Black Hills Fishing Report - July 16, 2015

If you're not fishing in the Black Hills right now, it's the time to be here! The fishing has been great just about everywhere, and Rapid Creek is coming into shape by the day. I've personally been fishing nothing but hopper-dropper setups everywhere and it's been producing some very nice fish for my clients - who doesn't like twenty inch browns on beetles and hoppers? The upper stretches of Rapid Creek are fishing very well, mostly from Rochford upstream. Upper Box Elder is also fishing well with a mixed bag of rainbows, browns, and brookies. Spearfish Creek and it's tributaries are all fishing very well and are at the ideal flows for hopper-dropper fishing! Sand and Crow Creek are fishing well with terrestrials, as well as standard nymph fare - these two are really snakey however, so keep that in mind if you're headed that direction. We've heard some good things coming out of French Creek in Custer State Park as well! Overall, the fishing in the Black Hills continues to be great. I haven't put a bobber on for quite some time, and the hopper dropper rigs are a ton of fun to fish! I've been having my best luck with a Chubby Chernobyl or Morrish Hopper for a lead fly with a Jig PT, Red Butt, North Fork Special, or UV Czech dropped below it. If you see a fish that won't eat the hopper, put a size 14-16 beetle on and watch them move three feet to eat it - they can't resist them. The fish right now aren't particularly tippet shy, I've been using 3-4x to my hopper and 5x for the dropper fly. Don't overlook the shallow water also. Some of the biggest fish I've seed over the past several weeks of guiding have come out of less than a foot of water. Here's some pictures from the past week of guiding. This is going to be the summer and fall to be fishing in the Black Hills! The water conditions are amazing, and the fishing is equally awesome. If you want to hire one of our expert guides to show you the ropes, or just have questions on Black Hills fly fishing, give us a call at 605-341-2450! We always have someone in the shop that's happy to talk fishing. This is the best season we've had in quite some time - get out there and get your piece of the action! Ryan