Black Hills Fishing Report September 10th 2024
Not much change from our last report. Dry warm weather the past few months. Luckily the nights are starting to cool down and that is helping out stream temperatures. Best bets for streams Rapid Creek, Castle Creek, and Spearfish Creek.
Rapid Creek
Rapid Creek is fishing decent. Get out early! Find cold water. In town water temp was 62 degrees below Canyon Lake this morning. If you plan on fishing below Canyon Lake take a thermometer and stop fishing when water temps are 68 or above. With the current conditions the prime spots are from Canyon Lake up to Pactola and above Pactola towards Rochford. Tricos are still hatching, so early morning is your best bet to capitalize on this activity. Hopper activity is increasing as well, making a hopper-dropper setup a promising approach.
Castle Creek
Below Deerfield Lake, Castle Creek has been particularly productive. Be extra cautious of your shadows and approach the stream quietly, as the fish are wary. Above the lake, the smaller waters are also yielding good results. As the weather warms, dry-dropper fishing is gaining traction. Try using ants, beetles, or your favorite attractor flies with a small dropper to cover this area effectively.
Spearfish Creek
Fishing in Spearfish Canyon remains good/excellent with cool water temperatures. Look for some caddis, smaller midges, and tiny mayflies in the afternoons. A few tan caddis are still around. Nymphing continues to be effective, but a dry-dropper rig featuring a micro chubby or beetle pattern can also be a solid choice as temperatures rise.
Lake Fishing
New Update- Pactola and Sheridan Lakes are fishing well. Deerfield is picking up.
Lake fishing across the Hills is still going strong. Sylvan Lake and Center Lake in Custer State Park are particularly productive. Fish are responding well to leeches, damsels, and callibaetis mayflies. Go to rig for most lakes is an indicator rig with a balance leech. Drop leech 4-6' below the indicator. You can fish a chironomid and pheasant tail as an alternative rig to the leech pattern.
Top Flies -
Dry Flies- Elk Hair size 16-18, Foam Run Caddis size 14-18, Parachute Adams size 18-22, Micro Chubby Chernobyls size 14-18, Foam Beetles 12-18, Ant patterns 12-18 Tricos 18-22, Yellow Sally’s 14-16 Olive Klinkhammer 12-14
Nymphs- Hot Tag Hares ear 14-18’s, Perdigons Blue or Green size 14-20, waltz worms, zebra midges, prince nymphs,
