Black Hills Fishing Report - August 11th, 2014

We've been having some great days lately. The water in most streams has dropped a little, so the fishes have moved back into more predictable locations, and most people are liking that fact. BWO's are still hatching in good numbers, along with a few PMD's. Caddis are still around, but the fish aren't eating them as ferociously as they previously were. I've been having good success with small terrestrial patterns also, like beetles, crickets, and small hoppers (10-16). Nymphing is still your best bet for numbers of fish on almost all the streams.

Rapid Creek has been fishing great throughout it's entirety, depending on what you like fishing. Upper Rapid Creek from Silver City upstream has been fishing well. The further up you go, the better the dry fly fishing is going to be, especially beyond Rochford. Below Pactola has been fishing great, with good Baetis hatches in the early afternoons. This is definitely your best bet for bigger fish, but it's not a numbers game. If you fish for most of an afternoon and get 5 or 6 solid chances at fish, y0u've had a good day. In town has also been producing well, but the fish have definitely shifted spots with the drop in flows. Instead of being in the faster, riffly water, they're in the deeper runs and pools now. Larger Jig flies are still working, but throw a smaller dropper off of them to pick up a few bonus fish. If you like fishing dries, the Trico hatch in the morning is pretty amazing, and the terrestrial fishing has definitely been picking up more fish every day - Beetles and Ants are definitely your best bets for this.

Spearfish Creek is pretty much the same story as the last few weeks - great fishing with larger jig flies in the fast water. The entire canyon from Maurice up to Elmore is fishing well this way, and if you go further up towards Cheyenne Crossing you just have to scale down a little bit. Size 16-18 flies are working better further up, where as 12-14's are cleaning up down lower. Right in Spearfish is great as well, with many of the same size 12-14 jigs working well. The further downstream you get in town, the more hoppers there are, and the fish are definitely eating them. Not huge hoppers, but 8's and 10's in yellow have been doing good. Throw on a parachute hopper if the fish get too picky.

Castle Creek and Sand Creek are both getting fairly weedy, but the fish are still around and eating! Various dry flies are going to be your best bet there, mostly because nymphing is going to be difficult with the increased vegetation. I'd throw a Klinkhamer and a Tung Teaser or Psycho nymph, and you should do just fine.

Short and sweet, but that's our fishing report for this week! Pretty similar to before, with a few tweaks here and there. As always, if you have any questions about certain streams, what flies to use, or where to go, just give us a shout at the shop! We're here to help. Thanks for reading!

Ryan