Black Hills Fishing Report June 17th 2014

Black Hills Fishing Report June 17th 2014

Black Hills streams continue to fish well. Some still have slightly higher than normal stream flows, however water is clear for the most part and continuing to drop. Rapid Creek and Castle Creek have been fishing particularly well below the reservoirs. Upstream of Pactola Reservoir on Rapid Creek has been improving by the day as streamflow's drop. Spearfish Creek in Spearfish Canyon has also been fishing well. The higher you go in the canyon the lower the flows. Fishing is easier above Savoy on Spearfish Creek. Flows have been gradually going down on Spearfish, so the lower stretches should come into shape soon. Spring Creek has continued to fish well below Sheridan Lake. Fishing is good along Sheridan Lake Road as well as up at the trailhead section. Small streams like Hanna Creek and Little Spearfish Creek have been fishing quite well over the past few days. If you don't mind smaller water, these types of streams are very fun to fish. Don't be afraid to explore the smallest streams and headwaters, they offer tremendous fishing at times, especially for brook trout. Dry Fly Fishing has been limited to the slower stretches, but late evening has provided some nice dry fly fishing. Baetis and a few caddis are the primary targets. A few little yellow sally stones have shown up on Rapid Creek below Pactola and should continue to hatch for the rest of the month. Look for Pale Morning Duns to begin hatching in the next week or so. Nymph fishing continues to be the best way to bring fish to the net. Using a larger heavily weighted nymph as your lead fly is the way to go- czech nymphs, tung teasers, and north fork specials. Droppers that imitate small mayfly nymphs and midge larvae are producing well- tungsten psycho nymphs, zebra midges, and blood worms. Streamers are also working well. Vanilla buggers have worked well on Rapid Creek this past week. Try big streamers- sex dungeons, home invaders, and circus peanuts- and go hunting for the biggest fish of the year. High water will keep big fish hunting during the day. Flyfishing Black Hills lakes can always be good and shouldn't be overlooked. Hatches of callibaetis mayflies and chrinomids are bringing fish to the surface. Callibaetis hatches begin mid morning and the spinner fall occurs late in the afternoon. Chironomids hatch late in the evening. Fish the last couple hours before dark. Buggers fished on a sinking line seldom fail to produce on black hills lakes. Deerfield Reservoir and Sylvan Lake have been fishing well this past week.