Fly fishing in the Black Hills
Most people don’t have any idea of how good the fly fishing is in the Black Hills because we have had very little written about us in the fly fishing literature. The fishing can be truly outstanding and can usually be done without seeing another fly fisher all day.
We believe we have some absolutely great opportunities for a combination of scenic beauty and outstanding fly fishing. Depending on the year you can fish almost any day from mid March to mid November but in the months of December, January and February you need to pick the warm days ( over 40 ) if you don't want the ice to build up on your guides. We fish every month out of the year but usually not more than 5 or 6 days/month in the coldest winter months. During the winter the waters we fish are usually one of the two tail water fisheries in the hills ( Rapid Creek or Castle Creek below the lakes ).
Some of the streams we fish most are: Spring Creek both above and below Sheridan Lake, Rapid Creek both above and below Pactola Reservoir, Castle Creek above and below Deerfield Lake, Box Elder Creek along Nemo Rd., French Creek and Grace Coolidge Creek in Custer State Park as well as a vast number of small streams throughout the Hills. In the northern hills Spearfish Creek, Little Spearfish Creek and Crow Creek are the streams that are usually fished. We have natural reproduction in many of the Hills streams for Brook Trout , Brown Trout and Rainbow Trout, although, many of the fish are hatchery planted. If you are an experienced fly fisherman you can expect to catch 4 to 8 trout /hour on a good day and if you are fishing one of our trophy waters a few could be 16" to 20".
Our lakes are also great places to spend some time chasing big trout. We have three larger lakes in the Hills ( Pactola reservoir, Sheridan Lake and Deerfield Lake) as well as many smaller lakes that all hold good populations of trout. You can fish from shore but the best way to fish most lakes would be from a float tube or pontoon boat such as the Hobie Float Cat 75. Damsel and Dragon fly imitations and streamers are a good bet when fishing the lakes.
We have great hatches from April through September. Some of the insects hatches include: Baetis, Caddis and Little Yellow Stone Flies in the spring and early summer. We have good Hopper action in late summer as well as Tricos and another Baetis hatch in the Fall. Our midges hatch year round with some of the best action happening on the warm mid-winter days.
We hope you can come out for the scenic beauty of the Hills and enjoy some of the most productive and enjoyable fishing there is available anywhere.
See you in the Hills!
Send mail to flyfish@rapidnet.com with questions or comments. Dakota Angler & Outfitter 513 7th St. Rapid City, SD 57701 Phone - 605-341-2450 Fax - 605-341-1457