Black Hills Fishing Report
I fished on Sunday and Monday. The water was much much clearer than my last outing this past Thursday. The improved clarity was a welcome change. Rather than sporadic streamer fishing results, the fishing with clearer water allowed for better nymph fishing. I didn't see many fish rising, but midge hatches appeared to be getting thicker. A few baetis (blue winged olive) mayflies were hatching too. Typically the midge dry fly fishing picks up mid-February. With clearer water and warmer temperatures, the hatch should be good this year. Start tying f-flies!
My last couple outings on Rapid Creek, I experimented with a new size of the Inline Indicators from Strike Foundry. What I like about these indicators is the ability to customize your nymph rig and to rig inline.I attached one end of a 2.5' Maxima 25-30 lb butt section to the fly line and the other to a Lil Nugget size Inline indicator. From the other end I tied 4' of 5x fluorocarbon tippet. At the end of the tippet I put on my first of two flies. With this rig you can use a tungsten nymph as your lead fly and get to bottom with ease. Without any thick leader material between your indicator and fly strikes are immediately telegraphed to the angler. I also experimented with attaching both my butt section and tippet to the gray end of the indicator- I first saw this on the excellent Headhunters Fly Shop Blog! By using a heavily weighted fly, the indicator floated vertically and also indicated the quality of the drift. Very cool! Check out the indicators at our website- Strike Foundry InLine Indicators.
Strike Foundry In Line Indicators allow for multiple rigging options.