excellent. The fish are a bit spooky below the dam but catchable if you are stealthy and keep a low profile. Little Black Stoneflies and Blue Winged Olives are hatching. Fish a dry dropper rig to cover it all. Had good luck with a CDC stonefly adult and a small Barr’s TungTeaser dropper.

Black Hills Lakes

Center, Sylvan, Roubaix, Pactola and Sheridan are fishing well for trout, with small Sculpzillas, Mini Leeches, and Wooly Buggers are working well. The rising fish will eat size 14-18 Parachute Adams, Callibaetis, and Sparkle Duns trick the rising fish well.

Rapid Creek

In Town – The BWO hatch continues to be outstanding, with good numbers of fish on the surface between 10 and 3 or so. The fish are very willing to eat dries, with good BWO patterns being CDC Thorax Dun, Barr’s Vis-A-Dun, Klinkhamers, Parachute Adams, F-Flies, Sparkle Duns, and Brook’s Sprout Emergers in size 14-20. The nymphing in town has also been excellent, with the fish being very wiling to eat slightly bigger nymphs than normal with the slight runoff. size 12-16 Tungsten San Juans, North Fork Special, UV Czechs, Amex Pinks, Tungsten Psychos, Tungsten Sunkist, Tung Bruiser, and Pink Squirrels being great lead flies. Drop a smaller size 16-20 Psycho, Tungsten Ready Baetis nymph, Two Bit Hooker, Bubble Back, WD-40, RS2, T-Midge, or small Hot Spot Pheasant Tail being a solid bet for a dropper fly. Small Streamers have been producing good numbers of fish as well, with the Kreelex being my best pattern so far, as well as Sculpzillas, Home Invaders, and Vanilla buggers being other solid bets for the bigger fish.

Below Pactola – Fishing has been good, with increasing numbers of fish rising during the warmest parts of the day. Good BWO hatches, with good BWO patterns being CDC Thorax Dun, Barr’s Vis-A-Dun, Klinkhamers, Parachute Adams, F-Flies, Sparkle Duns, and Brook’s Sprout Emergers in size 14-20. Nymphing is your best bet for numbers, with Tungsten San Juans, UV Czechs, and Egg patterns being great flies for fish scavenging in the shallower runs and riffles. For the more selective fish, T. Ready Baetis Nymphs, Tungsten Psychos, Bubble Backs, UV Midges, Pinkies, Amex Pinks, Tung Bruiser, and Bloodworms being good choices. Streamers, as always, are producing the biggest fish out of the catch and release area, with Kraft’s Kreelex, Sculpzilla, Home Invaders, Dungeons, and Bottoms Up’s being good bets.

Spearfish Creek

The spring Little Black Stonefly hatch has begun, with great numbers of fish being caught on the surface throughout the canyon. Small Black Parachutes, Black F-Flies, and even small black midge patterns are producing well. For nymphs, black is definitely your best option. Black Tungsten Psychos, Black Copper Johns, and small Black Hare’s Ears are producing well with a smaller midge larva trailed behind. Also, BWO Nymphs are producing well, with Two Bit Hookers and the new Tung Bruiser producing well. The fishing in town is also excellent, with larger flies producing well. The best bets for flies have been Tungsten San Juans, Psychos, Copper Johns, Egg patterns, and Tung Teasers. Dropper patterns include Bubble Backs, UV Midges, T. Ready Baetis Nymphs, Amex Pinks, and Two Bits.

Black Hills Lakes

Many Black Hills Lakes are open, including Center, Sylvan, and Stockade. Not too many reports in on these lakes yet. Let us know how your recent Black Hills Lakes fishing outings have been.

]]> http://www.flyfishsd.com/black-hills-fishing-report-april-23rd-2013/feed/ 1 http://www.flyfishsd.com/black-hills-fishing-report-3262013/ http://www.flyfishsd.com/black-hills-fishing-report-3262013/#comments Tue, 26 Mar 2013 21:08:06 +0000 admin http://www.flyfishsd.com/?p=1222 Black Hills Fishing Report 3/26/2013

Rapid Creek

In Town – Fishing in town continues to be outstanding, with fish consistently rising more or less every day from about 10-2. The numbers of fish on top is off the wall, this is some of the most consistent dry fly fishing we’ve seen since last year. The fish like Klinkhammers, small 16-20 Parachute Adams, Morgans Midges, Black Parachutes, and F-Flies. For BWO’s, the patterns of choice have been a CDC Thorax Dun, Brook’s Sprout Emerger, CDC BWO Emerger, and Klinkhammers as well. The BWO’s are just getting fired up, and will only get better through the month and early next month. Nymphing has also been very productive, with Tungsten Psycho Nymphs, Two Bit Hookers, Bubble Back Midges in gray and black, Tungsten San Juan Worms, Amex Pinks, and T. Ready Baetis Nymphs being my best producers. Fish these under a pinch-dicator, or under a larger dry fly. I’ve also did well the past week or so on Olive streamers, and the Kraft’s Kreelex has also been a good producer for me.

Below Pactola Reservoir – Fishing has been steady, with an increasing number of big rainbows coming out of their winter hiding holes. Nymphing is your best bet for numbers, with Tungsten San Juans, UV Czechs, and Egg patterns being great flies for fish scavenging in the shallower runs and riffles. For the more selective fish, T. Ready Baetis Nymphs, Tungsten Psychos, Bubble Backs, UV Midges, Pinkies, and Bloodworms being good choices. A few fish are also on top, and Morgan’s Midges or F-Flies usually do the trick on them. A few BWO’s are around, and the CDC Thorax Dun or a small, 20-22 BWO Comparadun or Sparkle Dun will usually do the trick. Streamers, as always, are producing the biggest fish out of the catch and release area, with Kraft’s Kreelex, Home Invaders, Dungeons, and Bottoms Up’s being good bets.

Spearfish Creek

The spring Little Black Stonefly hatch has begun, with great numbers of fish being caught on the surface throughout the canyon. Small Black Parachutes, Black F-Flies, and even small black midge patterns are producing well. For nymphs, black is definitely your best option. Black Tungsten Psychos, Black Copper Johns, and small Black Hare’s Ears are producing well with a smaller midge larva trailed behind. The fishing in town is also excellent, with larger flies producing well. The best bets for flies have been Tungsten San Juans, Psychos, Copper Johns, Egg patterns, and Tung Teasers. Dropper patterns include Bubble Backs, UV Midges, T. Ready Baetis Nymphs, Amex Pinks, and Two Bits.